Kajan Johnson: XMMA Champion Gives His Views on All Things Canadian MMA

Over the course of the last decade, Vancouver, British Columbia’s Kajan Johnson has established himself as one of the brightest stars in Canadian mixed martial arts.

Throughout the course of his eight year professional career as a mixed martial artist, Johnson has fought for the majority of Canada’s prominent organizations, including the TKO Major League MMA, King of the Cage, Heat XC, XMMA, and the Maximum Fighting Championships banners.

Johnson, a two-time XMMA lightweight champion, is now in training for his next bout at MFC 27 on Nov. 12 in Edmonton, Alberta against a yet to be named opponent.

Recently, the current XMMA lightweight champion, took time out of his busy training regimen to give fans of the sport an “insider’s look” at all things Canadian mixed martial arts, including the past, present, and future of the sport in ‘The Great White North.’

Currently, Canada is represented well by many elite athletes in mixed martial arts, but in the early days of the sport Canadian competitors were few and far between.

In the beginning years of your career, did you look up to any Canadian fighters as a source of inspiration?

In the beginning I mainly looked up to my coach Bill Mahood, my training partners, Travais Galbraith, and Denis Kang. I also tried very hard to mimic the fighting style of Wanderlei Silva. 

Aside from the sport's incredible surge in popularity over the course of the past few years, how different is it for young Canadian mixed martial artists trying to make a name for themselves today than it was for you when you began training years ago?

Well it’s harder and easier at the same time (laughing). Because of the popularity of the sport, more people are interested and there is more media coverage.

This makes it easier to get your name out there, because people actually know what mixed martial arts is.

It is harder because there are more fighters out there trying to do the same thing you are, so you really have to be smart with marketing yourself properly.

With Georges St. Pierre currently ruling the UFC’s welterweight division, in conjunction with a number of other prominent fighters competing under the UFC banner, and countless other young competitors fighting both in North America and abroad, how do you feel about the current state of Canadian mixed martial arts?

Currently, mixed martial arts in Canada is booming, although there are a lot of people trying to stop it.

Having great Canadian fighters in the UFC definitely helps this, because it brought the UFC to Canada which gives more publicity and legitimacy to the fighters, coaches and gyms out here.

From British Columbia to the Maritimes, there are more mixed martial arts gyms now than ever before that are churning out very talented fighters. What gym or team do you think is the best in Canada?

I think it’s pretty easy to see that Tristar is the best gym in the country. Fighters from all over North America flock there to train, giving it a huge stable of sparring partners.

A gym is only as good as the people that train there. There are a lot of gyms with high-level instruction, but none have the amount of talent that Tristar houses.

Despite reports to the contrary, professionally-sanctioned mixed martial arts has proven to be one of the safest sports in the world while also consistently proving financially beneficial across every province that sanctions mixed martial arts professionally.

Do you think that it is just a matter of time until the sport is legalized across Canada?

I think that mixed martial arts will definitely be legal across Canada eventually, it will just take time. How long will it take? I don’t know. The major roadblocks to the sport are the douche bags that it attracts.

I’m not talking about all mixed martial arts fans, but there are definitely a lot of gangsters that like to see people get beat up and watch it for that reason, alone.

The more mixed martial arts is marketed as honourable competition between two martial artists, the less problems we will have with the Cristian Audiger wearing gangster fans that like to pick fights in the crowd.

Recently, the British Columbia Medical Association declared their intention to pursue banning professional mixed martial arts across Canada, citing the occurrences of “broken limbs, lacerations and brain damage” as potential afflictions to participants of the sport.

How do you feel about the intentions of the B.C. Medical Association? Do you feel their cause has merit?

I think the British Columbia Medical Association needs to worry more about the figure skaters and gymnasts than the fighters. They don’t like the sport because of the violence, not the injuries.

The injuries we face in fighting are nothing compared to football, hockey, gymnastics, figure skating, NASCAR. The list goes on and on.

If they don’t think mixed martial arts is bad, they should look at what I used to do; skateboarding.

That is a sport that gives you concussions, lacerations, and brain damage, and you do all that without supervision on concrete. Give me a break.

With new training facilities being opened on almost a weekly basis across Canada with a few  Canadian-based promotions achieving international recognition, there is no doubt that there are more opportunities for young mixed martial artists than ever before in our nation, but do you feel that there are enough opportunities for aspiring mixed martial artists in Canada?

I think that there are a lot of opportunities in Canada for mixed martial artists, but we can always have more. Me not being able to fight in my own city is a huge detriment to me in terms of sponsorship and fan-base.

Legalizing professional mixed martial arts across the country is what needs to happen in order for us to prosper to our full potential.

There are a plethora of young up-and-coming mixed martial artists in Canada, from Rory MacDonald to TJ Grant to any number of promising athletes competing in smaller organizations across the world. How do you feel about the future of mixed martial arts in Canada?

Our future is very bright in Canada. We continue to churn out top-level fighters all the time. We will keep growing, we can’t be stopped.

Given the incredible amount of enthusiastic fans across the country and the fact that the sport is only gaining in popularity, do you think in the future Canada could displace America, Brazil, and Japan as the top mixed martial arts country in the world?

I’m not sure if we will replace Brazil and America, but mixed martial arts is dying down in Japan, and I believe we have already surpassed then in terms of interested fans per capita. We will have to see what the future holds, but Canada loves mixed martial arts and I can’t see it slowing down any time soon.

Few would argue that there is a more prominent figure in Canadian mixed martial arts than Georges St. Pierre at this point in time, but who do you think is the next great Canadian mixed martial artist?

I don’t want to sound conceited, but I truly believe that I am the next great fighter out of Canada. I have all the tools to take on the world and will do just that. One day this whole country will be screaming my name.

Canada is blessed to be represented by not only a number of very talented fighters, but the majority of these athletes are also terrific sportsmen who serve as exquisite role-models for young people everywhere, how do you feel about the way Canada is represented by our mixed martial artists?

Do you think it is important to represent your nation well when you perform at an international level?

I think it is important to always be a good person, whether you are competing or not. Representing yourself in a positive light will bring positive results.

While you have this opportunity, do you have anything that you would like to say to your Canadian fans?

To my Canadian fans, I would like to say thank-you to everyone that has supported me in the past and thank-you to everyone who will support me in the future.