Jose Johnson Feels Reborn

First, he was forced out of a November 2022 bout with Vince Morales due to illness, then a February fight with Garrett Armfield when he didn’t pass his vision test. Now forced to get surgery on his eyes to be able to resume his career, Johnson got cut from the promotion in the meantime, throwing everything into a blender.

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“I'm like, dude, this is terrible,” he recalls. “What the heck is going on? Is this supposed to be my life? Is this supposed to be my path?” 

Johnson’s fiancée Trina kept him focused and strong, though, making sure he made it to his seemingly endless eye doctor appointments.  

“It kept me very grounded,” Johnson said. “It kept me motivated to continue to get better, because there was times where I was like, I don't feel like going to the eye doctor today. Forget it. I'll just be blind. And she was like, ‘No, we got to do this and you got to wear this eye patch over your eye.’ I didn't want to do none of it. But I finally got it done and then it was still a waiting process after that.” 

A move for the pair and their kids from Washington to Texas followed, and just when Johnson was getting settled and starting to get back in fighting shape, he got a phone call from the UFC. He took the fight, lost it, but he was back in the fold and sure that the next time he got a fight date, he was going to be ready to shine. So it wasn’t what he wanted from his UFC debut, but he learned a lot.

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“When they call you, you answer, and I don't care who you are, we just going to fight,” he said. “Was I expecting a twister? Absolutely not.”

He laughs, but other than the finish, he got a taste of what life in the big show will be like.

“I thought that being on the Contender Series was going to help me when transitioning over to the UFC, but man, it's way different,” he said. “So I had an adrenaline dump a little bit. 

First of all, my opponent had fought in the UFC several times, so he understood the pace of people in the UFC. I'm six foot, and everybody that I fight at 135 is extremely smaller than me. So they have to come up with a game plan to get to the inside to try to fight me. So it's usually a little bit of a feeling out process that happens and they automatically come into the cage with respect for you. Now, Da’Mon had no respect. (Laughs) When he came out, he came out like a bat out of hell and was just swinging and it was something I was absolutely not used to for a fight The fighting is way different. The fighters are different. They're way high caliber. I made one mistake, and he picked up on it instantly and he was able to capitalize. It was his night. It was not my night, but we're back again and now that I have the swing of things, it is going to be a better outcome.”

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The 28-year-old Johnson sounds confident, he got the training camp he wanted and needed, and he’s excited to get into a fist fight that feels like a “real” UFC debut.

“I feel extremely prepared for all situations,” he said. “We've checked off all the boxes, we’re ready to perform and have fun doing it.”

And though he remains “Lobo Solitario” when announced on fight night, he’s living and thinking a little differently, thanks to his lady. 

“She's still stuck by my side, still kept me grounded, and she described me as ‘The Phoenix,’” said Johnson. “We talked about it, and she was like, ‘You're reborn.’ It's my second chance at this life, this job, and I honestly feel like that's true. I was reborn. Now I fight with such a different purpose than just staying out of trouble. I'm out of trouble now. I fight to have a stable household, to help her build her business, and to show my kids that when you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.”