New Orleans — Ahead of UFC 318, Michael Johnson received his letterman jacket celebrating 50 clean tests under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Program.
He might be “The Menace” inside the cage, but Johnson (23-19) has been a good boy outside of it, at least on that front. As a UFC fighter who pre-dates the USADA (and now CSAD/Drug Free Sport) era, Johnson has definitely seen a change in the UFC since the onset of drug testing.
“Yeah for sure. I’ve definitely seen it. Before they came in, I think a lot of guys were getting away with ‘supplements’ I’d say,” Johnson said with a laugh. “You could tell, you could obviously tell in the way that these guys fought, how they train, and how they looked. Now when USADA and the Anti-Doping Program came into place, a lot of those guys got smaller, a lot of those guys weren’t able to win fights, and the playing field became very even.”
Johnson will be in action this Saturday at UFC 318 in New Orleans, a card whose main event features the retirement fight of Dustin Poirier, in a third meeting with Max Holloway. Johnson and Poirier have history; “The Menace,” in fact, holds a win over the former interim lightweight champ. That came in 2016, in Poirier’s first main event. Johnson landed the knockout blow that night.
“The first thing I said was like ‘God I hope that doesn’t take attention away from Dustin.’ I’m pretty sure they won’t show my highlights this week,” Johnson said about being booked on Poirier’s retirement card. “It’s incredible to be on this card, to share Dustin’s last card with him is incredible. Him and Max Holloway are both living legends of the sport, and I think it’s going to be incredible to see his last dance.”
As for a predictions, “I think he stays 3-0. He’s beat this guy twice already, I don’t see any difference in this. But Max did have a great fight against [Justin] Gaethje. People’s retirement fights, if they announce their retirement before, it doesn’t really seem to go their way. So we’ll see what happens.”
Then there’s Michael Johnson’s own tussle with Daniel Zellhuber. While Johnson admits that Zellhuber has some skills, “I think they’re pushing him a little too fast, too quick,” he suggested. We’ll find out of that’s the case come Saturday.
Watch the full UFC 318 media day appearance by Michael Johnson above.
