Philadelphia — Middleweight Donte Johnson improved to 9-0 with his thunderous knockout of Eric McConico at UFC 330, though he did not escape the cage unscathed himself.
Johnson took a bit of damage leading up to the KO, and admitted post-fight that he “got hit with a good elbow, couple good shots then that body kick was money.”
“I knew right then and there that I had to make my mind up, and I had my mind made up. It came, so I thank the lord,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press.
As Johnson later put it, “it’s just part of the fight game. You don’t go to the waterpark and expect not to get wet. So you’re in the cage, if you get hit, don’t get surprised. Sh*t, it’s part of the game.”
After the knockout, Donte Johnson connected one last time, with a back elbow— inadvertently landed on the ref, who was diving in to call off the fight.
“2-0 on the night. Who else wants some? I’m just kidding,” Johnson joked after. “I’m sorry Mr. Ref, I’ll buy you a cheesesteak or something, but I didn’t mean to do that.”
Johnson also made a bold claim in his post-fight interview: he wants three belts, at middleweight, welterweight, and finally light heavyweight. And he believes cutting to 170 is feasible for him.
“I don’t think it would be that difficult. I woke up the day before weigh-ins, this fight camp, I’ve got down to 181. Still was like, clear-headed, still peeing clear. I’ve just never been down that low since I was like seven years old.”
If he can’t cut outright, Johnson is willing to drop some muscle to make it happen. “It has to be done the right way. If you’re going to take muscle off, you gotta know that and you’ve got to be prepared and change your workout up. You’ve got to be in tune with your body.”
Watch the full UFC 330 post-fight press conference with Donte Johnson above.
