Between UFC paydays and music aspirations, Kajan Johnson might need a day job

Kajan Johnson has had plenty of good things happen during his three-fight UFC run, including a pair of wins in his most recent bouts and a “Fight of the Night” bonus in his losing UFC debut. Still, he said he’s a few months away from having to get a day job to be able to afford to eat.

Johnson (21-11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) recently released a music video for his song “Find A Way” (via YouTube):

Don’t get it confused, though. He said a $50,000 bonus and three trips to the octagon didn’t pay for the video. Especially when he was forced to stay out of the octagon for almost a year after his June 2014 UFC debut.

“I wish,” Johnson said of his bonus during a recent appearance on MMAjunkie Radio. “That got spent on the year I had to take off. If you only fight once a year – yeah, OK, I made $50,000 that night, or $70,000 including my purse. But it’s not like I’m able to sustain my life for a three-year period with that.

“I put together that music video off of a little bit of money I had stacked up. Now I’m going into surgery. Really, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to eat without going out and getting a ‘Regular Joe’ job in about four months from now. But I don’t care. I’m still putting that money in the studio. I’m still finding a way.”

Johnson is looking at a four- to six-month recovery period once again. This time, he was forced to go under the knife after suffering a torn labrum.

Despite the struggles he could face in the coming months, Johnson plans to continue to focus on both fighting and music. His personal story is one he feels needs to be told, even if he can’t get UFC backing to help promote his tracks.

“I have a pretty dope story to tell,” Johnson said. “My life is oftentimes like a movie, and that needs to be told. If I was in the spotlight where the UFC was ready to put their hype machine behind me, I wouldn’t have to do all this stuff. But I’m not in that place. I’m not that privileged yet. So I have to do it myself from the ground up.”

A single expletive was enough to keep Johnson from even bothering to try to get the UFC to help promote “Find A Way” through their myriad social media channels.

“I tweeted it to (UFC President Dana White), just because I said his name and I thought he should know,” Johnson said. “But I’ve said some stuff to them in the past, and if there’s any swearing in it or any foul language whatsoever, they can’t put it out. And I think I said (a curse word) in it, so I didn’t bother putting it out to UFC. But I’m sure they’ve seen it. I put it everywhere, so I’m sure they’ve seen it.”

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

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.