LAS VEGAS — International Fight Week kicks off Friday night at T-Mobile Arena with newcomer Justin Gaethje’s UFC debut against confident veteran Michael Johnson in the Ultimate Fighter Finale main event, and NESN.com will be on hand for all the action.
Gaethje dominated the World Series of Fighting and is known as an aggressive fighter who inflicts “carnage,” as he told UFC.com.
“I just really give people no time to rest,” said Gaethje, who’s 17-0 as a pro. “They want to rest, and I give them no time. My pressure is what people don’t understand until they fight me.”
Johnson, the UFC’s fifth-ranked lightweight contender, presents quite a challenge for Gaethje. Johnson has been on big UFC cards throughout his seven-year career, although he lost his previous fight on a third-round submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in November, and he’s banking on that experience under the bright lights to have an effect.
“He has to dread the experience of facing somebody that’s been in the big shows for as long as I have,” Johnson told UFC.com of Gaethje. “He has to dread that level of competition. If he’s coming in here thinking that I’m just the easiest guy in the top 10 for him to face, which is how I think he’s feeling, he’s in for a rude awakening.”
Follow this live blog from all the results from the TUF Finale and round-by-round analysis of Johnson vs. Gaethje.
FS1 MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)
Michael Johnson vs. Justin Gaethje
Dhiego Lima vs. Jesse Taylor
Marc Diakese vs. Drakkar Klose
Jared Cannionier vs. Nick Roehrick
Brad Tavares vs. Elias Theodorou
Jordan Johnson vs. Marcel Fontana
FS1 PRELIMS (7 p.m. ET)
Angela Hill vs. Ashley Yoder
James Krause def. Tom Gallicchio by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
CB Dolloway def. Ed Herman by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Tecia Torres def. Juliana Lima by submission, rear naked choke (:53 into second round)
UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS
Gray Maynard def. Teruto Ishihara by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
