Athletes
Miles Johns Wants To Express Himself
A Week Before His 30th Birthday, Miles Johns Hopes To Pick Up His Fifth Official Win In The Octagon At UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
Miles Johns made it just under the wire. Hoping to get in one more fight before he turns 30 years old next week, “Chapo” was hopeful, but not counting on the possibility that the phone would ring with a fight offer.
Then Davey Grant got injured and pulled out of his Saturday bout with Cody Gibson. Johns was going to get in the last fight of his 20s at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
“I was starting to lose hope and then this call came,” said Johns. “So it's pretty awesome.”
It was the good news Johns needed after a 2023 campaign in which he only fought once, with that fight against Dan Argueta going from a unanimous decision win to a no contest after the Kansas native failed a post-fight drug test. The failure led to a suspension that ended in February and plenty of questions that Johns had to answer to those around him, especially considering that the failure came from a tainted supplement at such a low level that commission rules were changed as a result.
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
“It's crazy, man,” said Johns. “The UFC had already changed the rules, but the Nevada commission hadn't changed the rules yet, and I was the straw that broke the camel's back and they did change the rule now. So, according to the rule now, my test wouldn't even have been an abnormal finding for the Nevada Commission. I'm happy that the rule got changed for future fighters.”
As for the outside perception of the suspension, Johns knows that’s part of the game.
Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
/
“For the most part, it is kind of like you win, you keep going up,” he said. “You could take a loss and then bounce back with a couple wins in that. But I was having to explain this to people like cousins, and things like that. But even the people that I know from the grocery store that see me in there with my boys and have known me for years and know me as a father and family man who also fights, if they see something like that, I have to explain it to them.”
Johns has had a few months to explain it all. Now he can focus on his fighting career inside the Octagon, and he couldn’t be more excited. As for 2023, it wasn’t as negative as you would assume it was.
Main Event Spotlight: UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
“For me, 2023 was still a solid year,” he said. “The worst thing was dislocating my shoulder and tearing my pec two days before the fight with Raoni (Barcelos) and having to pull out of that. That was tough, but there was still a lot of growth in 2023, I got settled in, I had that fight with Dan, and I felt like that was a good fight for me. I saw that there's lots that I can improve on and I'm excited. I'm always excited to see things that I can improve on and do better.”
Now that’s some Midwest optimism.
Johns laughs. And agrees.
“That's just me. It's always been me and I know when I'm working like that, good things happen. I've done that for my whole life. So yeah, I guess it's a Midwest thing.”
Fighters on the Rise | UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas
Now Johns has packed his bags with his Midwest optimism and work ethic and made his way to Las Vegas for a fight with Gibson. And though short notice isn’t ideal, for Johns, it isn’t an issue.
“I feel like I'm built for three-week-notice fights because I stay in shape,” he said. “It takes me about a week of being dialed in and focused to feel like I ‘ve turned the corner and have the cardio for three five-minute rounds. Because if you think about it, I'm doing that. I'm doing way more than three, five-minute rounds every single day. And I stay in shape, and I eat good. So about a week of being locked in and I'm good to go. Then I just got to drop the weight. So yeah, it's really no problem.”
On Friday, Johns weighed in at 136 pounds. On Saturday, he gets into a fistfight. And there’s nothing he’d rather be doing.
“I don't know exactly what it is about fighting, but I know that I've been a fighter for as long as I can remember,” he said. “This is just who I am, I understand that about myself and I know that, that this is what I'm meant to be doing with my life. So, for me, when I'm in there, I'm just trying to express the best version of myself.”
UFC Fight Night: Ribas vs Namajunas took place on March 23, 2024 live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
Tags
