Brett Johns is not so much in touch with his feelings as he is almost completely at their mercy.

Sure, the undefeated UFC bantamweight can maintain unblinking composure in the face of a sanctioned physical assault while untold numbers look on, but keeping tears at bay just isn’t in his wheelhouse.

By his own admission, it’s been a lifelong occurrence; the Welshman tends to weep in those heightened, decisive moments. He makes no apologies for it, but people close to him, namely his beloved stepfather, were adamant that the tendency left Johns (15-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) unsuited for a prizefighter’s life.

“I was a bit of a crybaby when I first started judo, and my dad would always tell me that,” Johns told MMAjunkie. “He kind of thought that if I was like that in judo, what was I going to do when I got punched in the face? But he was just one of lots of people.”

“The first time I told him I wanted to be a professional mixed martial artist – or, as it was known, a cagefighter – he just laughed at me. He said, ‘Look, boy, it’s not for you.’ People know I’m not an aggressive person and usually pretty quiet. I was brought up around the judo game, which is all about respect and discipline, so it was seen as a big thing for me to go into this sport.”

Two world titles, 15 victories and among the rarest submission wins in UFC history later, and it’s more than fair to say that elite MMA is for Brett Johns. He’s had to navigate his share of speed bumps – some of his own making – along the way, but the 25-year-old has established himself as a bona fide trailblazer in Welsh combat sports.

It was his latest victory, however, that signaled Johns as a coming force to the wider world. A mere 30 seconds into their bout on the main card of the The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale, Johns rolled with a takedown attempt by former title challenger Joe Soto (18-7 MMA, 3-5 UFC) before forcing him to tap to a calf-slicer.

Over the last quarter of a century, UFC audiences had witnessed this feat only once before so naturally, GIFs and videos of Johns’ dextrous antics – which earned MMAjunkie’s “Submission of the Month” honors – flooded social media. While he was not fully aware of what had transpired in the immediate aftermath of the win, Johns quickly became cognizant of the consequential career ramifications.

“It was a move I pulled off once or twice in the gym, but trust me, it wasn’t planned,” Johns said. “What I had practiced a lot for with Joe was the head-outside, single-leg takedown. I actually thought there was three or four minutes gone and I had caught Joe in some sort of armbar, but then I looked up, and it was 30 seconds in and a calf-slicer. It was surreal. People were going nuts afterward.

“It was just my third UFC fight, and now people are talking about me like I’m some sort of wrecking machine, which is nice. But like I said, people can expect a lot more from me in 2018. Just like getting into the UFC, pulling off that calf-slicer changed my life. Now that we’re in the top 15, I don’t want that momentum to stop, so I’ve set myself little goals, like moving into the top 10.”

If Johns’ trajectory is to continue on an upward curve, then the considerable figure of Aljamain Sterling (14-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) must first be navigated. Sterling and Johns are slated to square off at UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City on April 21 at UFC Fight Night 128. Sterling may have fallen short in three of his five previous fights, but it wasn’t too long ago that he was the white-hot prospect boasting an impeccable record. Johns does not foresee another brief night at the office.

“It was what I wanted,” Johns said. “Aljamain was the best option after the last fight, and I do think there were easier options in the top 15, but Aljamain seemed like the right name. It doesn’t really matter because they all terrify me in that top 15, so it could be No. 1 or 15.

“Yes, he’s lost three of his last five fights, but in my opinion, they are all top-10-in-the-world guys, so I don’t take those losses into consideration. I’m always motivated for a fight, but with Aljamain, it’s somehow picked up a gear. I’m looking forward to being in there with him. I don’t see it going like the last time, with a quick finish, but I do see it being a really good fight. ”

He may have sneered at his son’s ambitions of earning a crust inside the octagon, but there is no question that Johns’ father inadvertently pointed him in that direction. The elder made his living running the Pontarddulais Judo Club, where, from age 4, his timid son could be seen on the mats.

Born and raised in the coastal city of Swansea, Johns and his brother were sent to an all-Welsh-speaking school by their mother, who toiled every available hour to keep her family afloat. There wasn’t much to spare in their household, but the Johns children enjoyed a warm and happy upbringing. For young Brett, despite routinely throwing in the towel, the judo club was the center of the universe. He could never stay away for more than a week.

He discovered MMA via jiu-jitsu, which he took up at 16 – on his father’s advice – to expand his submission repertoire for judo competition. It was then he met coach Chris Rees, and their partnership remains intact to this day.

Welsh MMA was essentially unheard of at the time, so in those early days, he found idols elsewhere.

“At school, I used to go to the library,” Johns said, “and watch Brad Pickett fights on YouTube, and I’d tell my friends that’s what I was going to do, and they’d be like, ‘OK. Whatever, Brett.’ So, I was Brett Johns, the crazy guy who wanted to be in the UFC.

