UFC match maker defends decision to cut Johnson
“I thought it was incredibly unfair to Gunnar Nelson to fight someone that much larger than him,” Silva said. “Johnson…
“I thought it was incredibly unfair to Gunnar Nelson to fight someone that much larger than him,” Silva said. “Johnson told me he could make the weight. He’s not doing me a favor if he missed weight because I could have gotten someone else who would have made the weight.
“I never pressure anyone to take late notice fights. I got a bunch of guys who want to fight. If one says no, I will find someone else. No problem.”
Johnson, who said he was medically cleared to fight after his suspension, confirmed this series of events with MMAFighting.com.
“Honestly, it really was my fault for accepting a fight on seven days notice and thinking I could lose 30 pounds, actually it came out to 35 pounds, and I only lost 27. That’s my bad. I only was supposed to fight in December, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities [to miss weight] when I just fought in August and it’s the end of September because, you know, I was big because I hadn’t been able to work out or do anything.