Fighting for a title: Minnesota native Tim Johnson gets biggest MMA bout of career tonight

There's a moment before the start of a mixed martial arts bout when nerves catch up to Tim Johnson. He's alone with his opponent, and the scope of what he signed up to do becomes very real.

"They locked the door and I can't get back out," Johnson, a 36-year-old MMA fighter and Minnesota native said of the feeling. "Some people say they get used to it, but I think they're lying. There's always nerves. You're walking in there knowing you're going to get in a fistfight. Elbows, kicks, everything else."

But he's also knows that once he touches gloves with his opponent, muscle memory will kick in. And to create a sense of calm, he can draw on experiences far more dangerous than a fight.

"I just keep telling myself it's just a fight, not the end of the world; you could win, you could lose," Johnson said. "But it's not like you're driving down the road looking for roadside bombs."

Johnson had that experience a decade ago as a member of the Minnesota National Guard when he was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait as part of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Iraq War.

That deployment interrupted the early stages of his MMA career, when Johnson was a regional fighter in Fargo, N.D., after finishing a college wrestling career at Minnesota State Moorhead.

A second deployment that ended just a couple of months ago — this time for six weeks to Minneapolis during the lead-up to the Derek Chauvin trial — interrupted training for the biggest bout of his life.

But on Friday, Johnson will get his shot: Fighting on the main card of BELLATOR MMA 261 as the No. 1-ranked heavyweight with the interim title on the line, Johnson will face third-ranked Valentin Moldavsky in a bout slated to begin around 8 p.m. on Showtime.

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The opportunity follows a three-match winning streak that put Johnson's career pro record — early regional bouts in Fargo, time spent with Ultimate Fighting Championship and then Bellator — at 15-6.

"Tim Johnson is on an inspiring run, having defeated three of the best fighters our heavyweight division has to offer," Bellator President Scott Coker said. "We are proud to have an active serviceman representing the BELLATOR brand the way he has inside and outside of the cage."

Johnson's winding path to this moment started outside of Lamberton, Minn. — a town of fewer than 1,000 people about 140 miles southwest of the Twin Cities — where he grew up on his family's hog farm doing chores and developing a still-present work ethic.

He initially went to college for football, but he developed into a two-time All-America wrestler at MSU Moorhead. Some friends then asked him to train with them in Fargo, which had a budding MMA scene.

"They said, 'Hey, you don't have to fight, just come in and be a body for us to roll around with,' " Johnson said. "And within eight weeks I think I took my first pro fight."

He became what is known on regional circuits as a "little pond superstar," Johnson said, and he didn't think much more of his fighting career initially beyond enjoying that feeling of adulation on fight night. In the midst of that, he was deployed.

"I loved it. I had a great experience. It grew me up," Johnson said of his experience in Iraq and Kuwait. "I had a different outlook on the world and life in general when I got back."

He also started taking his training more seriously, developing beyond just relying on brute strength (Johnson weighs in these days at 260 pounds) and his wrestling skills to become a true fighter.

"Wrestling is a great base, but it will only get you so far," said Johnson, who used to train in Fargo but moved his life and training to Las Vegas in 2018. "Wrestling will get you in trouble in MMA. You have to know when to wrestle and when to shut it off. I'm pretty basic. I stick with a good wrestling base and boxing."

He had enough success to land with UFC and, a few years later, Bellator. His first nine bouts combined with those two outfits? Just a 4-5 record. But three consecutive wins later — the first a knockout and major upset over Tyrell Fortune — he has the opportunity for which he has been striving all these years.

But even after acknowledging how important this moment is, Johnson also has a sense of calm about it.

"This is just a competition. You know, whatever happens, happens," he said. "Just go out and put out a performance you're going to be happy with. I can handle a loss as long as I know I did everything I could."