Lavar Johnson
Lavar Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | MMA) | June 11, 1977
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 28 |
Wins | 18 |
By knockout | 17 |
By submission | 1 |
Losses | 10 |
By knockout | 2 |
By submission | 7 |
By decision | 1 |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Lavar F. Johnson[2] (born June 11, 1977) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former Heavyweight mixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2014, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce and Bellator MMA.[3]
Background
Johnson is from Madera, California and was a star football player, attending Madera High School where a coach nicknamed Johnson "Black Superman."[citation needed] Johnson then continued his career excelling as an outside linebacker and strong safety at Merced College before playing at the semi-professional level. Johnson competed in Toughman Contests and dominated, leading him to transition into professional mixed martial arts.[4][5]
Mixed martial arts career
World Extreme Cagefighting
Johnson made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the WEC on January 16, 2004, losing to future
After the loss to Olsen, and because of the knee injury sustained during that loss, Johnson briefly left mixed martial arts to become a delivery driver for
He went on to defeat his next four opponents via first round stoppage, before being signed by Strikeforce.
Strikeforce
Johnson made his
Johnson was shot on July 4, 2009, while at a family reunion. Johnson was rumored to return to action at
He next faced current Bellator fighter Virgil Zwicker at Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker,[8] knocking him out with punches in the first round.
Johnson fought in a
Johnson's next fight came against former Louisiana State University football player, Shawn Jordan at Strikeforce Challengers: Larkin vs. Rossborough. Johnson lost via submission to an Americana in the second round. Afterwards, he took time off to heal injuries to his right elbow and left knee.[9]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Johnson made his UFC debut on January 28, 2012, defeating
Johnson returned just over three months later for his second UFC fight, defeating fan-favorite
Johnson replaced an injured
Johnson was expected to face
Johnson/Schaub eventually took place on February 23, 2013, at
Bellator MMA
Following his release from the UFC, Johnson signed with Bellator MMA. He debuted on October 4, 2013, in the heavyweight tournament against
Johnson returned to the Bellator cage in March 2014 as a participant in the
Johnson faced
Bare-knuckle boxing
Valor Bare Knuckle
On September 21, 2019, Johnson returned to professional fighting via bare-knuckle boxing, defeating former
Personal life
Johnson has two sons.
Legal issues
In 2007, Johnson was sentenced to 14 days of jail and three years of probation as well as ordered to undergo alcohol counselling after pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor charges of corporal injury on a spouse/co-habitant. He was then jailed for 30 days for criminal threats and disobeying a domestic relations court order.
On July 5, 2009, at approximately midnight, Johnson was shot (along with four others, one fatally) at a family reunion in
On August 25, 2015, Johnson was arrested in Fresno, California and charged with corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and dissuading a witness by force. He had allegedly repeatedly punched, kneed and slammed his girlfriend on August 11, before fleeing the scene. He was in Fresno County Jail with bail set at $175,000. He pled not guilty to all charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and eight months in prison.[21] On April 29, 2016, Johnson was sentenced to five years in prison for the August 2015 assault.[22]
Championships and accomplishments
- War Gods MMA
- War Gods Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Knockout Of The Night (Two times)
Mixed martial arts record
28 matches | 18 wins | 10 losses |
By knockout | 17 | 2 |
By submission | 1 | 7 |
By decision | 0 | 1 |
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 18–10 | Cheick Kongo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Bellator 123
|
September 5, 2014 | 1 | 3:27 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
Loss | 18–9 | Blagoy Ivanov | Submission (americana) | Bellator 116
|
April 11, 2014 | 1 | 4:08 | Temecula, California, United States | Bellator Season Ten Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal
|
Win | 18–8 | Ryan Martinez | TKO (punches) | Bellator 111
|
March 7, 2014 | 1 | 4:22 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | Bellator Season Ten Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal
|
Loss | 17–8 | Vinicius Queiroz | KO (punch) | Bellator 102
|
October 4, 2013 | 1 | 0:23 | Visalia, California, United States | |
Loss | 17–7 | Brendan Schaub | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 157 | February 23, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | Tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. |
Loss | 17–6 | Stefan Struve | Submission (armbar) | UFC 146 | May 26, 2012 | 1 | 1:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
|
|
Win | 17–5 | Pat Barry
|
TKO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller | May 5, 2012 | 1 | 4:38 | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States | Knockout of the Night. |
Win | 16–5 | Joey Beltran | KO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis | January 28, 2012 | 1 | 4:24 | Chicago, Illinois , United States
|
Knockout of the Night. |
Loss | 15–5 | Shawn Jordan | Submission (americana) | Strikeforce Challengers: Larkin vs. Rossborough | September 23, 2011 | 2 | 3:08 | Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
|
|
Loss | 15–4 | Shane del Rosario | Submission (armbar) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva | February 12, 2011 | 1 | 4:31 | East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States | Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout. |
Win | 15–3 | Virgil Zwicker | KO (punches) | Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker | October 22, 2010 | 1 | 2:17 | Fresno, California, United States | |
Win | 14–3 | Lolohea Mahe | TKO (punches) | Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe | March 26, 2010 | 2 | 3:29 | Fresno, California, United States | |
Win | 13–3 | Carl Seumanutafa | KO (punch) | Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Aina | May 15, 2009 | 1 | 0:18 | Fresno, California, United States | |
Win | 12–3 | Dave Huckaba | TKO (corner stoppage) | PFC 12: High Stakes | January 22, 2009 | 1 | 3:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | Huckaba refused to answer bell for second round. |
Win | 11–3 | Sean Souza | KO (punch) | War Gods: Do or Die | November 8, 2008 | 1 | 2:51 | Fresno, California, United States | Won War Gods Heavyweight Championship. |
Win | 10–3 | Vince Lucero | KO (punch) | PFC 10: Explosive | September 26, 2008 | 1 | 1:16 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 9–3 | Sal Farnetti | TKO (punches) | PFC: Bias vs. Blood | August 21, 2008 | 1 | 2:14 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Loss | 8–3 | Alijah Reni | Submission (rear-naked choke) | War Gods | July 26, 2008 | 1 | 1:31 | Fresno, California, United States | |
Loss | 8–2 | Brian Olsen | Submission (knee injury) | WEC 18 | January 13, 2006 | 2 | 0:14 | Lemoore, California, United States | For the vacant WEC Heavyweight Championship .
