Michael Johnson scored an upset win last night over Dustin Poirier, who was favored. It may have been case of Poirier going in overconfident, something discussed among the FS1 post-event panel. Was Poirier talking about first beating Johnson, then taking on division champ Eddie Alvarez next, a sign of overconfidence? Johnson thinks so.
“Whenever a fighter feels untouchable, it’s the biggest mistake he can make,” he said during a post-fight interview. “My back was against the wall. I had to fight my way off of it.”
He said Poirier’s pre-fight words demeaning him was motivating, and he feels vindicated with his performance. “He called me a nobody and he just got beat by a nobody, and beat badly,” he said.
That may account for Johnson’s unsportsmanlike profanity-laced outburst aimed at Poirier while he was being tended to by medics and the referee after the fight, which he promptly and seemingly sincerely apologized for.
Cervantes Analysis: Michael Johnson shocked everyone last night with his upset victory over Poirier. Having lost his last two fights, it was very much a possibility that the UFC would cut him had he lost and it was impressive that he was able to maintain his composure in a high-pressure situation like that. Johnson just halted the momentum of a fighter who was on a four-fight win streak and was on the cusp of earning a title shot, putting Johnson back on the fast-track for big-name fights against the top contenders of the division.
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