Though he’s been a pro for nearly two years, middleweight up-and-comer Taylor Johnson has only managed to get in two fights so far in his MMA career.
Admittedly the lack of opportunity has been disappointing to Johnson; he’s willing to suffer through bouts of it as long as he can keep moving his career forward.
“As far as training goes, everything has been great,” Johnson told MMAWeekly.com. “My record has been great as well. With my wrestling background and a couple wins, I’ve had a hard time getting fights, especially here in California. I hoping this (upcoming) one goes through.
“It is discouraging, but I’m looking at the big picture. So however long it’s going to take (to get a fight) I know I’m willing to put up with whatever to get to the next level.”
While he hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to fight, Johnson does feel like he’s already learned some valuable lessons early on.
“In my first fight, I came out kind of laid back and wasn’t trying to exhaust myself,” said Johnson. I came out kind of easy and mellow, but I was able to get the knockout finish.
“As fights go on, I realize if you come out and just put it on in the first minute, a lot of guys can’t handle that. You need to be ready to swing and fight the second you go out and touch gloves.”
Johnson (2-0) will look to keep his undefeated start going when he takes on Corey Turner (1-1) in a main card 185-pound bout at LFA 36 this Friday in Cabazon, Calif.
“(Turner’s) professional win has come by submission, but I come from a Jiu-Jitsu school and train a lot with Dean Lister and Jocko Willink, and Jeff Glover was one of my Jiu-Jitsu coaches, so I’m not worried there,” Johnson said.
“My wrestling is pretty good; I was a national champ in college, so I don’t get taken down much. So he’s going to have to stand and see how these heavy hands work out.”
Like all prospects, Johnson’s eye is set on the top tier of MMA, but in order to get there he has to pick up wins and perhaps even a championship in the coming year.
“I know I’ve put in a lot of hard work,” said Johnson. “I have great training partners. We’ve got a pretty good system working. I think the LFA recognizes that. They’ve been working hard to get me fights. It’s what I expect with the work ethic I put into this sport – this is my life.
“It’s about two years that I’ve been training pretty hard, and I’ve only had like one pro fight (since 2016), so I’m hoping if I can get one more fight for the LFA, I can maybe fight for their title, that would be great.”
