Charles Johnson is focusing on his own game as he looks to snap his two-fight losing streak at UFC Vegas 82.
‘InnerG’ faces UFC debutant Rafael Estevam on Saturday inside the UFC Apex, the same venue where the Brazilian earned his UFC contract last year on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Estevam has been fighting sporadically over recent years, only fighting four times since 2018. Johnson claims he will be primarily focusing on himself rather than his undefeated opponent.
He said: “The only film he has is from like a year ago, Contender Series. After that, he fights like once every year. I don’t know whether it’s the inability to get opponents or his inactivity has to do with his lifestyle – maybe he just focuses on jiu-jitsu I’m not sure.
“He’s got some ground-and-pound finishes, he’s fought for a title, won a belt under a jiu-jitsu promotion. I don’t really know much [about him] to be honest!
“All I can focus on is me, you never know what you’re going to get in front of you when someone hasn’t fought in a year.”
Johnson Hoping Big Performance Will See Him Stay With the UFC
The former LFA champion is currently on a two-fight losing streak, with both of them coming earlier this year against Ode Osbourne and Cody Durden.
This is the first time that Johnson has suffered consecutive losses during his MMA career. The 32-year-old hopes to put on a big performance on Saturday and extend his contract with the UFC.
He said: “I just want to perform, put on a great performance so the UFC signs me back. They’re cutting people after two losses right now, believe it or not, I’m on a two-fight losing streak!
“I felt like I won the Ode [Osbourne] fight and I obviously lost the decision to [Cody] Durden. All my fights [inside the UFC] have been fairly close.
“I need to just have a good performance like I did against Jimmy Flick at the start of the year, solidify myself once again for them in their eyes and show them that I can entertain – which everybody knows I can. I don’t have boring fights! Even when people [are] trying to hold me the whole time, people are still interested!”
Charles Johnson Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Charles Johnson below:
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