NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson says he stays up 'way too late' watching UFC events

Jimmie Johnson is a Sunday-afternoon legend – one with a passion that often keeps him up late on Saturday nights.

Johnson, a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is a big MMA fan, and during a recent sit-down with USA TODAY Sports, he said his fandom doesn’t always translate well to his current work schedule.

“It’s compelling television,” Johnson, 41, said. “I can’t help but watch it. And I’m telling you, I’ve watched just about every pay-per-view fight this year and stay up way too late on a Saturday night before a Sunday Cup race watching.”

It’s not clear if Johnson caught a live broadcast of Saturday’s UFC 204 event in England. After all, about 11 hours after UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) narrowly defeated Dan Henderson (32-15 MMA, 9-9 UFC) and avenged a 2009 defeat, Johnson took the green flag at the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The No. 48 ultimately won Sunday’s race – Johnson’s 78th career Sprint Cup victory – and was the first driver to advance to the Round of 8 in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup, which is NASCAR’s year-end championship system.

Johnson said he likes the sporting aspect of MMA and does’t necessarily get caught up in the trash-talk (though he makes an exception for one famous Irishman). It’s one reason he liked the two-fight series between ex-champs Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks.

“There wasn’t trash-talking, and it was still a huge pay-per-view and and still a great fight – still all those things,” he said. “But obviously, anything Conor McGregor is doing – especially with he and Diaz (and their second fight) – there’s plenty of trash-talking, but you see the respect at the end. I really do appreciate the respect part.”

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