“They know there could be a win or a loss in any fight that I go into,” he said. “I can control how I respond to it. I can control how I carry myself, and I refuse to let my boys see me act weak in any way at any moment in there.”
So far, Johns has done that, particularly in the way he finds finishes deep into fights. Both of his UFC finishes came in the third round, and none of his six finishes have come in the first frame. While some might look at that and form a lesser opinion of Johns’ abilities, it more so speaks to his cardio and how he carries power into later rounds.
In 23 professional fights, Castaneda has only been finished once, so Johns understands he can’t irresponsibly hunt the knockout just because he’s on a streak of them. That said, he also trusts his ability to go for broke and recharge for another burst.
“I can explode, and I can fatigue, and then I can come back very quickly,” Johns said. “That’s the point of strength and conditioning. It’s not to not get tired. People are afraid of getting tired. I know I can be exhausted, and I’m going to come back in two seconds and be ready to explode again. I think people worry about my cardio a little bit, but they should be worried about my ability to still throw a lot of heat in the third round after I’ve been throwing heat for two rounds already. That’s another confidence booster for me.”