With one eye on the Bellator MMA heavyweight championship, Lavar Johnson is gearing up for his second fight in 35 days. It’s been nearly 10 years since Johnson had two bouts so close together, but to him, the turnaround is worth it. This Friday night in the Bellator 116 headliner from Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif., Johnson will look to punch his ticket to the season 10 heavyweight tournament final. In order to do that, Johnson (18-8 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) must first get past Blagoi Ivanov (10-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA), an undefeated fighter out of Bulgaria who’s registered wins in all five of his Bellator appearances. While the quick turnaround for this Spike TV-televised fight is something relatively unfamiliar to Johnson, he’s excited to compete again so shortly after his knockout of Ryan Martinez this past month. “This is great,” Johnson told MMAjunkie.
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Bellator 116 headliner Lavar Johnson: ‘I still got it as an old man’ – MMA Junkie