The MMA Daily

The Lightweight division see’s a pair of veterans clash, as Michael “The Menace” Johnson takes on Alan “Nuguette” Patrick. Looking to put a halt to a four-fight skid, Johnson enters the octagon with a sense of urgency. Having been out of action for over a year, Johnson should be recharged and ready to rumble. Meanwhile, Patrick returns to the octagon for the first time in 2022. Having failed to win a fight since 2018, Patrick enters with his UFC tenure likely on the line.

As for a prediction, I have Patrick winning. While this fight is every bit of a crapshoot, I just can’t side with Johnson anymore. Dating back to August of 2015, Johnson has won only won three of twelve fights. Albeit the competition was stiff, there were plenty of fights that Johnson had won until he didn’t. A story that has be re-written over and over. And while Patrick isn’t particularly great, especially given his questionable durability, he’s stylistically a fighter that has given Johnson issues. A grappler, Patrick’s game plan mainly centers around taking opponents down at will. Averaging 3.25 takedowns per fifteen minutes, Patrick does a pretty job following suit. When looking deeper into this fight, Patrick is 5-1 when landing one or more takedowns. Whereas Johnson is 2-7 when being taken one or more times. So with that said, I predict that Patrick wins via decision.