|
Win | 8–1 | Corey Salter | TKO (submission to strikes) | WEC 17 | October 14, 2005 | 1 | 3:37 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 7–1 | Todd Gouwenberg | TKO (punches) | Freedom Fight: Canada vs USA | July 9, 2005 | 3 | 2:53 | Hull, Quebec, Canada | |
Win | 6–1 | Carlos Garcia | TKO (punches) | WEC 15 | May 19, 2005 | 1 | 1:09 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 5–1 | Lace Pele | TKO (punches) | GC 33: Brutal Force | December 12, 2004 | 1 | 0:54 | Porterville, California, United States | |
Win | 4–1 | Terry Pettek | Submission (guillotine choke) | Venom: First Strike | September 18, 2004 | 1 | 0:21 | Huntington Beach, California, United States | |
Win | 3–1 | Fred Diaz | KO (punches) | WEC 11 | August 20, 2004 | 1 | 1:33 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Win | 2–1 | Kyle Keeney | KO (punches) | Lords of the Cage | June 5, 2004 | 1 | 1:36 | Anacortes, Washington, United States | |
Win | 1–1 | Levi Thornbrue | TKO (punches) | WEC 10
|
May 21, 2004 | 1 | 2:32 | Lemoore, California, United States | |
Loss | 0–1 | Doug Marshall | TKO (corner stoppage) | WEC 9 | January 16, 2004 | 1 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | Stoppage due to exhaustion. |
Bare-knuckle boxing
1 match | 1 win | 0 losses |
By knockout | 1 | 0 |
Win 2-0 Travis wiuff KO punch
Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | James McSweeney | KO (punch) | Valor Bare Knuckle 1 | September 21, 2019 | 1 | 0:27 | New Town, North Dakota, USA |
References
- ^ "Lavar Johnson ("Big") | MMA Fighter Page".
- ^ http://boxing.nv.gov/2012%20Results%20Web/05-26-12%20MMA.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Strikeforce HW Lavar Johnson Putting Near-Fatal Shooting in Past". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "Lavar Johnson - What You See is What You Get - MMAfightfans.com | MMAfightfans.com". Archived from the original on 2014-08-08. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ "Death, Taxes, and Lavar Johnson | UFC". 14 September 2018.
- ^ Mike Padilla and Daniel Gil. "The Return of The Black Superman - Lavar Johnson". Bloody Mayhem. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ Joe Rizzo (September 23, 2011). "Strikeforce Challengers 19: Look out for Lavar Johnson, the Bud Man". mmadiehards.com.
- ^ "Strikeforce HW Lavar Johnson Putting Near-Fatal Shooting in Past". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "Lavar Johnson out 6 months possibly". mmajunkie. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
- ^ "Strikeforce import Lavar Johnson meets Joey Beltran at UFC on FOX 2". mmajunkie.com. December 20, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^ "Pat Barry vs Lavar Johnson fight booked for May 5". mmamania.com. February 2, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^ "Mark Hunt Out of UFC 146; Lavar Johnson Now Meets Stefan Struve." mmafighting.com. May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ^ "UFC on FOX 5 adds Johnson-Schaub". mmajunkie.com. August 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013.
- ^ Staff (2012-11-30). "Pulled groin forces Lavar Johnson out of UFC on FOX 5 bout with Brendan Schaub". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2012-11-30.
- ^ "Brendan Schaub vs. Lavar Johnson now targeted for UFC 157". MMAjunkie.com. December 10, 2012. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ Steven Marrocco (March 21, 2013). "UFC cuts Lavar Johnson following failed drug test, UFC 157 loss". mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013.
- ^ "Bellator 123 Fight Card". Bellator.com. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
- ^ "Lavar Johnson shot at family reunion in Bakersfield, California". Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "Juvenille girl incarcerated in connection with Lavar Johnson shooting". Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "Lavar Johnson Recovering From Shooting; 15-Year-Old Girl Arrested". Retrieved 21 October 2010.
- ^ "UFC-Bellator vet Lavar Johnson in jail after alleged brutal assault of girlfriend", from MMAJunkie.com
- ^ "Madera MMA fighter sentenced in domestic abuse case", by Sontaya Rose, ABC30.com