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Ahead of Bellator 261 title fight, Timothy Johnson reflects on skid that nearly ended his career

Timothy Johnson went from almost having to call it a career to fighting for the Bellator title.

Johnson (15-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) meets Valentin Moldavsky for the interim heavyweight title in the Bellator 261 main event on Showtime on June 25 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

But Johnson’s road to the title wasn’t an easy one. The ex-UFC fighter got off to a concerning start to his Bellator career when he was knocked out in back-to-back bouts against Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov. With his back against the wall, Johnson was matched up with unbeaten prospect Tyrell Fortune and was a big underdog heading into the fight.

Not only did he beat the odds by knocking Fortune out, but he went on to string two more wins together by knocking Mitrione out and avenging his loss to Kongo, which led to his first title shot in a major promotion.

“That’s the fight game,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “It can happen just as quick as that. I think I commented on that before – maybe it was after my Mitrione fight: A loss to Tyrell, Bellator probably would have dropped me, and I’d be back on the regional level. I did that life before and it’s tough to make a living on the regional level.

“So that probably would have been the end of the line for me. (I) would have went to my post-fight career, and yeah – that would have been the end. But I was able to re-motivate, refocus and come out with a couple of really good wins and kind of proved to myself confidence is a big thing. This game, people overlook the confidence aspect quite a bit, and when you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll.”

The 36-year-old called for a title shot after amassing his impressive three-fight winning streak, and with champion Ryan Bader tied up in the 205-pound grand prix, he got his wish.

After numerous ups and downs in the past six years, Johnson says winning the title would be a culmination of the time he put into the sport and determination to constantly overcome adversity.

“It’s going to mean that all the hard work actually turned to something,” Johnson said. “All the family events, friends’ events I missed, or sacrifices actually worked toward a goal – and it’s in front of you and you just have to seize it.”

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