Johnny “Hollywood” Case wants blood.
When asked about his UFC Fight Night 59 bout against promotional debutant Frankie Perez (9-1) Sunday at Boston’s TD Garden, Case (19-4) can’t contain his excitement.
“I hope it gets wild, man,” Case told Bleacher Report. “I hope everybody’s good and drunk and wanting to see a good bloodbath. I really thrive on that kind of energy, just loud and in your face and screaming and yelling and chanting. There’s something about just landing that good punch and hearing the crowd go, ‘Ahh!’
“It’s a feeling unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, so I’m really looking forward to a rowdy crowd, and hopefully I can go out there and put on a show so they’ll be cheering for me.”
This mentality, this lust for violence, was evident in Case’s UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan.
Taking on Kazuki Tokudome (12-6), Case fell behind early in Round 1. His opponent utilized a wrestling-heavy attack and scored a takedown, and Case needed to reverse the momentum if he planned on leaving Japan a victor in his UFC debut.
He relaxed, refocused and seized the moment. He felt the crowd’s energy, and he unleashed his potential.
The result was vicious and quick.
Case rocked Tokudome with punches in Round 2 before sinking in a nasty guillotine choke against the Octagon wall. Tokudome never tapped out, a decision which cost him his consciousness.
“It was the best feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Case said. “I knew my skill set was there to perform, and I heard this old quote that kind of stuck with me. It’s like, ‘Never be afraid of the audience, because if they had the skills you had, you’d be in the audience watching them.’ I just kind of used it, used the energy for the better.”
Case arrived on the sport’s biggest stage. With the support of his Alliance MMA teammates and coaches, Case said he was able to stay calm under pressure and live in the moment. With guys such as Alliance head coach Eric Del Fierro and UFC featherweight Jeremy Stephens by his side, the enormity of the event could not overcome him.
This brotherhood and bond began long before Case’s UFC debut in September 2014.
After UFC lightweight Myles “Fury” Jury asked Case to come to San Diego to help him prepare for an upcoming fight against Diego Sanchez, Hollywood was introduced to the Alliance MMA squad. Stephens, an Iowa native who previously served as champion for the Midwest Cage Championship—just like Case—instantly became a close friend and security blanket.
“To tell you the truth, I think Jeremy Stephens is a big, motivational influence for me,” Case said. “He let me live at his house instead of staying at the gym with six other fighters and a cramped space, you know? It was nice. I was able to have a home to go relax and have my own private time. He just really took me under his wing.”
With Stephens’ support, Case transitioned smoothly into the Alliance MMA culture. He showed up, metaphorical work pail in hand, ready to do work and grind with some of the sport’s best.
The results molded him into the confident, well-rounded fighter who today speaks of bloodbaths with a chuckle. He knows a fight is coming to Boston, and he knows the fans will be in for a treat.
He knows this because he won’t allow anything less.
“I’ve never been so genuinely excited to just go in there and get in a fistfight, man,” Case said. “No-holds-barred, whatever happens, just let it all out. Win or lose, I really don’t even care, I’m just really looking forward to getting in a fight, especially in the UFC.”
With a win over Perez, Case says he already has his next opponent in mind, too. Ramsey Nijem, an unranked lightweight who is 5-4 under the UFC banner, agitated the Alliance MMA beehive recently, taking to Twitter to talk about Jury’s most recent defeat at the hands of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 182 on January 3.
This doesn’t sit well with Case. One cannot simply talk about a teammate and friend and walk away without consequence.
“There was recently a little bit of a b—h fit between that Ramsey Nijem, he was talking a bunch of s–t about my teammate Myles Jury, about how he looked like a punk when he fought (Donald) Cowboy (Cerrone) and all that,” Case said. “Well, Myles knocked him out with a counter-strike. Myles knocked out Ramsey going backwards.
“So if I win this fight, I’m probably going to have some words to say to him. I’m probably going to call him out and see if his ass can cash checks his mouth can’t write. … That’s really the only one I feel like I want to fight right now. That’s one I feel I’d be motivated to go in there and just kick his ass, just a good old-fashioned, schoolyard ass-whoopin.'”
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