Thumbing through Jordan Johnson’s Instagram, you’ll find two types of pictures: those of his family and those of the former University of Iowa wrestler training and competing alongside some of the most established names in the sport.
For every image of the undefeated upstart in Dad Mode (or riding a comically small scooter for a man of his stature), there is one of Johnson working with Ryan Bader, Volkan Oezdemir or wishing Alexander Gustafsson good luck.
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In addition to candid shots with his wife and son, there are fan-made fight announcements for each of his UFC appearances and images from each of his four victories inside the Octagon, plus throwbacks from high school and college, pictures from his various stops at elite outposts like Alliance MMA and The MMA Lab and more snaps of him and the Bellator “Double Champ.”
“When I was wrestling, I was arrogant and close-minded; if someone showed me something, I would (be dismissive) and write it off,” admitted Johnson, who went 4-0 in the UFC and carries a 10-0 record into his Professional Fighters League (PFL) debut Thursday night against Maxim Greshin at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. “When I started fighting, I changed my mindset and became much more open and willing to learn, so going to these different gyms and going to help these different fighters out, I’m there to help them. But, at the same time, I’m trying to learn as much as possible and figure out why these guys are so successful and steal their tricks.
“One thing with me is I’m always looking to put myself in the toughest situations possible with my training,” added the unbeaten light heavyweight, who has set up shop alongside Bader and C.B. Dollaway at Power MMA in Gilbert, Arizona. “With Power and having Bader and C.B., I have those two tag-teaming me and they’re absolute gorillas. I can’t be in a worse situation than what I put myself in every single day having those two gang up on me.
“If I can compete against the toughest guys in the world every day, it makes the fighting easy.”
The other thing that makes stepping into the cage a little easier is having a much better idea about when you’re going to compete.
Like many of his contemporaries to migrate to the PFL over the last two years, the 30-year-old Johnson was quick to point to the traditional sporting structure and laid out the schedule as key elements that excite him heading into his first season with the promotion.
“I think this is the future of the sport,” he said, acknowledging the parallels between how the PFL lays out its year and readying for a season on the mats as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team. “One thing with a college wrestling season is that you’re not just getting ready for one match — you have to figure out how to compete and compete at a high level for an entire season.
“Knowing when you’re going to fight is everything because when you get done with a fight, you’re in great shape, you’re ready to go again and you’re hopeful that you’re going to go again,” continued Johnson. “So you stay in the gym, you’re training hard, but you have no idea — you might fight two weeks later, but you never know; I’ve had nine-month layoffs.
“But when you can lay it out with a season and playoffs and the championships, that gives you some time to relax and not be getting the grimy, grueling, hard sparring year-round. I love it and I’m excited to be giving it a go.”
While his last fight in the UFC took place at middleweight and was arguably his best performance, Johnson has returned to the light heavyweight division this season, where he joins holdovers Vinny Magalhaes and Smealinho Rama alongside fellow new additions Viktor Nemkov and Mikhail Mokhnatkin in the quest to capture this season’s title in the 205-pound weight class.
Though he performed well in his 185-pound debut back in September, making weight and competing multiple times over the next seven months if everything goes as planned made fighting at light heavyweight an easy decision.
And while he’s quick to offer praise to those competing alongside of him this season, Johnson’s sole focus is ensuring that every time he steps in the cage, he does so as the best version of himself possible, starting this weekend on Long Island.
“Light heavyweight is the division for me because I’m going to be so active this year that I think making 185, which takes such a toll on my body, four times and fight might be too much,” said Johnson, who stands six-foot-two and wrestled at heavyweight. “By no means am I a small light heavyweight, but without making that massive weight cut, I’ll be able to train, I’ll be able to complete and feel great the entire year.
“I know everyone in my weight class and they’re all a bunch of studs,” he added. “There aren’t going to be any pushovers when it comes to winning a million dollars; you’re going to have to work for it.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care so much about who I’m fighting because the whole thing is about being the best version of myself when I get in that cage. They can do their thing, I’m going to do my thing and I don’t care who they are or what they have going on; it’s all about me.”