So close yet so far

This saturday marks the lightweight championship bout between current champion Rafeal Dos Anjos and #1 contender Donald Cerrone on UFC’s Fight Night. Also on the card is a lesser known lightweight bout that could pay dividends for a one Michael Johnson if he can defeat #9 ranked Nate Diaz. The TUF Finalist has been on a 4 fight tear until he was stopped on a very controversial (practical robbery) decision against #6 ranked Benil Dariush. With that being said I believe with a win this saturday, the #7 ranked fighter could be 1 fight out of a championship bout. With 155 being one of the least stable divisions, if Johnson can pull out a dominant victory against a very beatable Diaz he should get a #3 or #4 ranked fighter we’re talking about a Tony Ferguson, Eddie Alvarez. If he can win that bout then with the volatileness of the lightweight division who knows what’s possible. Not exactly vocal but not exactly shy, Johnson could make a serious case for a title shot by calling out the current champion.   With UFC Rankings not being one the best way of sorting out who gets the next crack at the strap. I’m going to break down the featherweight division and carve out a potential route for the “Menace” Michael Johnson. So we know that the winner of Cerrone vs. Dos Anjos faces the winner of Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis (assuming Conor McGregor stays at 145). I’m thinking since #4 ranked Tony Ferguson just came off of a decisive win he could face Michael Johnson (assuming a win this saturday). The loser of the Pettis Alvarez fight should drop down to #3 or #4, leaving either Dos Anjos or Cerrone as #2. But since the loser of the championship bout just fought for the strap it would only be fair to give either the #3 or #4 ranked at that time a title shot. If that scenarios plays out Eddie Alvarez would have just been coming off of a loss and Michael Johnson would’ve just been coming off of a win so Johnson should be able to negotiate his way into a shot. Now I know you’re thinking there’s a lot of if’s but if you’ve been watching fighting lately you know it’s very plausible. As Damian Maia eloquently pointed out this past saturday the MMA ranking system is about as scientific as simon says so matchmaking is like pissing in the wind. However, if Johnson could pull off two decisive wins don’t be surprised when I told you I told you so.  This kid is up and coming and he’s hungry. Despite what the records book say, anyone who watched that Dariush fight knows he’s on a fight fight tear and he’s coming for that strap.