Sherdog’s Top 10: Biggest Underachievers

4. Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson is as mercurial a talent as MMA has ever seen. On paper, he should be an all-time great. He is an excellent wrestler, has fluid, agile movement, and outstanding striking, including gorgeous combinations, fast hands, a deadly left cross with knockout power, and an awesome right hook. Yet, other than a few brief flashes, like his 95-second knockout of Dustin Poirier, the first round against Justin Gaethje, a decisive decision triumph over a prime Edson Barboza in 2015, or a clear win over a great Tony Ferguson in 2012, we don't see this. Instead, we observe Johnson miserably losing fight after fight, most against opponents who have no business even sharing the cage with him. There appear to be two problems with Michael Johnson. Firstly, he doesn't train hard or evolve his game. Time and again, he makes the same mistakes and shows the same weakness. There is no reason why Johnson can't be at least decent off his back, and yet, he is downright poor there. Secondly and more importantly, Johnson has difficulty staying focused for the whole duration of a fight. He will look good for a while, sometimes even easily dominating his foe, but then, he becomes complacent, or completely loses his concentration, and out of nowhere is losing the fight, or is caught with a knockout punch or submission. It's a brutal cycle to watch, as it keeps happening again and again in Johnson's 18 losses. Yet that's why raw physical skills aren't everything. If anyone doubts the extreme importance of the mental side of fighting, just show them Johnson's career.

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