Johnson Surgery Went ‘Well,’ Says Trainer

The emergency surgery that Lavar Johnson underwent on Monday morning “looks like it went well,” said his manager and trainer Bob Cook via a text to Sherdog.com.

The 32-year-old heavyweight prospect was shot once to the back and abdomen area with a semi-automatic weapon by an unidentified assailant in the early hours of July 5 in Bakersfield, Calif.

Cook did not know Johnson’s current condition, but said he’d visited the fighter on Sunday evening in a local hospital, and had been told Johnson was “between serious and critical” condition.

Johnson was attending a family reunion and holiday celebration outside a private residence when a passerby opened fire on the gathering. Three others were shot and received minor to moderate wounds. A fourth man, Anthony Mack Johnson, reportedly died at the scene from multiple shots, according to the Bakersfield Police Dept.

A police dept. representative told Sherdog.com Monday that no further information would be released regarding the “ongoing investigation.”

Johnson (12-3) had been scheduled to compete on the undercard at Strikeforce’s Aug. 15 event in San Jose, Calif.