While having fought a lot of wrestlers throughout his career, Johnson believes Durden is one of a kind. Rather than being afraid to engage on the feet and patiently waiting to execute a perfect takedown, Johnson anticipates Durden to come firing out the gates early; something Johnson’s struggled dealing with in the past.
This time around, though, Johnson’s had a full training camp to prepare for his upcoming bout and has put an emphasis on learning how to start fast and not wait until the later rounds to get ahead.
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“He’s going to bring the fight,” Johnson said. “That’s what I want. I’ve had to face a lot of wrestlers, and he wrestles too, but a lot of guys like to blitz and not stand in there with me and fight. All his fights, he starts off fast, so I’m excited about that. It’s something I’m looking to work on, and what better way to continue to work on something that I’ve been working on in camp than to go in there against a guy who doesn’t know anything but to start fast. You’re going to have to match that if you want to compete at the highest level. It’s just a test for myself, it’s fun. It’s always fun for me to go in there and challenge myself, but I’m excited to see how great I am. I know I have a lot to offer, and as I continue to go through this road, I’ll continue to show people more and more of what I can do.
“His style is just war of attrition. He gets tired in all of his fights. My tired is never someone else’s tired. When I’m in a camp and I’m training for a fight, when I get tired, you’re exhausted. He’s going to be tired. The guys that he fought; he’s been able to put his will on people. They weren’t wrestlers and they didn’t have the ability to switch [stances], move around like I do, show different styles or durability. They’re cutting a lot of weight or they’re just mentally not durable, so he’s going to find himself in deep waters really soon if he thinks he can drown me.”
