For all intents and purposes, Michael Johnson has won five fights in a row heading into his lightweight bout with Nate Diaz on Saturday night. Johnson dropped a controversial split decision in his last fight against Beneil Dariush in August, a fight that left a lot of people shaking their heads.
One of those was his Blackzilians coach, Henri Hooft, who sees Diaz as a potential sixth victory in a row for the 29-year old Johnson. Hooft hopes that a victory over Diaz gets Johnson not only into the title conversation, but a significant bump up in pay.
"Michael has a five-fight winning streak, if he beats Nate Diaz, it’s six," he told MMA Fighting at the UFC on FOX 17 open workouts. "Come on man. And also, he’s been fighting for a long time since TUF. I think he needs to get paid well, because he performs always. He puts on a show. I think he’s right up there and needs to make real money as real good fighters. Again, if you win five or six fights in a row against this competition — [Gleison] Tibau, Tony Ferguson — he beat a lot of guys that are good."
Should Johnson prevail on Saturday night, Hooft is hoping he will use the platform to make his case. The Dutch trainer said he has been prompting Johnson to get more vocal, not unlike the star of last weekend’s show, Conor McGregor.
"I’m a of Conor’s," Hooft said. "I think a lot of people don’t give him the credit. We need people like this in the sport, to get it so everybody makes more money in the sport. And he backs it up. As said to Michael, too, because Michael’s not a crazy talker. After this fight, say something, because it’s your right to say something."
LINK: Blackzilians coach Henri Hooft says Michael Johnson needs to make 'real money,' be more vocal - MMA Fighting
