UFC lightweight veteran Michael Johnson showed he has plenty left in the tank in Tampa this past weekend, so much so that he's targeting names toward the top of the division.
Johnson was among the biggest winners to emerge victorious from Saturday's year-ending UFC Fight Night at Amalie Arena.
On a night that included a host of knockouts, not many came more brutal than "The Menace's" victory over Ottman Azaitar, who was rendered unconscious before eating some vicious follow-up shots on the ground.
The result has put Johnson back onto a win streak on MMA's biggest stage, and despite nearing the 40 mark, he doesn't plan on leaving life as an active fighter for a long time.
During his post-fight press conference backstage at Amalie Arena, Johnson reflected on his successful performance and looked ahead to his future.
On the topic of retirement, the 42-fight MMA veteran outlined a lengthy timeline for the remainder of his career.
Five years (more, I want to fight)," Johnson said. "I always tell people I want to do eight to 10 more years and they look at me with this face. I’m not slowing down any time soon. As long as my body’s healthy and I can get through what I need to get through, I’m going to fight for as long as I can.
I think Nate Diaz said it the best, and he’s turned into a good friend. He was an opponent of mine. We always keep in touch, but he made a comment that said, ‘Sh*t, I’ll fight till I’m 50. Just getting started.’ So that’s what it is. I’m just getting started," Johnson continued. "This might be my peak. A lot of people peak at 25, 30 (years old). I might be one peaking at 38, 40.
With that in mind, Johnson looks set to have plenty of time to tick off some of his remaining ambitions. And when it comes to advancing his late-career title aspirations and exacting revenge for a past result, "The Menace" has a perfect next opponent in mind.
The Justin Gaethje fight – that’s the one that I want," Johnson explained. "I think everybody would love a Gaethje-Johnson (rematch). I gave him that opportunity when he came over (from WSOF), when nobody else wanted to. So, I think he should go ahead and give that back. We need to run one ’cause I know he knows he got away with that one.
Johnson welcomed Gaethje to the UFC back in 2017, a bout that came after the 38-year-old had battled Beneil Dariush, Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov in consecutive assignments. The promotional newcomer got his hand raised after finding the knockout late in round two of a fight that was widely seen as the year's best.
Whether Gaethje and the UFC will reciprocate the interest in a rematch remains to be seen. "The Highlight" hasn't competed since suffering a vicious last-second knockout at the hands of Max Holloway at UFC 300 this past April.
Regardless, be it the former interim champion or perhaps another name inside the top 15, it would appear that Johnson has earned the chance to climb back up the ladder in 2025 following a perfect 2-0 run this year.