# Timothy Johnson (fighter)

Timothy Johnson (born March 13, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has also competed for the UFC and Bellator MMA.

## Mixed martial arts career

After completing his collegiate career as a two-time All-American wrestler at Division II Minnesota State University Moorhead, Johnson made his professional mixed martial arts debut in October 2010. He competed primarily for regional organizations around his adopted home of North Dakota. He amassed a record of 7–1, finishing all of his opponents, before signing with the UFC on the heels of a first round finish of Travis Wiuff in October 2014.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

Johnson made his promotional debut against Shamil Abdurakhimov on April 4, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 63. He won the fight via TKO in the final seconds of the first round.
Johnson next faced Jared Rosholt on August 8, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 73. Despite staggering and nearly finishing Rosholt with strikes in the last minute of the fight, Johnson lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Johnson faced promotional newcomer Marcin Tybura on April 10, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 86. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Johnson next faced Alexander Volkov on November 19, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 99. Volkov was awarded a controversial split decision victory. 12 out of 12 media scores gave the bout to Johnson.
Johnson faced Daniel Omielańczuk on March 18, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 107. He won the back and forth fight by split decision (28–29, 30–27, and 29–28).
Johnson faced promotional newcomer Júnior Albini on July 22, 2017, at UFC on Fox 25. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Johnson faced Marcelo Golm on February 3, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 125. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The fight marked the last bout of his prevailing contract, and the UFC opted not to renew it.

### Bellator MMA

On April 13, 2018, it was revealed that Johnson had signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.
Johnson made his debut against Cheick Kongo on October 13, 2018, at Bellator 208. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Johnson was scheduled to face Azunna Anyanwu in the prelims of Bellator 225 on August 24, 2019. However, on the day of the fight, it was announced that Johnson would fill in for Javy Ayala and face former Bellator Heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov in the co main event. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.
Johnson next faced Tyrell Fortune at Bellator 239 on February 21, 2020. He won the fight by knockout in the first round.
Johnson next faced Matt Mitrione on August 7, 2020, at Bellator 243. He won the fight via technical knockout in the first round.
On October 10, 2020, Johnson rematched Cheick Kongo at Bellator 248 in Paris, France. He would avenge his previous loss to Kongo with a split-decision victory.
With heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Johnson faced Valentin Moldavsky for the Bellator Interim Heavyweight World Championship at Bellator 261 on June 25, 2021. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.
Johnson faced Fedor Emelianenko on October 23, 2021, at Bellator 269. He lost the bout via knockout in the first round.
Johnson was scheduled to rematch Tyrell Fortune on April 15, 2022, at Bellator 277. However, on March 1, 2022, it was announced by Bellator that Johnson was expected to face Linton Vassell and Fortune was set to meet Steve Mowry in the event. Despite rocking Vassell early in the round, Johnson lost the bout via TKO at the end of the first.
Johnson faced Said Sowma on April 21, 2023, at Bellator 294. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

### Post Bellator

Johnson headlined XFC 50 on April 12, 2024 against Darion Abbey. He won by technical knockout in the first round.

### Professional Fighters League

Johnson made his PFL debut on June 13, 2024 as he faced Danilo Marques at PFL 4. He won the bout via TKO in the first round.
Johnson next faced Denis Goltsov in the semifinals of the 2024 Heavyweight tournament at PFL 7 on August 2, 2024, losing the bout via TKO in the first round.
Johnson next stepped in as a short-notice replacement to face Vadim Nemkov at PFL Champions Series 1 on January 25, 2025. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.
On March 5, 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Johnson will join the 2025 PFL Heavyweight Tournament.
In the quarterfinal, Johnson is scheduled to face Alexander Romanov on May 1, 2025, at PFL 4.

