Introduction
Friday, July 21st, American featherweight prospect Elijah Johns will be in action for LFA, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Javier Garcia. He will be looking for another win, as Johns looks to strike gold and eventually make his way to the UFC. He represents Fortis MMA, a top camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Close Quarters Fighting: Johns’ fighting style relies heavily on pressure and fighting in close quarters. He likes to strike and close the distance, getting his opponent on their back feet. From there, he will clinch up or look for takedowns, in a similar fashion to how his brother fights. In the clinch, he will bully guys and land close shots with bunch, knees and elbows. He has finishes with knees on his record. If he achieves a takedown, he works very heavy from top position. He has good ground-and-pound and submission skills, making him an all-around threat on the mat.
Strength/Balance: In terms of physical abilities, Johns is very physically strong and balanced when he’s on the feet and in the clinch. That helps him bully his opponents, as Johns is want to do. It also helps him on the mat, especially his physical strength. That natural ability combines well with the skill she has acquired.
Needs Improvement
Effective Offensive Striking Output: In Johns’ two losses as a pro, he has lost to guys that were able to outstrike him and effectively stymie his pressure grappling game enough. Both losses were by split decision, but he was unable to fully incorporate his style and was outstruck by Bruno Souza and Eddie Brown. If he’s able to be more effective with his striking when his grappling is being thwarted, he will become even more difficult to defeat.
Outlook
UFC Prelim Fighter: Johns is similar to his brother Miles in both styles and trajectory. I think Johns will make it to the UFC at some point where he will find some success and some failures. His pressure style will make some fighters uncomfortable, but guys in the UFC with the striking, movement and wrestling chops to repel Johns will give him troubles. I think we see him in the UFC after he beats Javier Garcia in this upcoming LFA main event.
MMA Intel 