Lavar Johnson (born June 11, 1977) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and formerHeavyweightmixed martial artist. A professional from 2004 until 2014, he competed for theUFC, theWEC,Strikeforce andBellator MMA.^[2]

Johnson is fromMadera, California and was a star football player, attendingMadera High School where a coach nicknamed Johnson "Black Superman."^{[citation needed]} Johnson then continued his career excelling as an outsidelinebacker and strong safety atMerced College before playing at the semi-professional level. Johnson competed inToughman Contests and dominated, leading him to transition into professional mixed martial arts.^[3][4]

Johnson made his professional mixed martial arts debut in the WEC on January 16, 2004, losing to futureWEC Light Heavyweight ChampionDoug Marshall viaTKO (corner stoppage). The bout was somewhat marred by controversy as Johnson was on the receiving end of four low blows over the course of the bout, which was eventually stopped due to exhaustion on his part. Johnson had entered the bout without any training or preparation beyond hitting a heavy bag.^[5] He next defeated Levi Thornbrue via TKO (punches). He knocked out Fred Diaz with punches atWEC 11: Evolution. Johnson then fought twice outside of WEC, winning both bouts via first round stoppage. He returned to face Corey Salter atWEC 17: Halloween Fury 4, making him submit to strikes in the first round. In Johnson's final WEC fight, he lost to the finalWEC Heavyweight ChampionBrian Olsen via submission due to a knee injury.

After the loss to Olsen, and because of the knee injury sustained during that loss, Johnson briefly left mixed martial arts to become a delivery driver forBudweiser. Johnson claimed that the cost of his medical expenses, coupled with his inability to train and fight, because of his injury, necessitated that he go get a "real" job. He returned to fighting after a two-and a-half year layoff, with a submission loss to Alijah Reni.^[6]

He went on to defeat his next four opponents via first round stoppage, before being signed byStrikeforce.

Johnson made hisStrikeforce debut againstCarl Seumanutafa atStrikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Aina, knocking him out with a punch 18 seconds into the first round. Johnson knocked out Seumanutafa with anuppercut while Seumanutafa was going for a takedown.

Johnson was shot on July 4, 2009, while at a family reunion. Johnson was rumored to return to action atStrikeforce Challengers: Kaufman vs. Hashi, facingLolohea Mahe. The match was instead moved toStrikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe, as the main event. Johnson won by TKO due to punches in the second round.

He next faced currentBellator fighterVirgil Zwicker atStrikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker,^[7] knocking him out with punches in the first round.

Johnson fought in aStrikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament alternate match, submitting toShane Del Rosario'sarmbar in the first round.

Johnson's next fight came against formerLouisiana State University football player,Shawn Jordan atStrikeforce Challengers: Larkin vs. Rossborough. Johnson lost via submission to anAmericana in the second round. Afterwards, he took time off to heal injuries to his right elbow and left knee.^[8]

Johnson made his UFC debut on January 28, 2012, defeatingJoey Beltran via first-round KO atUFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis.^[9] This earned him theKnockout of the Night bonus award.

Johnson returned just over three months later for his second UFC fight, defeating fan-favoritePat Barry via first-round TKO atUFC on Fox 3.^[10] For this, he was awarded his second consecutiveKnockout of the Night bonus.

Johnson replaced an injuredMark Hunt on ten days' notice^[11] and was defeated byStefan Struve on the main card ofUFC 146 via submission due to anarmbar in the first round.

Johnson was expected to faceBrendan Schaub on December 8, 2012, atUFC on Fox 5.^[12] However, Johnson was forced out of the bout with a groin injury and Schaub was pulled from the card altogether.^[13]

Johnson/Schaub eventually took place on February 23, 2013, atUFC 157.^[14] Johnson lost the fight via unanimous decision. Johnson was subsequently released from the organization after a post fight drug screening revealed elevated levels of testosterone. His fighting license was suspended by theCalifornia State Athletic Commission till November 23, 2013. Johnson admitted he was undergoingtestosterone replacement therapy and had not disclosed this on his pre-fight medical questionnaire.^[15]

Following his release from the UFC, Johnson signed with Bellator MMA. He debuted on October 4, 2013, in the heavyweight tournament againstVinicius Queiroz atBellator 102. In a surprising upset, Johnson was stopped by one punch just 23 seconds into the fight, marking the first time he had been knocked out in his career.

Johnson returned to the Bellator cage in March 2014 as a participant in theBellator Season Ten Heavyweight Tournament. He facedRyan Martinez in the opening round atBellator 111 on March 7, 2014. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Johnson facedBlagoy Ivanov in the semifinals atBellator 116 on April 11, 2014. He lost the back-and-forth bout via submission in the first round.

Johnson facedCheick Kongo on September 5, 2014, atBellator 123.^[16] He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

On September 21, 2019, Johnson returned to professional fighting via bare-knuckle boxing, defeating formerUFC and Ultimate Fighter veteranJames McSweeney via first-round TKO at Valor Bare Knuckle 1.

Johnson was scheduled to faceRashad Coulter followed by Bobby Brents on November 23, 2024 atBKFC Fight Night: Los Angeles.^[17] However, both Coulter and Brents withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Anthony Garrett. Johnson lost by knockout 12 seconds into the first round.^[18]

Johnson has two sons.

In 2007, Johnson was sentenced to 14 days of jail and three years of probation as well as ordered to undergo alcohol counselling after pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor charges of corporal injury on a spouse/co-habitant. He was then jailed for 30 days for criminal threats and disobeying a domestic relations court order.

On July 5, 2008, at approximately midnight, Johnson was shot (along with four others, one fatally) at a family reunion inBakersfield, California.^[19] According to reports released by theBakersfield Police Department, a male in his late teens approached Johnson and the other victims as they were gathering in the front yard during a family reunion/Independence Day celebration and opened fire on the crowd at random, shooting five people. Johnson was shot in the hip, the forearm, and the third bullet fired at him hit his abdomen, which was the most serious injury. Johnson'sAmerican Kickboxing Academy trainer, Bob Cook, told Sherdog.com shortly afterwards that Johnson was between serious and critical condition. Cook stated he believed Johnson had been struck twice, once in the abdomen and once in the chest. Hisappendix was removed and he could not eat or drink for a month after the surgery which sewed his stomach closed. In August 2008, Johnson was released from hospital, and was said to be doing well and hoping to return to training as soon as possible. A fifteen-year-old girl was later arrested in connection to the shooting. Johnson has a scar up and down his torso as a result of the surgery and his cousin, Anthony, who was fromJacksonville, Texas was the casualty.^[20][21]

On August 25, 2015, Johnson was arrested inFresno, California and charged with corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and dissuading a witness by force. He had allegedly repeatedly punched, kneed and slammed his girlfriend on August 11, before fleeing the scene. He was in Fresno County Jail with bail set at $175,000. He pled not guilty to all charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and eight months in prison.^[22] On April 29, 2016, Johnson was sentenced to five years in prison for the August 2015 assault.^[23]

• War Gods MMA
  • War Gods Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Knockout Of The Night (Two times)

• Professional MMA record for Lavar Johnson fromSherdog
• Lavar Johnson atUFC

• 1977 births
• Living people
• African-American mixed martial artists
• American male mixed martial artists
• American sportspeople in doping cases
• Doping cases in mixed martial arts
• Heavyweight mixed martial artists
• Merced College alumni
• Mixed martial artists from California
• Sportspeople from Madera, California
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
• 21st-century African-American sportsmen
• 20th-century African-American sportsmen
• 20th-century American sportsmen
• 21st-century American sportsmen

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Pages using infobox martial artist with unknown parameters
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021