Many consider Cruz to be one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He recently avenged his only career loss by defeating Urijah Faber at UFC 132 in July.

A quote from Mark Twain best describes his next opponent, Johnson, “It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.” Johnson is the smallest fighter in the UFC at 5 feet 3 and 135 pounds. But don’t let his size fool you: He has dominated taller fighters his entire career. He is best known for his body slams and relentless energy in the cage.

"I’m a smaller guy, so I train at a high pace," Johnson said. “I’m really a hype person, so after training for three months for a UFC fight, I’m ready to go.”

Johnson was scheduled to face Renan Barão at UFC 130, but Johnson's opponent was changed to top contender Miguel Torres after Torres' originally scheduled opponent, Brad Pickett, was forced off the card because of an injury. Torres was a huge step up in competition for Johnson, but he used his superior wrestling ability to win a 29-28 unanimous decision. Johnson broke his fibula in the second round from a checked leg kick but continued to fight.

After beating Torres, the former WEC bantamweight champion, Johnson was given a UFC title shot against Cruz.

"Dominick Cruz has been beating everybody in the weight class, and I have been beating the majority of the guys, too," Johnson said. "I just been climbing the ladder, and it’s awesome that the UFC has gave me the opportunity to fight for a title."

To have a shot at taking the title from Cruz, he must sustain a feverish pace for all five rounds. With his cardio training, he’s capable of doing so.

"I do a lot of swimming, weightlifting, cross-fit and Muay Thai," Johnson said. "I do a lot of things that make me a better athlete. So when I step into the octagon, my speed is through the roof, my cardio is good, my heart is really strong and my lungs have gone through hell."

Johnson finished by saying, "I’m going to go out there and solve the puzzle and see what happens."