As Thiago Tavares is the latest withdrawn fighter from the fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC on FOX 3, UFC officials announced today that Michael Johnson will replace Tavares in the lightweight bout.
Though it’s likely that Ferguson will be happy to finally settle into a fight with a sure opponent, things have only gotten more promising for the TUF winner since he made the card headlined by Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. Before Tavares suffered an injury, Ferguson was slated to fight Dennis Hallman who also withdrew due to injury.
Now Johnson will enter the ring with much more to prove than Ferguson, who is undefeated in his brief UFC career.
The TUF alumni have had nearly opposite experiences since beginning their respective UFC careers.
Since Johnson’s loss at TUF 12 in 2010, his performance has been unstable. His record in the UFC stands at 2-2, and that’s about the extent of consistency he’s displayed. Nevertheless, he is coming off of a win against Shane Roller in which Johnson repeatedly seemed close to defeat. His persistence paid off, however, and he picked up the needed win in a fight that proved we can’t count Johnson out yet.
Ferguson, on the other hand, defeated veteran fighter Yves Edwards in a thrilling bout that ended in a win by unanimous decision. That final decision has been oft-contested since, but there’s little denying Ferguson’s display of impressive tenacity and heavy blows that have remained his signature since he pummeled his way through TUF 13.
It’s probable that Johnson has continued developing well since his win over Roller, for his maturation as a fighter was one of the most exciting results of that fight. But considering what Ferguson learned in his fight against Edwards, especially about the weakness of his defense, there is a great expectation that Ferguson spent a good amount of time working on slipping and dodging.
Johnson is a good striker himself, but given that likelihood that Ferguson has developed some degree of dynamic defense to support his iron chin, the odds are highly in Ferguson’s favor to win this one.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com