The Good Life – January-February 2016

BY: JESSICA BALLOU ■ PHOTOS: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
At different times in his life, Timothy Johnson
thought he wanted to be a farmer, an electrician
and serve in law enforcement. Now he’s
a three-time title-holder for Dakota Fighting
Championship Heavyweight Champion and a
heavyweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC).
At 6’3” and 265 pounds, he is a force to be reckoned with.
The 30-year-old Lamberton, Minn., native has been signed as
a heavyweight with the UFC since October 2014.
‘I got a little bit hooked’
He became interested in mixed martial arts (MMA) by
accident right after college, and he hasn’t looked back since.
When he finished wrestling at Minnesota State University
Moorhead (MSUM), he had met a few heavyweights from
the area who were doing MMA and looking for new training
partners, which isn’t always easy for that weight class.
“I started training with them, and I got a little bit hooked,”
he said. “I thought, ‘Maybe I want to try this and see what I
think of this.’ And I haven’t looked back. I just kind of kept
going back to it.”
Johnson changed his mind a lot on what he wanted to do with
his life, and it wasn’t until a few years ago he even considered
MMA a serious passion of his. Like most kids who grow up on
a farm, he thought he wanted to be a farmer when he grew up.
As he got into high school, he seriously considered becoming
an electrician. And when he went to college initially, it was to
serve in law enforcement.
Besides training, working out and other hobbies, Johnson
does security work for a local bar in Fargo 20-25 hours a week.
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