He won the bout by unanimous decision. A bout with Benson Henderson was initially linked as the event headliner for The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale on July 12, 2015. Although never officially announced by the UFC, the bout between Henderson and Johnson will not take place at this event. Johnson faced Beneil Dariush on August 8, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 73. He lost the fight via a controversial split decision. Every mainstream MMA media outlet polled by MMA Decisions scored the fight as decision victory for Johnson. Johnson faced Nate Diaz on December 19, 2015, at UFC on Fox 17. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors. 2016 A rematch with Tony Ferguson was expected to take place on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196. However, on January 27, it was announced that Johnson withdrew from the bout due to an injury. Johnson faced Dustin Poirier on September 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 94. He won the fight via knockout early in the first round with a sharp two-punch combination followed by ground and pound. This win earned Johnson his first Performance of the Night bonus award. Johnson next faced Khabib Nurmagomedov on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. He lost the fight via submission in the third round. 2017 Johnson faced former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje on July 7, 2017, in the main event at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. Rocking Gaethje twice with punches, Johnson was not able to capitalize and lost the fight via TKO with a combination of punches and knees in the second round. The fight earned Johnson his second Fight of the Night bonus award. 2018 Johnson faced Darren Elkins in a featherweight bout on January 14, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. He lost the fight in round two via submission. Johnson faced Andre Fili on August 25, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 135. He won the fight via split decision. Johnson faced Artem Lobov on October 27, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 138. At weight-ins, Johnson weighed in at 147 pounds, one pounds over the featherweight limit of 146 pounds. As a result, the fight proceeded at a catchweight bout and Johnson was to forfeit 20% of his purse to Lobov, however Lobov refused to take the money. Johnson defeated Lobov by unanimous decision. Consecutive Losses