Athletes
Miles Johns Here To Answer All The Questions
Veteran Navigates The Bantamweight Waters In Ninth UFC Appearance This Saturday
Miles Johns made it. Through all the good, the bad and the ugly of the last couple years, the 30-year-old has put down roots back home in Missouri with the Marathon MMA camp, family life is good, and he got back in the UFC win column in March with a win over Cody Gibson.
Makes a man want to get into another fistfight this weekend.
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“It has been a crazy past couple years, but I finally feel settled and I felt that way in my last fight,” said Johns. “I didn't get to have (head coach and fellow UFC vet) Trey (Ogden) in the corner because I picked up that fight on short notice on the same night that he was fighting. So I'll even be a little more settled with him making that walk with me again.”
Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
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Highlight: Miles Johns Scores 3rd-Round Knockout | UFC 265
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Standing across from Johns at the UFC APEX on Saturday will be Douglas Silva de Andrade, who makes his first start since May of 2023, when he beat Cody Stamann via unanimous decision. The win was the Brazilian veteran’s third in his last four fights, but considering that he fought once in 2021, twice in 2022, and once last year to hit those numbers, it’s got to be hard to get a read on where the 38-year-old is heading into the bout.
“It is,” admits Johns. “But I've done a lot of film studying and outside studying and I think I've got a read on the type of guy that he is, and it makes sense for why he's only fought once a year as of late. He’s getting older. He fought Cody Stamann and got that win at 38. Before that, he had a tough outing with Said (Nurmagomedov). So it is difficult to get read a little bit, but I think I understand who he is as a person and as a fighter, and I'm excited about this.”
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A lot more excited than he was when he got the call to face Gibson on short notice after Davey Grant was forced out of that fight due to injury.
“I was scared. I watched his fight with Brad (Katona), and I'm like, man, you threw yourself into a freaking fight. This might be a dog fight. Cody's a dog, he comes forward, and you got 30 pounds to lose. So all those thoughts were going in my head. Cody is a really good fighter and I think he'll show that skill against Brian Kelleher. But I went out there and I made it look kind of easy and then people talk like, ‘Oh, Cody's on his downfall.’ Just before that he had an absolute war, a Fight of the night with Brad Keona, who is also a tough fighter. and I make it look easy and people say maybe he's on his downfall.”
Welcome to the fickle world of mixed martial arts. At least a veteran like Johns knows what the landscape looks like, so it doesn’t really matter what anybody says as long as he gets his hand raised.
“With this one, I don't know,” he said. “We'll see what type of situation it is. I think people give Douglas a little bit more respect and I think once I get this win that there will be some more respect on my name, but there's still just going to be a question mark because Douglas is 38, which is some BS. Look at Diego Ferreira, look at Derrick Lewis; those dudes are 39 and just picked up huge wins, but I'm going to make it look easy.”
And who knows, maybe Silva de Andrade is having trouble getting a read on Johns, whose eight-fight run in the UFC has seen plenty of twists and turns since he arrived after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series.
“I feel like there's a lot of question marks with me, as well,” he said. “It's probably hard for him to get a read on me off two big knockouts and dropping the ball against (John) Castaneda, and then some. So I understand it all and it's a fun game to play.”
Especially since he’s on the upswing after beating Gibson. Add that to his wins over Cole Smith, Kevin Natividad, Anderson dos Santos and Vince Morales, with only two defeats to John Castaneda and Mario Bautista, and a no contest with Dan Argueta, and “Chapo” is building a solid resume as he navigates the shark-infested waters at 135 pounds.
“It feels really good to be here,” said Johns. “This will be my ninth fight in the UFC, which means more than half of my professional fights have been in the UFC. So I really feel like I've kind of grown up in the promotion to have only 18 fights and nine of them be in the UFC. I feel like that does give me a little boost in experience, but I also feel like I am just getting started. It's cliche, but I do feel that way. And yeah, I'm excited. People have questions and I want questions answered myself, as well. I really want to go out there and have myself tested a little bit and be ready for that on that night.”
UFC Fight Night: Perez vs Taira took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 15, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
