Tony Johnson Trying Not To Let Brother’s Death Affect His Upcoming Fight

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Tony Johnson (10-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) spoke about his brother William’s recent suicide and his upcoming fight Cheick Kongo (24-10-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) tonight at Bellator 161. Here are highlights:

On his brother’s suicide two weeks ago and if he thought about backing out of the fight: “No way. I never (thought about stepping away). The next day I went home and never thought I’m not going to fight. … I spent time with my family, but we are strong. It was a horrible situation we didn’t see coming, but I never thought about stepping out of the fight. And Bellator has been very supportive of whatever my decision was.”

On Kongo remaining his focus: “I hope he’s ready. I’ve really trained for everything this fight. I’m prepared. I go to bed and I wake up thinking about Cheick Kongo. He has consumed my thoughts.”

On if he’ll fight again this year: “I would love to slip one more in before the end of the year. I believe Matt Mitrione, he’s number one, and everyone knows how I feel about that. I hope by December I get to punch his face in.”