5 Defining Moments: Tim Johnson

Tim Johnson may be a longshot, but he remains eligible for a life-changing $1 million payday from the Professional Fighters League when so many others are not.

The well-traveled Xtreme Couture export will put Denis Goltsov to the test when their heavyweight semifinal headlines PFL 7 this Friday at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Johnson, 39, returns to action on the strength of three straight victories. He nailed down his playoff berth as a short-notice substitution for Gokhan Saricam on June 13, when the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler disposed of Danilo Marques with punches in the first round of their PFL 4 pairing.

As Johnson moves ever closer to his looming battle with Goltsov, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Homeland Security

In what was one of the clear highlights during a career-best eight fight winning streak, Johnson put away Brian Heden with second-round punches and laid claim to the Dakota Fighting Championship heavyweight crown in their DFC 17 showdown on Jan. 11, 2014 at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota. Referee David Wald waved it off 2:56 into Round 2. Johnson went on to retain the title in consecutive appearances against Brett Murphy, Kevin Asplund and Travius Wiuff—all three encounters resulted in finishes—before he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2015.

2. Higher Calling

Johnson excelled in his Octagon debut, as he disposed of Shamil Abdurahimov with ground-and-pound from the mount in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 63 heavyweight prelim on April 4, 2015 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Abdurakhimov succumbed to blows 4:57 into Round 1. Johnson marched forward, chipped away with punches and slowly wore down his counterpart. Abdurakhimov scored with straight punches, many of them while moving backward, but a point deduction for grabbing the fence seemed to disrupt his rhythm. Johnson countered a kick in the waning moments of Round 1, executed a takedown in the center of the cage, advanced immediately to mount and dropped unanswered rights and lefts until the stoppage was called.

3. Gone Prospecting

Long odds were not an issue for Johnson when he short-circuited the previously unbeaten Tyrell Fortune with a crushing right hand in the first round of their featured Bellator 239 attraction on Feb. 21, 2020 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. A three-time collegiate wrestling champion who entered the cage as a prohibitive favorite, Fortune met his end 2:35 into Round 1. Johnson leaned on his experience, guile and punching power against the heralded Arizona Combat Sports-trained prospect. Midway through the first round, he pressured Fortune onto his back foot, distracted him with a shovel uppercut and connected with a devastating right hook that sent spit flying and flipped the switch upon impact. The knockout was Johnson’s first in nearly five years and put him back on the radar following back-to-back losses to Cheick Kongo and Vitaly Minakov.

4. Running on Empty

Valentin Moldavsky outstruck and outskilled Johnson on his way to a unanimous decision and captured the interim Bellator MMA heavyweight championship in the Bellator 261 headliner on June 25, 2021 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. All three cageside judges struck scorecards for the Russian: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46. Johnson tried to draw his opponent into a brawl and initially enjoyed some success. However, Moldavsky settled into a rhythm, landed the cleaner shots at range and started to incorporate takedowns against the North Dakotan midway through their confrontation. Those efforts propelled the decorated sambo practitioner to a comfortable lead and bled Johnson’s gas tank dry. Even as he pressed forward, the American seemed less and less of a concern to Moldavsky in the championship rounds.

5. A Brush with Greatness

Former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Fedor Emelianenko competed on Russian soil for the first time in almost five years and sent paying customers home with smiles on their faces, as he brought down Johnson with punches in the first round of their Bellator 269 main event on Oct. 23, 2021 at the VTB Arena in Moscow. Emelianenko drew the curtain 100 seconds into Round 1. Early exchanges saw Johnson hold his own and gain some confidence against the Russian icon. Then it all unraveled. Emelianenko blasted him with a brutal three-punch combination that dropped the Lamberton, Minnesota, native where he stood, necessitated an immediate stoppage and brought the crowd to a boil.