Is Brett Johns the next bantamweight contender in the UFC?
- Alex
- Feb 10, 2018
- 3 min read
I've followed Brett Johns's career for a while now. I always take a second interest in the MMA fighters who have an undefeated record and the first time I've heard and paid attention to Brett Johns was in his Cage Warriors days where he was the promotion's Bantamweight champion.
I said then and there that he will soon be in the UFC and will be a force in the bantamweight division. It took a little bit longer than I expected since he went to Titan FC and won their bantamweight title as well with a 2nd round submission of former UFC fighter Walel Watson. A year and a half after that the call came and he was finally signed to the UFC.
When having their UFC debut, a lot of fighters hold back due to the nerves and pressure, especially if you are undefeated with some hype behind you but that was not the case with Brett Johns and has never been. He fought Kwan Ho Kwak in his debut and beat him on November 19, 2016, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was a good performance and an announcement for the division that he has arrived.
7 months later he was scheduled to fight Albert Morales, a fighter who was found on a TV show called Dana White looking for a fight, and he beat him by a decision in Glasgow, Scotland. Another good performance against a tough opponent got him another number on his undefeated record.
And then came the performance against Joe Soto 2 months ago in Las Vegas on The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale. Joe Soto was his toughest opponent so far, a man who has fought for the title and is a former Bellator champion with over 24 fights on his professional record. The fight lasted only 30 seconds and Brett won the fight with an insanely impressive calf slicer submission. It's something you don't see very often but when it happens you have to stand and applaud.
That was his first UFC fight in the USA and it was a night to remember, it even earned him a $50k performance of the night bonus.
Recently it has been announced that he is set to fight Aljamain Sterling April 21, 2018, in Atlantic City. This will be his first ranked opponent and the big chance he's been waiting for. Aljamain Sterling is a very skilled and extremely tough opponent who has beaten the likes of former UFC bantamweight king Renan Barao, Takeya Mizugaki, Johnny Eduardo and more. He is also ranked #7 in the official bantamweight rankings.
A win against a top 10 opponent immediately propels Brett into a top 10 and a chance to fight the best of the best later this year. That means that if he wins 2 or 3 more fights we could very well see Brett Johns in the top 5 of the division with a potential title shot or a title eliminator. That's extremely impressive considering that he joined the UFC roster only a year and a half ago.
I personally think he has the potential and the skill set of being one of the best in the division and he is only 25 years old which means that he's improving with every single fight. If his ascendancy to the top doesn't happen in this year it will surely happen in the next because he's a hard worker and a talented fighter. Plus he has the whole country of Wales behind him supporting him in his fights. That's not a bad thing to have!
April 21, 2018, in Atlantic City he will fight Aljamain Sterling and we will if the first phase of his rise to the top will be achieved. I am looking forward to seeing him fight again and hope that we can have a good scrap on our hands!
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