UFC News & FeaturesFlyweights
Ramazonbek Temirov (18-3, 1-0 UFC) vs. Charles Johnson (17-6, 6-4 UFC)ODDS: Temirov (-115), Johnson (-105)
His UFC career figures to continue on with plenty of highs and lows, but it’s nice to see Johnson in action once again. Johnson signed with the UFC in 2022 after a highly successful regional career, but “InnerG” was a classic type of fighter who might struggle with the transition from regional champion to UFC undercard fighter. Johnson is an obvious standout athlete owing to a high-level track background, but he has typically fought like his fights are more marathons than sprints. Johnson takes his time, gets his reads and often only starts to heat up by the later rounds. Indeed, Johnson’s UFC career only got going in fits and starts, and he ended 2023 on a three-fight losing streak. However, 2024 was a breakout year for Johnson, who seems to have finally learned to pick up the pace just a bit and been all the better for it. His constant willingness to step in on late notice resulted in him squeezing in four fights in about eight and a half months, and Johnson swept them all, with a late knockout of top prospect Joshua Van standing out at the best result of the bunch. Johnson is probably unlikely to make a march towards title contention. Beyond the fact that his issues with pace figure to still hurt him at an elite level, his willingness to fight whoever whenever will inevitably lead him into some tough matchups that have much more potential risk than reward. Speaking of which, this pairing against Uzbekistan’s Temirov certainly fits that bill. Temirov was certainly someone to watch ahead of his UFC debut against C.J. Vergara in past October, but the result—a knockout win within three minutes—was a best-case scenario for “Temurlan.” It showed off Temirov’s main strength—when he springs into action, he hits like a truck—without any of the issues that might eventually cost him against better competition. Temirov can be overly choosy in picking his spots and wildly inefficient when he hunts for the finish, resulting in some questionable cardio when the quick knockout is unavailable. Johnson has shown elite durability, so a finish is unlikely, but there’s a decent chance that Temirov is able to hit hard enough in two out of three rounds to walk away with a decision. With that said, the lean is that Johnson can do his usual thing of overcoming a slow start to get a win over the finish line. The pick is Johnson via decision.
Jump To »
Ramos vs. Mariscal
Castaneda vs. Silva de Andrade
Aldrich vs. Lee
Silva vs. Almeida
Carolina vs. De La Rosa
Temirov vs. Johnson
More
