After getting robbed by judges, Michael Johnson wants a UFC fight – right now

Michael Johnson

After falling short in one of the most controversial decisions of the year, UFC lightweight Michael Johnson isn’t necessarily in need of a rematch with opponent Beneil Dariush. But he does want to fight again right away.

“I can’t get the fight back,” Johnson recently told “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan.” “I don’t know if they’ll turn it into a win. That’s not a huge concern of mine. A big concern of mine right now is moving forward – hoping I get a big fight and can redeem myself and get right back on the same page.”

Johnson (16-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Dariush (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) met in the co-feature of UFC Fight Night 73 on Aug. 8. While Johnson appeared to do enough to bank the first two rounds of the FOX Sports 1-televised fight, if not all three, Dariush was handed a split-decision win.

It was a shocking result for Johnson – after all, every media outlet tracked by MMADecisions.com scored it for him – but one that he knew was going to happen moments before UFC emcee Bruce Buffer read the official result.

“I’m pretty aware of everything when I’m in the cage,” Johnson said as he recalled the moments between the end of the fight and the official announcement. “I was looking at Bruce Buffer’s face, and I was looking at Herb Dean, and they were reading the cards, and their facial expressions just said it all to me because obviously everybody thought I won the fight, and I could see it in their face. I think Bruce Buffer was a little confused at what he was reading on the card. I think that he double-checked with the judges. … I don’t know if people could hear me, but I was like, ‘Wow. They gave it to him. They gave him a split decision.’

“I was extremely upset about it, but I definitely saw it before it happened. Then I was like, ‘Maybe I’m reading it wrong. Maybe they’ll give it to me, anyway.’ Then they said his name, and after that, (Dariush) was more surprised than I was. You can see his face in every picture when he’s getting his hand raised.”

Johnson was irate as he left the cage, though he pulled himself together before the post-event press conference at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Johnson said he wasn’t any more satisfied with the call but simply realized it did him no good to complain.

“You do have to be professional,” Johnson said. “You can’t go out there and look like a fool and bash the promotion or keep bashing the judges. Everybody knew what happened. I wasn’t going to help the situation by going out there and popping off and acting like an immature little kid.

“It is what it is, so I’ve just got to get back to work and make sure that never happens again.”

Johnson, who now sits at No. 12 in the latest NOS Energy Drink MMA lightweight rankings, hopes the UFC will still give him a top-10 opponent in his next outing. A slot alongside one of his Blackzilian teammates, such as Anthony Johnson at UFC 191 or Rashid Evans at UFC 192, is also favorable, though Johnson said he’ll take any fight the UFC offers right now.

“All my plans just got set back because of judges that don’t have knowledge of the sport,” Johnson said. “We should feel comfortable in knowing these judges will get it right. Nothing went on with these judges lives. My life just took a 180, and I just lost my four-winning streak. I just lost a little bit of momentum, and now I’ve got to play a little bit of catch-up and hope the UFC makes the right decision.

“I’d fight next week if I need to. Remember, I only got half of my money that I was supposed to. That’s a big concern, as well, for me right now. I’m still in shape. I can turn around and fight next week. I just need to fight and get back in there and show people that I’m a threat in this division, and I shouldn’t be getting robbed like that.”

To hear more from Johnson, download Episode No. 20 of “The MMA Road Show with John Morgan.”

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 73, check out the UFC Events section of the site.