After losing to Nate Diaz, Michael Johnson wants 'anybody No. 1 through 16'

UFC lightweight Michael Johnson is ready to get back on the horse after closing out his 2015 campaign with back-to-back losses.

After suffering an extremely controversial split decision loss to Beneil Dariush in August, Johnson (16-10 MMA, 8-6 UFC) started strong in a December contest with Nate Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) at UFC on FOX 17. He won the first round, but then Diaz began to turn the tide by landing strikes and taunting “The Menace” en route to a unanimous decision win.

Prior to the rough encounters with Dariush and Diaz, “The Ultimate Fighter 11” runner-up had won four consecutive contests while building momentum toward a championship fight. He’s no longer in that position, but Johnson said he’s ready to rebuild.

“It was a rough end of the year for me last year for sure, but it makes for a better story for this year coming up,” Johnson told MMAjunkie Radio. “I take my losses very well and I get back to work. I still think about it all day and I still replay it in my head. Especially in this fight I felt like I almost had it and I let it slip through my fingers. I lost that focus. It sticks around a little bit until I get deep into my next training camp.”

Johnson said he didn’t have much trouble getting over the Dariush loss because the general consensus was that he won the fight. MMAjunkie event named the UFC Fight Night 73 contest as its “Robbery of the Year” for 2015, so Johnson felt somewhat vindicated for the controversial outcome.

The Diaz fight, however, was much more frustrating for Johnson. The 29-year-old felt he did very well to start the fight, but then Diaz managed to throw him off his game due to his classic in-fight trash talk, he said.

“That fight, I was having fun in the first round, then he sucked me in with his (expletive)-talking and I lost focus a little bit and went away from the gameplan,” Johnson said. “I was headhunting. I still thought it was a pretty close fight. I thought I had it, but that’s my eyes.”

Regardless of how anyone perceived his past two bouts, the fact remains Johnson is on a two-fight losing skid. He wants to wash away that memory as soon as possible, he said, and a fight against anyone ranked near the top of the 155-pound division would be fitting.

The UFC’s next event, UFC Fight Night 81, takes place on Sunday at Boston’s TD Garden and features a co-main event between ex-lightweight champ Anthony Pettis (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and fellow contender Eddie Alvarez (26-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC). That matchup could provide a potential opponent for Johnson, he said, but he said he’s really only interested in a bout with Pettis.

“Alvarez and Pettis, the loser of that fight (could be an opponent), but at the same time me and Eddie, we’re not looking to cross paths anytime soon as teammates,” Johnson said. “He’s like a brother to me. At this point, we’re helping each other and motivating each other. Anybody else on my radar, at this point anybody No. 1 through 16 works. The important thing for me is to get a fight, get a win and work on the little things in my game and just stay focused.”

Johnson said he’s not the type that’s particularly picky about his opponents but thinks a bout against a ranked foe is a fair request. He would like that to happen as soon as April, but Johnson said he’ll be ready to jump on any opportunity the UFC provides.

“I want to get back in there; I’m thinking early April,” Johnson said. “I’m right back in the gym now and I’m working on the things I really need to work on to win that title. Whoever is available to fight that makes sense, I’ll take the fight.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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