Chrom
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 |  Subject: Mighty Mouse talks about title opportunity against Dominick Cruz at UFC on Versus 6 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:48 pm | |
| - Quote :
- Johnson faces Cruz on October 1 for the UFC’s bantamweight title in
the headlining bout on the “UFC on Versus 6” card. With the title on his
mind, and the recent announcement of his fight, he sat down with
BJPENN.COM to go over his thoughts.
Interview Transcription:
BJPENN.COM: What where your thoughts when the UFC approached you with a shot at the title?
D. Johnson: “I felt very blessed and honored
that the UFC thought enough of me to step up and fight Dominick Cruz. Me
and my management were very happy about it and we are going to try and
take full advantage of the opportunity that’s given to us.
I am training full time now and I’m going after that title and we will see what happens.”
BJPENN.COM: What were your thoughts on Dominick’s performance against Urijah Faber?
D. Johnson: “I thought his performance was good.
Dominick has been a real good champion. He is on an eight-fight win
streak and the one thing about Dominick is he always performs the same
way which is really good. I’m excited, he always comes in shape, and he
beat Urijah Faber and avenged that one loss on his record.”
BJPENN.COM: Where do you think you will be able to succeed where all his other opponents have failed?
D. Johnson: “I don’t want to say that I’m going to succeed where
those guys failed. I’m just going to try to do my best to go out there
and put on a good show for the fans and the UFC. I’m obviously going to
use my speed which is something big I bring to the table.
I know I’m the smaller guy but that’s fine, I haven’t fought
anyone at 135 that felt incredibly strong or felt like I couldn’t handle
their strength. I think my size and my speed is going to be a factor
in the fight.
My footwork will also be a factor, he has good footwork but I
have good footwork as well. A lot of the guys he has fought maybe
haven’t had the best footwork, so together we will see how the fight
plays out. “
BJPENN.COM: Give me some insight to your training camp for this fight. When will it start where will you spend it and with who?
D. Johnson: “I’m already in training camp. I
started last week. I’m going to keep it here in Washington State. I’ve
been training at Matt Hume’s home base. I am going to keep my same
training partners; I don’t want to change anything up. I’m going to keep
the same regiment but I’m going to add a lot more to it. I’m going to
train two times a day, sometimes three times a day.
I’m not going to change too much because what got me to the big
show is what will hopefully win me my title. I’m not going to move and
train all around I’m going to stay right at home where it got me to the
big show.”
BJPENN.COM: You suffered an injury in your last win over Miguel Torres, would you mind going over that and telling us what happened?
D. Johnson: “When I fought Torres the gameplan
going in was to just blast that front leg and in the first round it was
working. In the second round I threw another leg kick and I rolled it
over way too much. I ended up hitting him with my fibula instead of my
tibia and if you know about the bones, your tibia is the bigger bone in
your leg and the fibula is more of a stabilizer that controls the
mechanics in your toes and helps with your speed and springing off your
feet.
I messed it up in the second round and that really messed up the
gameplan with Miguel Torres because the gameplan was to stand up with
him. It was never to take him down but I couldn’t move around as fast as
I usually can. People still thought I was fast, but no, I was slow. I
had to take him down and pass his guard and Miguel Torres was really
good about holding me and not letting me pass the guard, so that threw
away the gameplan. Luckily I still came away with the W that night.
Recovery has been really good. I took six-weeks off just from
training and stood on crutches, but now I’m back in the gym. I’ve been
sparring, I’ve been rolling and doing cross fit, I’m getting right back
after it. My leg feels good and I’m ready to go on October 1st.”
BJPENN.COM: What did you take away from your loss against Brad Pickett in your WEC debut; it is to date your only loss?
D. Johnson: “I think I learned a lot from that
fight. At the time when I fought him, Brad Pickett was the toughest guy I
ever fought in my life and I made a lot of mistakes in that fight. I
realized what mistakes I made and I can’t make now and it’s obviously
helped me with my career because I haven’t lost since then and it’s also
helped me realize what the judges play favorite to and what to not get
caught in.
And that goes for everyone. When Dominick Cruz lost to Urijah
Faber I think he learned a lot in that fight and he hasn’t lost since
then. I don’t regret that I lost and who knows what would have happened
if I won. If I won that fight would I have gone on to fight Scott
Jorgenson and than for a title, who knows?
I’m happy where I am now, and I’m sure me and Pickett will meet down the road, but right now all my focus is on Dominick Cruz.”
BJPENN.COM: What’s it like now moving from the WEC and getting ready for your third UFC fight?
D. Johnson: “Honestly I think it’s the same
thing. The WEC was owned by the UFC so I work with the same people
behind the scenes and I’m fighting the same guys I was fighting in the
WEC. It’s not much of a change from the WEC for the smaller guys. I
think for the lightweight guys it’s the biggest change because now
they’re fighting guys in the UFC. They have to cross paths with their
buddies, or as I call them, “co-workers”.
It’s nice because the UFC takes really good care of their
fighters, they do a real good job promoting shows, promoting their
fighters and overall it’s the premier organization in the world to be
fighting for. I don’t want to fight for anyone else but the UFC; I want
to fight for the UFC until I’m 38 years old. I love them, they do a good
job and they make interesting match-ups and I am real happy.”
BJPENN.COM: What are your thoughts on Faber vs. Bowles and do you think the winner should get the next crack at the title?
D. Johnson: “I think it’s a very interesting
fight. They were both champions and they both know how it feels to be a
champion and they know how to be relaxed in deep water. I think Bowles
has the power aspect, but he’s not a very good mover and Urijah Faber
has the speed factor and he has experience.
Urijah has fought the world’s best like Mike Brown, Dominick Cruz
and Jose Aldo, so it’s going to be an interesting fight and I think the
winner of that will get a title shot.
But who really knows, the UFC can do whatever they want. Here is
Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles stating to make a case that they deserve a
title shot. But with me, I’m not gonna sit here and make a case that I
deserve a title shot, I’m not gonna sit here and say that I beat him or I
finished him faster than him so give me the shot, that’s not my job.
My jobs to train and when it’s time for me to fight, don’t gas
out and put on a good show and do my best to get a “W” that’s all my job
is. I think it’s going to be an interesting fight to see who wins it
and to see if that winner is going to get a title shot.”
BJPENN.COM: Not looking past your opportunities at 135,
but the UFC has announced they will be adding a 125 pound weight class
soon and many look to you as a perfect candidate for that division.
Would you consider moving down when the time comes?
D. Johnson: “I’ve talked about it with my
coaches. I don’t even walk around at 140 pounds on average. The cut
wouldn’t be hard to get down there I don’t think, so who knows. I just
want to fight as much as possible, if I could fight at 125 and 135 that
would be my ultimate goal. I just want to fight as much as I can.
It’s definitely not a no and its definitely not a yes, I think me
walking around at 140 pounds and only having to cut 5 pounds is more
realistic for performing natural and good than someone cutting 15 pounds
and try to perform at 110% and still being able to compete. I just
wouldn’t call that natural, that’s why they have the regulation rules
with wrestling on how much you can diet down to and whatever.”
bjpenn.com | |
|
Chrom
Hall of Famer
Posts : 5966
Standard Cash : 23049
Reputation : 257
Join date : 2011-07-06
Age : 43
Location : Minnesota
| | Subject: Re: Mighty Mouse talks about title opportunity against Dominick Cruz at UFC on Versus 6 Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:58 pm | |
| Im looking forward to seeing if Mighty Mouse can actually keep up with Cruz's footwork. Both guys will undoubtedly be facing their fastest opponent to date... should make for an exciting fight. | |
|
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