UFC
Michael Johnson wants fight with Nate Diaz after UFC 168 KO win over Gleison Tibau
Jan 2, 2014 - 11:40:46 AM Michael Johnson wants fight with Nate Diaz after UFC 168 KO win over Gleison Tibau

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Ultimate Fighter season 12 runner-up Michael Johnson has shown flashes of excellence during his tenure in the UFC, but his most recent win may have been his break out performance.

Johnson knocked out Gleison Tibau last weekend at UFC 168, becoming the first fighter to stop Tibau by strikes since Nick Diaz did so at UFC 65 in 2006. It was a highly impressive victory, and Johnson's now trying to turn that win into something even bigger.

Trying to get on a serious streak here everyone retweet if u would like to see me fight @NateDiaz209 @danawhite id love this match up!!

— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) January 2, 2014

The younger Diaz fought for the UFC Lightweight Title in December of 2012, but lost to Benson Henderson by decision. He was then stopped by Josh Thomson in April of last year, but bounced back himself in a big way when he took out Gray Maynard in November.

A Johnson-Diaz matchup would provide for a legitimate challenge for each of them, and for Johnson especially, a win over someone of Diaz's caliber could help him break through the wall he's hit several times in the Octagon.

Penick's Analysis: This would be a really good fight, but I'm not sure Diaz is going to be up for the matchup. He believes he's amongst the elite, and wants to get fights with top contenders to work back to another title shot. I don't believe that's on the docket for him, but he might stubbornly hold out for a bigger name opponent than Johnson. Still, it's hard to argue Johnson doesn't deserve a shot against someone like Diaz at this point, so it's a matter of what the UFC would like to do on that front.