Chris Johnson was born on February 3rd, 1985 in Moncton, New Brunswick and grew up in small town Rogersville.
His dad showed him how to fight and defend himself at a young age. With no martial arts around, Johnson learned to fight the hard way. Always the quiet guy that doesn’t go looking for fights, he was often in the middle of one and quickly made a name for himself. Just a kid himself, Johnson would take on guys over 30 years old, picking on his friends. He played Jr. and Sr. hockey and was molded into the role of the team enforcer. He was put on the ice to do a job. His job was to police the ice and stick up for his teammates when needed; his role turned him into a real crowd pleaser.
After graduating High school in Rogersville, NB, he moved to Moncton for College and graduated with a Civil Engineering Tech Degree. It didn’t take long for Johnson to enroll at a local boxing gym, where his first amateur fight took place. Johnson held a record of 2-1 as a amateur boxer when he let it all go. Not being a big fan of the point system, he simply wanted more. Having been through his fair share of street fights, he decided to get away from that and try his hand at Mixed Martial Arts. He joined Team Saigo in 2008 and never looked back.
His first fight in 2008 was against Tyler Stuart. Johnson got the win approximately two minutes into the first by ref stoppage due to strikes. Johnson went on to fight Justin Primmer at X Fights in Moncton. Primmer was unknown to Johnson at that point; Johnson had the upper hand in the first and Primmer was saved by the bell. It took short of 30 hard leg kicks from Primmer, being a Muy Tai Specialist, Johnson’s leg gave out in the second round, giving Primmer the TKO victory. His third fight was in May of 2009 where Johnson gained a TKO win in the first round vs. Tim Kelly at the ECC (Extreme Cage Combat) in Cape Breton.
Shortly after, Johnson got news that Dana Dickeson had backed out of his title shot against Steve Skinner in Elite 1 MMA – Wild Card Event in July, 2010. Johnson didn’t skip a beat and accepted the offer. Going in as the underdog, Johnson felt physically and mentally stronger than ever. A huge upset in Johnson’s favor, winning via submission -Rear Naked Choke in the 1st round. Earning the Light Heavyweight title against Skinner was a big accomplishment for Johnson, especially knowing that the majority of the local MMA fans didn’t think he stood a chance.
His next fight was a title shot against Shawn Marchand, at 185lbs for Elite 1 MMA in Moncton. The 1st round was very close, going into the 2nd, Johnson got anxious and got caught and rocked. The referee stepped in to stop it and declared TKO in the 2nd round. After this fight, Johnson took four months off to reflect and revisit what it was he really wanted to do. He then jumped on the opportunity to fight Dale Simmonds in a boxing match and proudly earned himself the Eastern Canadian Cruiserweight Boxing Championship Title.
Johnson was offered the opportunity to take a fight with WI MMA shortly thereafter; Johnson felt this was his big chance. He was to cut an extra fifteen pounds to fight Jeremy Hamilton at 190lbs. Although Johnson’s conditioning was fine tuned, his power was lacking due to the weight cut. He lost via submission- Rear Naked Choke in the 1st round.
With a current record of (4-3), Johnson is currently training and fighting full time. He aspires to make the big leagues soon enough.
