Michael Johnson saw his spot in the UFC-St. Louis lineup ... and was pissed

The UFC never has set up shop in St. Louis before, so Michael Johnson, who was born there, no doubt was excited to know he’d have a spot on the card.

But that excitement recently turned to a little bit of frustration – OK, maybe a lot of frustration – when the promotion finalized the lineup for UFC Fight Night 124 and Johnson (17-12 MMA, 9-8 UFC) saw his featherweight fight against Darren Elkins (23-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) isn’t on the main card.

“????????what a joke!” Johnson posted on Twitter. “I don’t know even know who the other half of the main event is???????????????????????????? and a senior citizen as the co-main? Yea ok. Yea makes perfect sense. Coming off FOTY????. Nice main card! In my hometown #therealmainevent”

UFC Fight Night 124 takes place Jan. 14, next Sunday, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The main card airs live on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Johnson and Elkins close out the prelims in the featured bout on FS1. And normally, that’s a pretty decent place to be. But Johnson thinks he ought to be on the main card. His reasons: He’s coming off a “Fight of the Year” against Justin Gaethje, a bout he lost by second-round TKO this past July. He doesn’t know who Dooho Choi is. Vitor Belfort is old. And, duh, Johnson is from St. Louis.

Jeremy Stephens (26-14 MMA, 13-13 UFC) headlines his third UFC card when he takes on South Korea’s Choi (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the main event. In the co-feature, former UFC champ Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) meets Uriah Hall (13-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC).

Johnson may have that “Fight of the Year” on his resume from the TUF 25 Finale against Gaethje. And he also has bonuses in three of his past four fights. But he’s also 1-4 in his past five – a stunning knockout of Dustin Poirier in the UFC Fight Night 94 is his lone win since a four-fight streak between 2013-2015.

He’s also fighting an opponent in Elkins who has won five straight, and at UFC 209 10 months ago pulled off the “Comeback of the Year” with a bonus-winning knockout of Mirsad Bektic.

So what’s your take? If Johnson got his way, and he and Elkins were on the main card, what is the fight that should take a backseat for them? Give your pick in the poll below.

The full UFC Fight Night 124 card includes:

MAIN CARD (FS1, 10 p.m. ET)

• Jeremy Stephens vs. Dooho Choi
• Vitor Belfort vs. Uriah Hall
• Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Paige VanZant
• Emil Meek vs. Kamaru Usman

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Darren Elkins vs. Michael Johnson
• James Krause vs. Alex White
• Matt Frevola vs. Marco Polo Reyes
• Thiago Alves vs. Zak Cummings

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)

• Jessica Eye vs. Kalindra Faria
• Irene Aldana vs. Talita Bernardo
• J.J. Aldrich vs. Danielle Taylor
• Mads Burnell vs. Mike Santiago
• Kyung Ho Kang vs. Guido Cannetti

For more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.