## Championships and accomplishments

* Ultimate Fighting Championship
** Performance of the Night (One time)
* Dakota Fighting Championships
** Dakota FC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
* MMAJunkie.com
** 2020 February Knockout of the Month vs. Tyrell Fortune

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 29 matches | 18 wins | 11 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 6 |
| By submission | 3 | 2 |
| By decision | 5 | 3 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 18–11 | Vadim Nemkov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | PFL Champions Series 1 | January 25, 2025 | 1 | 3:08 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | |
| Loss | 18–10 | Denis Goltsov | TKO (punches) | PFL 7 (2024) | August 2, 2024 | 1 | 2:26 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | 2024 PFL Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal. |
| Win | 18–9 | Danilo Marques | TKO (punches) | PFL 4 (2024) | June 13, 2024 | 1 | 3:14 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 17–9 | Darion Abbey | TKO (punches) | XFC 50 | April 12, 2024 | 1 | 1:42 | Lakeland, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 16–9 | Said Sowma | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 294 | April 21, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 15–9 | Linton Vassell | TKO (punches) | Bellator 277 | April 15, 2022 | 1 | 4:21 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Loss | 15–8 | Fedor Emelianenko | KO (punches) | Bellator 269 | October 23, 2021 | 1 | 1:46 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Loss | 15–7 | Valentin Moldavsky | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 261 | June 25, 2021 | 5 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | For the interim Bellator Heavyweight World Championship. |
| Win | 15–6 | Cheick Kongo | Decision (split) | Bellator 248 | October 10, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Paris, France | |
| Win | 14–6 | Matt Mitrione | TKO (punches) | Bellator 243 | August 7, 2020 | 1 | 3:14 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 13–6 | Tyrell Fortune | KO (punch) | Bellator 239 | February 21, 2020 | 1 | 2:35 | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Loss | 12–6 | Vitaly Minakov | KO (punches) | Bellator 225 | August 24, 2019 | 1 | 1:45 | Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 12–5 | Cheick Kongo | KO (punches) | Bellator 208 | October 13, 2018 | 1 | 1:08 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
| Win | 12–4 | Marcelo Golm | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Anders | February 3, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Belém, Brazil | |
| Loss | 11–4 | Júnior Albini | TKO (punches) | UFC on Fox: Weidman vs. Gastelum | July 22, 2017 | 1 | 2:51 | Uniondale, New York, United States | |
| Win | 11–3 | Daniel Omielańczuk | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson | March 18, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | London, England | |
| Loss | 10–3 | Alexander Volkov | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 | November 19, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
| Win | 10–2 | Marcin Tybura | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos | April 10, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Zagreb, Croatia | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Jared Rosholt | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux | August 8, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 9–1 | Shamil Abdurakhimov | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas | April 4, 2015 | 1 | 4:57 | Fairfax, Virginia, United States | Abdurakhimov was deducted one point in round 1 due to grabbing the fence. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 8–1 | Travis Wiuff | TKO (punches) | Dakota FC 19 | October 25, 2014 | 1 | 3:36 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Defended the Dakota FC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–1 | Kevin Asplund | Submission (front choke) | Beatdown at 4 Bears 11 | June 7, 2014 | 1 | 2:41 | New Town, North Dakota, United States | Defended the Dakota FC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–1 | Brett Murphy | TKO (slam and punches) | Dakota FC 18 | April 26, 2014 | 2 | 1:17 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Defended the Dakota FC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–1 | Brian Heden | TKO (punches) | Dakota FC 17 | January 11, 2014 | 2 | 2:56 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Won the Dakota FC Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 4–1 | Scott Hough | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Max Fights 18 | October 26, 2013 | 1 | 4:56 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Dean Lamb | TKO (submission to punches) | Max Fights 17 | March 23, 2013 | 1 | 0:34 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Shane DeZee | Submission (americana) | Max Fights 16 | November 17, 2012 | 1 | 0:49 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Lance Peterson | Submission (kimura) | Max Fights 13 | March 19, 2011 | 2 | 2:52 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Travis Wiley | TKO (punchhes) | Max Fights 11 | October 30, 2010 | 1 | 2:23 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | Heavyweight debut. |