Michael Johnson is preparing to make his featherweight division debut this weekend against Darren Elkins at UFC Fight Night St. Louis.
It is just a hours until the official weigh-ins and the former lightweight admits that he has had nightmares about making 145 pounds.
”I have nightmares about it every night. You have no idea,” Johnson said to ESPN. “My first fight at 155 [pounds], I got stuck trying to lose the last three pounds. I couldn’t get them off. That’s what I keep having flashbacks of when thinking about getting down to 145. What if I get stuck?”
Johnson has never competed as a featherweight in MMA, but did compete somewhat close to that weight class as an amateur wrestler.
The future featherweight expects to rise up the featherweight ranks quicker than he did at lightweight.
”I’ve spent my time, paid my dues in the lightweight division,” he said. “I’m not looking to work my way up [slowly]. I want to come in here and beat [Elkins] who is on a nice win streak, make a statement, and then get in there on a No. 1 contender fight.”
UFC Fight Night St. Louis takes place on Sunday, January 14 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri with Dooho Choi and Jeremy Stephens headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
