Garrett Armfield expects to ‘pick Chris Johnson apart’ at Shamrock FC 327

Looking back on his year in 2019, bantamweight Garrett Armfield might not have been as active as he would have wanted, but nonetheless sees the positives that came out of it.

When it comes to his growth, Armfield feels that 2019 was one of the more essential years in terms of his development in five combined years as an amateur and pro.

“This year was a growing year for me, to be honest,” Armfield told MMAWeekly.com. “My first fight I got injured a couple weeks out, and then the next fight I took was actually my first loss, so I kind of had to backtrack things for me to overcome right at the beginning of 2019. But to be honest, I think that was crucial for me to learn from.”

Key among the things that have helped him grow the most was a move from Missouri to Florida to begin training there.

“Around June of 2019, I moved down to South Florida to train at Hard Knocks 365 and Stafford MMA, and that’s when I really started learning,” said Armfield. “I was able to get a good win in September. The entire year has been about learning about myself as a fighter and myself as a person.

“Before I moved down here, I would say I wasn’t a completely well-rounded fighter that could combine all (the disciplines) around. I went from being a kickboxer with wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to being a mixed martial artist.”

On Saturday, in St. Louis, Mo., Armfield (3-1) will look to kick off his 2020 on a high note when he faces Chris Johnson (8-11) in a main card 135-pound bout at Shamrock FC 327.

---

TRENDING > Cowboy Cerrone will be healthy, happy and ready to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 246

---

“He’s an experienced fighter who has fought a lot of tough competition,” Armfield said of Johnson. “He’s got good striking and is a good wrestler; again, I’m ready to face his striking combinations and I’m ready to defend the takedown.

“How I’m going to be able to come out with the victory in this fight is to be able to control the pace and show that my cardio is better than his. As the rounds go on, I’m going to be able to pick him apart and come out with a victory.”

For Armfield, the goal for 2020 is to navigate the year as deliberately as possible and make sure he does the right things to advance his career.

“I’ve always been a planner in every aspect of my life – and of course I have a dream plan in my head – but for right now it’s just fight to fight,” said Armfield.

“With my manager, we can just plan out each fight. For each fight that comes and goes, you can see what your weaknesses are and what your strengths are, and try to match-up according to that, and see where you need to get to get to compete with the next level fights.”