LAS VEGAS – Charles Johnson was expected to leave with his hand raised in his last bout, at least according to the oddsmakers, but he lost by first-round stoppage.
Johnson (18-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) suffered an upset defeat this past January at UFC 324, putting a halt to the momentum he had gained with his $50,000 Performance of the Night winning KO over Lone’er Kavanagh months prior. It was a tough pill to swallow, but one Johnson got over quickly, as he has no interest in crying over spilled milk.
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“My whole athletic career, when I was younger, I always exceeded the moment,” Johnson said at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 269 media day. “When there was a big expectation, I always exceeded the moment. It was very weird in January for me, right? But I was past it after a couple of days. I was sad about it, upset about it, confidence down a little bit, but once I got back in the gym after a week and started working and started talking to my coaches and addressing it with my boxing coach and got in there a little more, I was like, ‘Alright, we’re good.'”
Johnson makes his return to the cage this Saturday against Bruno Silva (15-7-2 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 269 (Paramount+), which takes place at the Meta APEX. He’s hoping to put the TKO loss behind him, not only personally but also publicly.
“There is no room in this promotion for just getting by with anything,” Johnson said. “You have to be prepared for it being a full fight, but the UFC wants to see finishes. They’ve made that very clear for you to get the opportunities you want in this promotion. … For me, I’m always looking for moments, and I have a goal as far as when I’m finished with this UFC career, I would love to be in the record books for finishes – and so for me, that’s what I’m focused on.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Charles Johnson not dewlling on TKO loss to Alex Perez ahead of return