“There was also (former undefeated Welsh world boxing champion) Joe Calzaghe. The one that sticks out for me is the Mikkel Kessler fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff because that’s how I saw my career ending up. I always wanted to follow the same path as Joe did. He did Vegas, and then I did Vegas. He went to Madison Square Garden, and I definitely see myself doing that down the line. For the time being, I’ll make do with New Jersey and Boardwalk Hall.”

Calzaghe defeated Kessler in 2007, and Johns would have to scrimp and scrap for the better part of a decade before those lofty dreams of emulating his compatriot could be genuinely considered anything other than ludicrous. In the interim, crushing disappointment and suffocating hardship had to be overcome, time and time again.

Five months after turning pro, Johns took the decision countless young fighters are inevitably forced to. The ordeal proved emotional but also pivotal.

“I was 5-0 as a professional just before I signed with Cage Warriors, and working as a laborer, earning £4.93 (approximately $7 USD) an hour, which was minimum wage,” Johns said. “It was horrendous. I was working in all sorts of weather, and it was just really tough.

“On my last day, I walked into the foreman’s office, and I burst into tears. I told him I couldn’t do it anymore, knowing full well that I had something else there. I was also a British champion, but I knew it was hard for him to see. I still told him I was going straight for the top. His name was Steve Evans, and I remember he just looked at me and said, ‘The only way you’re going to find out is by giving it a crack.’ I left the site that day and haven’t been back since.”

Within four months of debuting in Cage Warriors, Johns had amassed three victories – including two in one night – and the promotion’s bantamweight title. On the occasion of his first defense, against James Brum, Johns missed weight and was stripped of his crown. He never fought under the Cage Warriors banner again, though it was not the last time issues on scales would cost him a strap.

More pressing, though, was the ongoing slog to survive with barely a penny to his name. He did, at least, have ample previous experience on which to draw.

“Not to sound cliche, but I grew up with no money,” Johns said. “My mother worked three jobs for me, my brothers and my sister. We might have been cash poor but, as a family, we were rich. I like going out for a drink with friends after my fights, but my favorite thing to do is spend time with my family.

“But those few years – from March 2013 until I signed with the UFC – it was tough. I fought for Cage Warriors twice (in the bantamweight title tournament) in one night, and that money was gone by April. Then I fought James Brum for nowhere near the money I’m getting with the UFC. I think, in the end, I came away with £2,000 (approximately $2,800 USD). That had to last me pretty much 11 months. I had no money saved, but I never had any in the first place.”

Journeying some 2,500 miles from Swansea, Johns arrived in Alabama, where a second-round submission win saw him usurp Walel Watson as the Titan FC bantamweight champion. But, once again, he was unable to make championship weight on the eve of his inaugural title defense.

“The first time I missed weight was down to a lack of experience, and the second was about illness,” Johns said. “But it’s all the same to me because, on paper, it just says you missed weight. It is something I’ve learned from.

“I don’t come from a really big gym – even SBG in Ireland started off really small, but look at them now – and I had no experience. Even now, in the gym, the highest level mixed martial artist is me, and the next guy down is on the regional circuits. Growing up in the game, I had no one to look up to, and that’s really important, I think.”

Johns overcame Anthony Gutierrez via split decision in what was supposed to be his first fight as Titan FC’s bantamweight kingpin, and it was close to 18 months before he competed again. He drifted for a time, but also enjoyed the simple pleasures of a less ascetic existence.

“After the Anthony Gutierrez fight, I took a year and a half off. I had fought in March and July 2015 (with Titan FC), for what was altogether £4,000 ($5,600 USD), and that had to last me until November 2016. Bearing in mind, halfway through that was a £7,000 ($9,800 USD) shoulder surgery, which I borrowed money for and had to pay back. It was a difficult.

“I hit a little rut and really didn’t want to fight anymore. I was done with the game at that point. I was involved in civilized life and for the first time in five years felt normal. Getting back to the gym after that was really difficult, and you had people talking about my weight issues and losing those titles. So, there was a bit of a nasty aroma to it all.”

As the years passed, and he continued to notch up victories, Johns eventually concluded that a call from the UFC was not forthcoming. When it finally did arrive, through his manager Brian Butler, he wept tears of joy, relief and excitement.

“I was 12-0, a two-time world champion, and my name wasn’t even really heard of in the UFC,” Johns said. “I didn’t see that UFC opportunity coming and, when I least expected it, it came. For me, it was about all those hard times – sleeping in the gym, selling my car for £100, and all those sessions where I struggled.

“Getting that UFC shot was everything I wanted, so all those times rolled into one, and I just reacted the way I wanted to react to a life-changing opportunity. I was ecstatic and would love to go back in time and have that phone call all over again – to motivate me every day.”

