'Just happy to be fighting with a major organization,' Tim Johnson enters PFL playoffs with zero pressure

Tim Johnson isn’t even supposed to be in the PFL heavyweight semifinals, but here he is one win away from fighting for $1 million.

“At this moment, I’m just happy to be fighting with a major organization,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio.

Johnson had been out of a job after parting ways with Bellator shortly before the merge with PFL, which reached out to bring him back a short-notice replacement against Danilo Marques on June 13. In one of the most unusual sequences to happen in a cage, Johnson absorbed a hard groin shot at the same time he dropped Marques with a punch. After using his time to recover, Johnson charged at Marques and dropped him again before scoring the finish with ground-and-pound to clinch his spot in the tournament.

Johnson admits he was nowhere close to being in fight shape and knew that, without a first-round finish, he would be in trouble against Marques. With that improbable result out of the way, Johnson (18-9) is set to meet Denis Goltsov (34-8) in Friday’s 2024 PFL Playoffs 1 main event at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

Even though he’s close to securing a huge bag of money, Johnson feels zero pressure to win.

“Considering where I was at not even a month-and-a-half ago, it’s nice to be back,” Johnson said. “Right now, I haven’t really been day dreaming of winning ($1 million) or anything like that, just kind of been taking it as it comes. That’s my kind of mindset. Go out there, let it rip and see what happens. What is will be. I’m not getting too worked up over winning and losing, making the finals and all that. Give it a try, give it a shot.”

Part of what goes into Johnson’s mentality is very simply that he makes no illusions about how he measures up to Goltsov.

“Denis is a heck of a fighter, way more talented than I am, but most of my opponents are that way,” Johnson said. “I’ve just got to find a way to grit through and find some way to win. …

“I’m old now. I want to be entertaining, and I want the fans to be entertained. If that means risking a big KO then I guess it is what it is.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL Playoffs 1.