Pat Barry vs. Lavar Johnson Results: What We Learned About Johnson

Lavar Johnson is a destroyer and quite possibly the next breakout star in the UFC heavyweight division.

At UFC on Fox 3, he overwhelmed Pat Barry in the first round to pick up his second consecutive knockout stoppage.

"It just feels great. I'm on top of the world right now," Johnson told Ariel Helwani in his post-fight interview with MMAFighting.com. "Beating Pat Barry is an excellent achievement, probably the highest achievement of my career so far, and to be here in the UFC is just awesome."

When it comes to hard-hitting heavyweights, it doesn't get any better than Johnson. He has netted 15 knockouts in his professional career. None of his fights have ever gone the distance.

Along with his aggressive fighting style, Johnson has an intriguing story. He barely survived a shooting a few years back at a family gathering, and those battle wounds are displayed vividly on his torso today.

Johnson is a fighter through and through. He has overcome obstacles some us will never know. As a fan of the sport, it's hard not to be drawn in by this kind of character.

Here are five things we learned about Johnson.

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Grappling Woes

Johnson may have a knack for putting opponents to sleep, but every opponent isn't going to stand and trade with him like Barry.

There are some serious holes in his ground game. Barry even managed to secure a takedown and do some work from top position.

Luckily for Johnson, there aren't many fighters in the heavyweight division that favor a grapple-heavy offense.

Strong Chin

It was pretty amazing to see Johnson walk through some of the kicks and punches that Barry landed on him.

When a fighter can take the same punishment he dishes out, it tends to be a recipe for a scary individual to deal with.

There may not be a heavyweight alive who can match chins with Johnson in wild pocket exchanges.

Best Knockout Artist at Heavyweight?

With 15 knockouts in his professional career, Johnson now ties former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

From a technical perspective, Johnson and Overeem's skill set aren't even comparable. Overeem is a far more accomplished striker and he has proven it on multiple stages.

With that said, it doesn't have to be pretty to get the job done, and Johnson has a way of hunting chins and utilizing fists to tell the ultimate bedtime story.

Title Shot on Back Burner

In his post-fight interview with MMAFighting.com, Johnson didn't seem overly interested in climbing the heavyweight ladder.

For now, he's comfortable putting on exciting fights against other heavyweights willing to keep the bout standing.

"Whoever they put me against, hopefully it's somebody who doesn't have a good chin," Johnson joked. "Not a wrestler. Anybody, any stand-up guy to make the fight exciting."

Main Card Savior

It's tough to project where Johnson will be at a year or two from now, but one thing is clear—he is cementing a spot on the UFC roster.

While winning is the most important thing, the UFC tends to take care of guys who always show up to fight and put on exciting performances.

Guys like Stephan Bonnar, Dan Hardy, Chris Leben and Keith Jardine have all had their share of inconsistencies, but their exciting fighting styles catered to fans and kept their careers afloat.

Jardine lost four straight before finally being handed his walking papers. Hardy is still under contract with the UFC, despite having lost his last four bouts.

The UFC loves having a guy like Johnson around who won't disappoint in delivering an exciting show.