Preview: Johnson vs. Mullarkey
The Magnus MMA export will lock horns with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 finalist Michael Johnson in a three-round UFC on ESPN 39 lightweight showcase this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Mullarkey has rattled off six wins across his past nine outings. However, he finds himself on the rebound following a technical knockout loss to Jalin Turner at UFC 272 on March 5. Johnson, meanwhile, enters his 26th appearance inside the Octagon having lost four of his past five bouts. He last competed at UFC on ESPN 36, where he blew up Alan Patrick with punches in the second round of their May 14 pairing and recorded his first victory in more than three years.
As Mullarkey and Johnson make final preparations ahead of their forthcoming battle at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
27: Years of age for Mullarkey, who was born on Aug. 17, 1994 in Central Coast, Australia.
10: Mullarkey victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 71% of his career total (14). His list of UFC victims: Devonte Smith and Khama Worthy. Mullarkey holds three other victories by submission—all via rear-naked choke—and one more by decision.
100,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Mullarkey across his five appearances in the UFC. He has been awarded “Fight of the Night” one on occasion and “Performance of the Night” on another.
6: Organizations in which Mullarkey has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 8-1 in Brace For War, 2-3 in the UFC, 2-0 in Superfight MMA, 1-0 in Roshambo MMA, 1-0 in Urban Fight Night and 0-1 in the Australian Fighting Championship.
.731: Cumulative winning percentage between the five opponents—Turner, Fares Ziam, Brad Riddell, Luke Catubig and Alexander Volkanovski—who have defeated Mullarkey. They sport a combined record of 68-24-1.
36: Years of age for Johnson, who was born in St. Louis on June 4, 1986.
9: Johnson wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 45% of his career total (20). His list of UFC victims: Patrick, Dustin Poirier, Gleison Tibau, Danny Castillo and Edward Faaloloto. Johnson owns two other wins by submission and nine more by decision.
43: Seconds needed for Johnson to put away Aaron Derrow with punches at Xtreme Cage Fighter 10 on Oct. 3, 2009. Having occurred 12-plus years ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.
15: Consecutive calendar years in which Johnson has fought at least once. In addition to his 1-0 mark in 2022, he went 4-2 in 2008, 3-2 in 2009, 1-1 in 2010, 1-1 in 2011, 3-1 in 2012, 2-1 in 2013, 1-0 in 2014, 1-2 in 2015, 1-1 in 2016, 0-1 in 2017, 2-1 in 2018, 0-2 in 2019, 0-1 in 2020 and 0-1 in 2021.
370: Combined victories between the 17 opponents—Clay Guida, Thiago Moises, Steven Ray, Josh Emmett, Darren Elkins, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz, Beneil Dariush, Reza Madadi, Myles Jury, Paul Sass, Jonathan Brookins, Eric Marriott, Joe Brammer, James Krause and Ted Worthington—who have beaten Johnson. The boast a .681 cumulative winning percentage (370-171-2).