LAS VEGAS – Michael Johnson has opened up about the controversy surrounding his canceled fight at UFC 324.
Just hours before his lightweight bout against Alexander Hernandez this past January at T-Mobile Arena, Johnson (24-19 MMA, 16-15 UFC) received news that his fight is scrapped.
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There was a sizable, irregular betting line movement in the lead-up to the fight. The promotion confirmed the bout was scrapped as a result. Hernandez has not competed since, but has denied being involved in any possible nefarious behavior.
“Literally right when we got off the stage for the ceremonial weigh-ins, I got the bad news,” Johnson said at Wednesday’s media day. “It was crazy. It’s just the world we live in now where things like this could get a fight pulled. We just got to move forward. I didn’t hear too much in details, I understood where the UFC came from or why they had to pull the fight. I definitely respect that, but now we’re back here. No harm, no foul.”
Hernandez is yet to be booked for his next matchup, but Johnson has. Johnson meets Drew Dober (28-15 MMA, 14-11 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 326 (Paramount+, CBS) main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Johnson still doesn’t know exactly what happened, but that didn’t take away his disappointment.
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“I was pissed, I was upset,” Johnson said. “Not only just for the fight, I was really upset that I can’t fight, but I was more upset that my friends, my family. Everybody came out to Las Vegas to see me and I had to break the bad news to them. I had to deal with my mother being kind of distraught. She overreacts quite a bit, and she thought I was in trouble so I had to calm her down. It was just a whole whirlwind. But like I said, no harm, no foul, and I get paid this weekend.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Johnson opens up about UFC fight canceled over suspicious betting line
