Video: Lavar Johnson's plan at Bellator 116? Beat Blagoi Ivanov up

Lavar Johnson knows he’s got a tough row to hoe in front of him, but that isn’t making his confidence waver.

Johnson (18-8 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) on Friday meets Blagoi Ivanov (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) in the semifinals of Bellator MMA’s Season 10 heavyweight tournament. The fight takes place at Bellator 116 at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif., with a main card, including Johnson-Ivanov in the main event, on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Ivanov is an unbeaten Sambo champion from Bulgaria, but Johnson believes even though he’s the underdog, he can win his second straight after losing his Bellator debut this past October.

“He’s tough and aggressive, a Sambo champion with good throws,” Johnson told MMAjunkie. “That’s about it. I don’t see him being too much of a threat on the feet with his striking. He’s tough – he’s not going to quit. He’s never been defeated, and he always finds a way to win. But I think I’ve got this one, though.”

After being cut by the UFC after back-to-back losses, Johnson got a rude awakening at Bellator 102 when Vinicius Queiroz knocked him out in just 23 seconds. But he rebounded against Ryan Martinez in March in the tournament’s opening round.

Even though the fight started rough for him, he came back for a stoppage of his own.

“The first fight (in Bellator), I lost; it happens – I got knocked out,” he said. “That’s part of the game with the heavyweights. We all hit hard. We’re all here because we can fight. It just was my turn – he caught me in the right spot. Then I fought Ryan Martinez, and it didn’t turn out as we planned. He was able to take me down and hold me down, beat me up for a little bit. But then we got back to where we needed to be and got that victory.

“That’s where I want to keep this fight – keep it away from the clinch and pressure him and put him against the cage and beat him up.”

In the video above, hear Johnson talk about his fight against Ivanov, as well as entertaining the fans, the kind of fight that might be fun for him and getting nervous before a fight and his desire to become a champion.

Then don’t miss Johnson vs. Ivanov on Friday in Bellator 116's main event on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

For complete coverage of Bellator 116, check out the MMA Events section of the site.