Las Vegas, NV — Contender Series alum and UFC bantamweight Miles Johns improved to 11-1 at UFC Vegas 12 on Saturday. And wound up with something of a viral finish in the process.
Miles Johns with a HUGE uppercut to end it in RD 3!! 🤯 #UFCVegas12 pic.twitter.com/NKGKqLBpXl
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) October 31, 2020
An uppercut in the third round resulted in a walk-off KO for Johns, who knows that the extra eyes on the finish won’t hurt.
“I do this game because I love it. I’m a fighter at heart,” Johns told media outlets including Cageside Press post-fight. “But also, I’ve got to get paid. I got a family to feed. So the more eyes on me, the better. Hard work is truly paying off at that point.”
It paid off and then some. Johns was later awarded a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
During the bout, Johns’ corner could be heard reigning him in at times. For good reason. “My last fight, I was the one on the canvas, and the other guys was celebrating. So all those emotions, all that work just pours out, and to the people watching, it can come off as a little bit arrogant, or a little bit non-empathetic,” he explained. Which is why, he added, that he loves that his coach forces him to remember where he’s been, and relax. And to “show respect to my opponent. At that point [after the KO], I felt a ton of empathy for him and I just wanted to let him know ‘hey man, you’ll be back.’ This is the fighter’s life. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.”
“I’m not out to necessarily hurt people severely. I’m just out here to have fun, do what I love, and make some money,” Johns added. With that bonus, well, mission accomplished.
Watch the full UFC Vegas 12 post-fight press scrum with Miles Johns above.
