Strikeforce Challengers 19: Look out for Lavar Johnson, the Bud Man

Johnson hit the scales at 249 pounds (Strikeforce.com photo)

While taking a break from MMA to recover from a knee injury five years ago, Lavar Johnson became one of the most important and well-respected men in the Fresno, Calif. area.

In order to pay the bills for surgery to repair the knee he injured in a loss to Brian Olsen at WEC 18, Johnson had to get a “real” job.  With the referral of a friend, Johnson took gainful employment with the King of Beers.

“Yeah,” the Strikeforce heavyweight told MMADieHards.com, “I used to be the Bud Man.”

Johnson quickly earned himself a delivery route, trucking Budweiser beer from the distributor to its points of sale.  He began most of his long days at 6 a.m., which is well before he hits the gym these days when training for a fight.

Speaking of fights, Johnson has one Friday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas against Shawn Jordan at Strikeforce Challengers 19, which will be aired on Showtime.  It is Johnson’s first time stepping back into the cage since February, when he lost to Shane del Rosario on the main card of the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva event.

Relegated back to the Challengers series after the loss to del Rosario, Johnson was slated to fight Devin Cole in the July event.  He was hampered by a groin injury at the time, but that was not going to keep him out of the cage.  Instead it turned out to be a tweak in his knee that cost him the two-month delay in his comeback.  At least he did not have to don the Bud Man uniform again to get by.

“I was very close (to not pulling out),” Johnson said.  ”I need the (ability to make) money, for one thing.  If I fight every six months there’s only so much you can do with your paycheck.  It comes down to if you can afford it or not.  You’re always going to have some type of injury.”

A member of American Kickboxing Academy, Johnson limited his training at AKA this time around in order to maintain his physical well-being.  The attrition rate of preparing at one of the top camps in the sport kept him stationed mostly at the Thrive MMA locations in Fresno and Madera.

“I didn’t go up there that much because of the injuries,” Johnson said.  ”Every time I go there, it’s like a fight itself.  I only went there like two times this (camp).”

That was the reasoning behind eschewing the fight with Cole, no matter how counter-intuitive it was to pull out of a match when he needed the money.  It was the mature thing to do, especially since Johnson believes he has at least 10 fights left in him.  He was thinking about his long-term ability to make it as a prizefighter.

That fight, like this one, was slated for Las Vegas, making it Johnson’s first fight in Sin City.  After building a career out of fighting close to home, which he says he prefers to do, Johnson figures there’s a lot less pressure on him fighting away from Northern California.  His girlfriend, younger brothers Brandon  and Anthony Morris, older brother Damon Johnson, and parents made the trip to Las Vegas for the fight, but the usually large contingent of his hometown supporters will not be in the stands.

Sponsorship money for this fight was lean for Johnson, so there’s more pressure than usual to earn his win bonus.

If he loses?

“Maybe I’ll be going back to Budweiser driving a truck, delivering beer,” he said with a perhaps half-serious laugh.  ”I still have one of (my uniforms).”

Johnson is reticent to seek financial capitalization on the opportunity to walk out for his fight in that old deliveryman’s getup.

“I wish it was like that, but I don’t think the UFC of Zuffa is going to allow any of that,” Johnson said.

Johnson found a unique way to be part of the groups he has helped serve: Bud drinkers and MMA fans.  Most fighters would be unwilling to go through with the small tradition he was prepared for Thursday night after weigh-ins.

“I still drink Budweiser — matter of fact, I drink two tall cans the night before the fight,” he admitted.  ”It’s my mental thing, it’s my little ritual I do.  It relaxes me, and it’s my way of saying (expletive) my opponent, “I’m gonna beat his ass regardless.”

Johnson drove the Budweiser route for about 2 1/2 years.  As long as MMA pays the bills, he’s not headed back to the truck any time soon, although one thing remains clear: Fighter or not, Lavar Johnson will always be a Bud Man.