UFC Vegas 114 turned out to be a solid night of fights for the fans, as most bouts ended up entertaining the viewers. However, a veteran fighter got some pushback from the audience because of a gun-shy approach during a main card bout, even though the fight ended in a victory. Now, the fighter has revealed that he fought with an injury.

Following Charles Johnson’s razor-close split decision win against a solid #15-ranked flyweight contender, Bruno Silva, fans questioned the 35-year-old veteran’s approach in the fight as he wasn’t moving forward much. But now, the UFC veteran revealed that he clashed in the Octagon with an existing foot injury that stopped him from pushing the pace.

“Out struck a dangerous and solid opponent while defending every takedown,” Johnson wrote on X. “Unfortunately, I was not able to push forward or move much due to dealing with a foot injury I suffered two weeks before the fight. We deal with it and keep working. No excuses! Love my team #INNERG ❤️‍🔥🏴‍☠️🏆,” he added.

Well, fighters indeed enter the Octagon with some sort of injury, but a foot injury actually restricts movement a lot and can be detrimental in a fight. Although he didn’t detail the severity of the injury, it’s highly impressive that Johnson continued dealing with the pain and still ended up winning the fight. However, ‘Inner-G’s victory becomes even more impressive considering he took the fight on short notice.

Originally, the UFC booked Lone’er Kavanaugh against Bruno Silva for the UFC Vegas 114 event. However, after Brandon Moreno’s initial opponent, Asu Almabayev, pulled out of the UFC Mexico event because of an injury, Kavanaugh ended up replacing him. As a result, Johnson took the vacant spot for the Apex event and then won against Silva without disclosing any prior injury.

That said, as the 35-year-old veteran pulled off an impressive win with an existing injury, it’s not the first time something like this has happened. Following his career-best knockout against Alex Pereira in their rematch at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya also revealed that he entered the fight with a grade 1 MCL tear, and shared the detail after the fight was over.

Now, with that similar instance out of the way, Charles Johnson is definitely in a good position to get another solid opponent next. And this time, he wants a top-ranked opponent for his next fight.

Charles Johnson calls out Brandon Royval after UFC Vegas 114 victory

Currently, the 125 lbs veteran is sitting at #14 in the flyweight rankings. But by this coming Tuesday, that’s expected to change as the promotion might push him up the rankings. Despite that, Charles Johnson believes he’s ready to collide with a top-ranked opponent and called out his old nemesis, Brandon Royval, to avenge his loss from LFA 48.

“The champion is Joshua Van and I knocked his a— out,” Johnson told Michael Bisping during his UFC Vegas 114 Octagon interview. “Kavanaugh, number 6, knocked his a— out. So I would like to fight somebody in the top 5, anybody that’s available in the top 7. I know my last fight didn’t go my way, but this is God’s timing, and I love this sport, baby. So let’s go…

Me and Brandon Royval had an amazing fight in LFA. If he’s available, I love him to death. But I think it’s time we run that back. Either him, or I want Kyoji, he’s a legend, or if it makes sense, Asu,” he added.

Well, we have to appreciate ‘Inner-G’s game reading here, as he strategically called out Brandon Royval. There’s definitely a story behind this clash, as ‘Raw Dawg’ defeated him back in 2018. Alongside that storyline, Johnson probably expects to face the #4-ranked flyweight, as Royval has two back-to-back defeats, the most recent of which was a knockout loss against Manel Kape.

In that case, the UFC might just give Johnson the chance to grab Royval’s #4 spot. But only time will tell whether the promotion gives him another top-10 opponent before the veteran can get his hands on the top tier. That said, what do you think should be ‘Inner-G’s next move? Comment below.