Tim Johnson and his magnificent mustache have been in the UFC since 2015. 

The 6-foot-3 heavyweight made his debut at UFC Fight Night 63, where he knocked out Shamil Abdurakhimov in the first round. Since his successful debut, Johnson has gone 2-3 in the promotion. Currently ranked No. 15, Johnson has faced two current top 10 opponents during his run with the UFC, losing a split decision to Alexander Volkov and defeating Marcin Tybura via decision. 

Johnson now heads into his fourth international fight since his UFC debut, as he faces Marcelo Golm at UFC Fight Night 125 in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday. 

A resident of Fargo, North Dakota, Johnson has previously fought in Northern Ireland, Croatia, and England. 

“I enjoy the sights and the cities, seeing different areas of the world on the UFC's dime,” Johnson told FloCombat. “Basically, it's a nice trip, but I was hoping to get another [fight] in the U.S. this time around. 

"But this fight kind of just lined up this way. Hopefully, I'll get a win, then I can be a little more picky about the fights, where I take them and who they are.”

To get that win, Johnson will have to get through Golm, and he has nothing but praise for his 25-year-old opponent. 

“Young, fast, young boy, young man, full of piss and vinegar,” Johnson said. “He's got good hands, he's got a lot of buzz about him, so it's going to be a tough fight.”

The buzz comes from the fact that the heavyweight prospect is currently riding high with a perfect 6-0 record, with all six wins coming via knockout or submission. Despite the "buzz about him," Golm remains somewhat of a question mark, as Johnson and his team haven’t had much tape to go study in preparation for this fight.

“I match up pretty well,” Johnson said. “There's not a lot of video out there of him, so there wasn't a lot to go off. But he's definitely a 'move forward' fighter, and I'm a 'move forward' fighter as well, and that makes for a very in-your-face kind of fight for both of us. 

"So it's nice that for his aspect and my aspect, neither one of us are back-up kind of guys.”

Johnson spent most of his camp training with UFC and Bellator heavyweights Travis Browne and Roy Nelson. The high-level training partners were a big help to Johnson, boosting his confidence and preparing him for battle both physically and mentally.

“You get to roll around and fight with those guys who are some of the best heavyweights in the world, and I get to hang with them," Johnson said. "It just gives me a little more of that confidence boost. Fighters sometimes will do a little second-guessing, but it kind of validates itself.”

Facing an undefeated prospect can be a daunting task for any man, especially in hostile territory. Chants of “uh, vai morrer” ("you're going to die) await any man who dares set foot in the UFC Octagon to take out one of Brazil's native sons. 

Funny enough, that’s not exactly the experience Johnson’s had with the locals since his arrival in Belem.

“Well, I hope the crowd’s like everyone that we've met,” Johnson said. “Everyone we've met is super nice and inviting. They're talkative and friendly with us, and hopefully that'll transfer over to the crowd tomorrow, but [it’ll] probably [be] a different temper in there.”

The road to Belem hasn’t been an easy one for Johnson. His last fight — against another Brazilian, Junior Albini — ended with Johnson losing by TKO in the first round. Johnson simply brushed the fight off, congratulated his opponent, and moved on.

“Those things were going my way overall during the first round,” Johnson said. "[I] have to give it to Junior: He got a nice win off of me. Even if that hadn't happened, who knows what would have happened in that fight. Junior came and fought with a lot of heart with nothing to lose, and congrats [to] him.”

The rough patch didn’t stop there for Johnson. With the Albini fight firmly in the rearview mirror, Johnson focused on training with his coaches as he prepared for the showdown with Golm. However, Johnson had a sponsor drop out on him at the last minute, meaning one of his coach's plane tickets was no longer paid for. 

In an attempt to fly his coach out to Brazil, Johnson created a GoFundMe page on his personal Facebook for his friends and family to donate. What Johnson didn’t realize was that his Facebook post was actually set to "public," meaning anybody could see it with a simple search.

“It wasn't really stressful; it was more or less surprising,” Johnson said. “It's kind of worked out now, but it was just supposed to be a private page for friends and family and maybe some acquaintances to donate 5 or 10 bucks, but I accidentally made it public. So when I woke up the next day, that's when I saw that everyone donated on it. 

"It wasn't really stressful. It was a nice relief, but Rob Strauss donated $3,500 to us. That was a nice surprise, [and I] can't thank him enough for that.”

By Lucas Grandsire