Brett Johns

The Pikey

Wales

Bound for Bellator
BantamweightPFL
October 2, 2020
Johns signed a multi-year deal with Bellator on Friday, Ariel Helwani of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS
Johns fought seven times with the UFC, winning five and losing a pair. He won his final two fights with the promotion but will nevertheless head elsewhere for his next contract.
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Pulls upset in Abu Dhabi
BantamweightPFL
July 18, 2020
Johns defeated Montel Jackson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
As is generally the case, Johns leaned on his wrestling to pick up the victory. Clearly outmatched on the feet, Johns made a concerted effort to shoot on Jackson. For the most part, it worked. Johns landed eight successful takedowns but did little with his positional advantage. He racked up just over two minutes worth of control time, a shockingly low number given how often he had Jackson in a vulnerable position. Johns has long been one of the more underrated fighters at 135 pounds and this performance -- as a +235 underdog -- reinforced that. Johns is now 5-2 in the UFC with his two setbacks coming against top-tier contenders Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz.
Bout with Jackson rescheduled
BantamweightPFL
June 18, 2020
Johns will now take on Montel Jackson in a bantamweight matchup July 18 on Fight Island, Marcel Dorff of MMADNA reports.
ANALYSIS
This was a matchup originally scheduled for April 25 in Lincoln, but the card was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Johns will likely come in as the underdog here, as he'll be giving up three inches in height and four inches in reach to a prospect riding a three-fight winning streak. It's a small sample size, but Jackson also sports superior striking and offensive wrestling volume. The two could very well be competing for a spot in the rankings in what has become a stacked 135-pound division.
Facing Montel Jackson in Nebraska
BantamweightPFL
April 5, 2020
Johns (16-2-0) is scheduled to face Montel Jackson (9-1-0) in a bantamweight fight April 25 at UFC Lincoln, Nolan King and Mike Bohn of USA Today report.
ANALYSIS
After opening his MMA career with a perfect 14-0 record, Johns lost consecutive fights in 2018 before rebounding with a victory in his return to the Octagon on Jan. 25 at UFC Raleigh, when he took down Tony Gravely via submission in the third round. The Welshman will draw a tough matchup against the surging Jackson, who has won three consecutive fights since losing in his promotional debut in 2018.
Bests Gravely in FOTN winner
BantamweightPFL
January 26, 2020
Johns defeated Tony Gravely via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:53 of Round 3 at UFC Raleigh on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Johns threatened with several submission attempts in a first round he appeared to win, but lost the striking battle 18 to four in the second round and dropped the frame. With the fight knotted up, Johns was hip tossed in the third but gained an advantageous position in the scramble. He took Graveley's back and started pouring on ground-and-pound, which eventually opened up the submission and ended the fight. The back-and-forth affair with wild grappling exchanges earned both men $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses.
Return to the Octagon set
BantamweightPFL
November 20, 2019
Johns (knee) will make his long-awaited return to face Tony Gravely in a bantamweight bout at UFC Raleigh on Jan. 25, Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie reports.
ANALYSIS
It has been well over a year since Johns last competed after he lost to Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision at UFC 227 back in August of 2018. Johns got off to a hot start in his MMA career by winning his first three matches. However, the 27-year-old lost back-to-back bouts before taking time off to recover from multiple injuries. Johns will look to avoid a three-fight losing streak as he gets set to face Tony Gravely (19-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who just earned his first UFC contract in August and will look to build on his current seven-fight win streak.