Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Lavar ‘Big’ Johnson makes his Bellator debut this friday night against Vinicius Queiroz. Johnson was most recently man-handled by Brendan Schaub in a lackluster fight back at UFC 157 in February. After failing his post-fight drug test for elevated levels of testosterone, he was subsequently cut by the UFC.

Recently, he appeared on Ariel Helwani’s show, the MMA hour, and revealed that he was on TRT for the Schaub fight, but did not disclose it to the commission. After failing his post-fight test, he explained to the commission the situation, and thus his suspension was shortened.

I recently spoke with Lavar regarding his new opportunity with Bellator, his opponent on friday night, and other interesting tidbits.

Lavar’s Bellator Debut and nerves

I am excited to make my debut, I got bills to pay. Of course I have some nerves going into this fight. I have nerves before every fight. It’s a good sign and it keeps me on my toes. Having nerves makes me know that I am sharp and aware. For some fighters, they don’t have nerves. They just love to fight and cannot wait to get in there. People just handle some situations differently. Back in the day I was one of those guys, but for whatever reason these last few fights I’ve thrown up beforehand.

His opponent, Vinicius Queiroz

I have watched some of his past fights. He is a tough guy, in very good shape, and I know he will bring it. He is also a brown belt in jiu-jitsu under the Nogueira brothers, so I know his ground game will be solid. I am not falling for it when says he he will stand and trade with me. I learned that the hard way against Brendan Schaub. I am going to take my time and try to pick him apart. As for him saying I am not technical and a brawler, I have seen him too. He is not so technical himself.

His preparation for the fight

I have worked a lot on my wrestling and jiu-jitsu with my coach and trainers Brandon Cash, John Salter, and Brian Gonzales. We have been working on avoiding the take down and submissions, and getting back to my feet with sweeps and good positioning if I do get taken down. I feel confident going into this fight.

The Bellator Heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov

The champ uses his tools very well. He is really long, has sharp straight punches, good combos, and mixes it up well. He is a very talented guy. If I get a shot at him I absolutely think I can win. He is 6’7 and about 225 pounds, I will be too much for him.

Bellator’s opportunity

I am excited to be in this tournament because it allows me to fight back-to-back if I get past Vinicius first, which of course is the first task at hand. The winner of this tournament gets a shot at the belt, so they are giving me plenty of opportunity and I will take it. This is it for me. I plan on fighting 2 or 3 more years and Bellator is where I will finish my career. They are good organization. This is my home.

The possibility of fighting Cheick Kongo

I think all of us are excited to possibly fight Kongo. He is the big name in the tournament. Everyone would like to beat him and put his name on their resume. He has fought the best of the best and to beat him is saying a lot.

His favorite career moment and favorite fighter

My favorite moment has to be my 18 second knockout I had in Strikeforce. I came out threw one punch, and I was done. It does not get much better than that. As for my favorite fighter, I have to say Dan Henderson. That is a bad old man right there.