Tim Johnson was as surprised as everyone else when he found out he would be Fedor Emelianenko’s opponent at Bellator Moscow.
Johnson (15-7 MMA, 3-3 BMMA), who is coming off an interim title-fight loss to Emelianenko’s (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) pupil Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 261 in June, has seen the negative reaction to the announcement he will be fighting the legendary former PRIDE heavyweight champion on Oct. 23 in Russia, but wants everyone to realize he’s at not fault.
Although it was certainly a fight he was hoping to be considered for, Johnson didn’t think he would actually be the man sharing the cage with Emelianenko. He was pleased to get the news, but the MMA community wasn’t quite as happy, as backlash poured in online from fans and media.
The expectation was Emelianenko would face another legend of the fight game. A Fabricio Werdum rematch was discussed, as was pairings with the likes of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett or Junior Dos Santos. The fight ended up going to Johnson, and he wants to remind the world that it was Emelianenko who made the majority of the call alongside the Bellator brass.
“I honestly didn’t even think I was going to be in the neighborhood of getting it initially,” Johnson told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I heard the same names everyone else did. … Since the announcement there’s been a lot of people – it’s been not received with open arms, I guess you could say. Well, here it is: Fedor watched me fight for 25 minutes up close and personal (against Moldavsky), the same list everyone was talking about Fedor has in front of him. He had a say in the matchmaking.
“It’s either one of two routes: He picked me because he thinks he can knock me out right away. I don’t want to think that way. I think he picked me because Fedor’s a warrior. He has a warrior mentality. … I’ll bring the fight to him. He’s not going to get a guy who is going in there to just have a name to fight Fedor. He knows he’s going to have a fight.”
Regardless of the outside noise, Johnson is grateful and excited to get the opportunity to fight Emelianenko, who many consider to be the greatest heavyweight in MMA history. He knows what this type of fight can mean to his career, and Johnson said he’s already battling himself mentally.
On one hand, Johnson hates the fact he could send Emelianenko into retirement on his home soil, and in potentially devastating fashion. On the other hand, he knows what this win could mean for his resume.
“It’s tough to wrap your head around,” Johnson said. “It’s almost a mental block of, ‘Man, should I go 100 percent? If I beat him everyone is going to be mad at me because they want him to go out with a W.’ But that’s a very quiet voice. I want to go slay the dragon and be known as the last guy to beat him.”
Johnson knows it would be foolish to bring anything but his best into the cage at Bellator Moscow. Even at 44, he said Emelianenko still packs the speed and power to turn it into a very bad night for him.
Because of that, Johnson said he needs to take this fight 100 percent serious, and he will do exactly that.
“This is a status fight,” Johnson said. “Fedor, it’s his last fight – or possible his last fight – I don’t know if it’s confirmed to be his last one. But to be attached to him on his last fight, or maybe his last fight, any heavyweight would take this. I don’t care who it is.
“He’s going to put every ounce of will and everything he has in in his power to win this fight. This is going to be Fedor of 10 years ago. Not Fedor of the last year or two years. He’s going to be retro Fedor. That’s the fight I’m preparing for.”
Tim Johnson defends spot as Fedor Emelianenko’s Bellator Moscow opponent: ‘He picked me’