The promotion required someone to step in on three weeks’ notice for UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, he was told, but it wasn’t necessarily going to be at 135 pounds. Even on the back of such a long hiatus, Johns wasn’t the slightest bit tentative, not with those Calzaghe-inspired dreams now so close to being realized.

“People don’t know but, just to get my shot, I was willing to take a fight with Ross Pearson at lightweight for UFC-Belfast,” he said. “I didn’t have anything coming up with Titan FC, so I was training for a K-1 fight, but the original phone call with my manager was to see if I’d fight Pearson as a replacement. Just to get that opportunity, I would have walked in there and fought him.”

Ultimately, he was matched with fellow bantamweight Kwan Ho Kwak (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC). And, though he was not the first Welshman to be signed to the UFC – that distinction belongs to middleweight Jack Marshman – Johns will go down in history as the first of his countrymen to fight and win in the world’s foremost MMA proving ground. Later that night, also making his promotional debut, Marshman (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) stopped Magnus Cedenblad (14-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the second round.

“The UFC had never seen a Welsh flag before I walked in there that night,” Johns recalled. “I never thought it was going to be me. Even the way the fight went, because I had some fights in Cage Warriors that were quite boring, the gameplan went out the window in Belfast – and it was a barnburner. I still can’t stop thinking about that debut in Belfast and the whole week I was there. It was amazing.

“In Cage Warriors, I was the first Welsh guy to win a legitimate world title, and a year and a half later, I became the second guy with Titan FC. I always thought it would be Jack leading the way, but it was an absolute honor to be that guy. Every morning, I wake up to great messages on social media. I really am blessed.”

Overnight, Johns became a minor celebrity in his homeland, which was initially a little unnerving, but those feelings soon evaporated.

“In the week or two after my UFC debut, I just couldn’t get over all the messages,” he said. “I think I went from 5,000 to 10,000 followers in the space of a week. One guy, it was his birthday, and he just wanted to meet me, and I didn’t understand why. It is nice to be that guy kids can look up to.

“It’s an honor because I know what it’s like. I was one of those kids once, and it doesn’t matter what sport you do, you always look up to people. I grew up watching Joe and Brad, and even when I meet them now I get star struck.”

Johns has since been the subject of a book and documentary, both in the Welsh native tongue, and he’s already considering other such projects in the future. Johns was scheduled to face Ian Entwistle (9-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC Fight 107 in London but, ironically, the latter was pulled from the card due to medical issues having missed weight.

He’s yet to fully recover from the disappointment; it was the final chance he’d ever have to fight on the same billing as his hero, Pickett. The pair had spent time together in the build up to a contest Pickett identified as his last. As Johns watched from the front row, Pickett suffered a brutal knockout loss at the hands of Marlon Vera (10-5-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC).

Johns’ unanimous-decision win over Albert Morales (7-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in July in Glasgow paved the way for his first foray to the fight capital of the world. In Las Vegas, he took full advantage of the UFC’s Performance Institute and continued to refine the weight-cutting process that is serving him so well – even if, true to form, the feeling of hitting 136 pounds tends to render Johns a little misty-eyed.

The spectacular showing against Soto saw the ace grappler handed a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus and, in turn, a harsh lesson in transatlantic taxation.

“To win that money was amazing,” he said. “I won’t go on about the tax laws in America, but that kind of kicked me in the nuts. But for the first time in my life, I could afford to buy Christmas presents for everybody, and that was a big thing for me. I’m an emotional family guy, and I just really enjoy being with my family at Christmas.

“I’m not a big spender and, actually, people often say that I’m tighter than a duck’s ass with my money,” Johns continued. “I just don’t like spending money, but I’ll save up and work hard now so I don’t have to when I’m older. I don’t want to be in this game for a long time, but just long enough that it puts money behind not just me, but my girlfriend, eventually my children and for my mother, brothers, sister and my grandparents. I’m trying to sort everybody out from all this.”

Johns is under no illusions about the sheer scale of luck, timing and work required if he is to financially secure his family, but he also has grand plans to open a sports bar in Swansea – an idea of which his mother is less than keen.

Yet, you can’t help arriving at the conclusion that the once introverted, diminutive kid who doggedly confounded those ridiculing his teenage dreams is unlikely to jeopardize a reality that is exceeding his wildest expectations.

“I really had absolutely nothing,” Johns said. “I couldn’t afford a bus ticket to get home one night, but I had to be back in the gym in the morning, so I slept there for a few weeks. There was no heating, and my bed was two couches pushed together. I look back now, and I really, really, really don’t want to go back to that rut. The only way I do that is to keep winning and climbing the ranks.”

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