Michael Johnson is here to stay.
The 39-year-old lightweight veteran suffered a second-round knockout to Drew Dober at UFC 326 earlier this month. A disappointed Johnson (24-20 MMA, 16-16 UFC) took to Instagram to post a video statement addressing the loss, where he won Round 1 on all three judges’ scorecards.
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“Last week was a tough pill to swallow,” Johnson said. “Damn, everything was going so good. But I guess that’s when the worst happens, right, when things are going too good?”
Johnson was caught with a big left hand, but gave credit to the UFC lightweight division’s all-time leader in knockout wins.
“It was no fluke,” Johnson said. “It was no lucky punch or no bullsh*t like that. He caught me right on the f*cking chin. I just made a small mistake and got a little too comfortable in there, I guess, and I paid the price. Drew fought a good fight. He stayed patient, he took the little damage I was giving him, a few jabs.
“I didn’t fight my fight at all. I don’t know – maybe it was my mind was going a million places. Maybe it was the back-to-back camps, the two close weight cuts, who knows? But at the end of the day, Michael Johnson went in there and he f*cking lost.”
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The loss to Dober snapped Johnson’s three-fight winning streak, which included an upset decision over Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 318. The Kill Cliff FC fighter is down, but certainly not out.
“We’ve lost some battles, but we’re in it for the war, and we’re going to win the war,” Johnson said. “I’m not f*cking leaving. I’m not leaving anytime soon. I’m a winner, and I’m going to win. I want a lot of the rematches I’ve lost. I want the (Justin) Gaethje rematch. This was definitely one that I want back because I just made a small mistake. Unfortunately in this game, small mistakes could lead to huge consequences.
“I was a little emo, a little depressed, a little ashamed, embarrassed of myself last week, but now we’re up and running. Now we’re ready to go. Let’s shake it off and get back to work.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Johnson after UFC 326 loss: ‘I’m not f*cking leaving’
