After his 45 second destruction of Rogerio Nogueira, Anthony Johnson showed that he is finally where he belongs and is coming at Jon Jones’ title full force.
Johnson is looking better than ever and is putting wins over top contenders and leaving people unconscious to prove that he is a force to be reckoned with. He has mentioned repeatedly that it was a blessing that he was cut from the UFC before, because he continuously did not make weight. He actually fought at welterweight for most of his UFC run before, and failed to make middleweight in the last fight with Vitor Belfort before he was cut. Since then he has gone 8-0 with 6 of those fights being outside of the UFC, and he came back to the octagon to beat Phil Davis in a one-sided decision, then outclassed Nogueira, absolutely overwhelming him with punching power.
When Dana White was asked about where Johnson fit in the title picture, he mentioned that he at least needs one more fight over a top contender before he even thinks about giving Johnson a title shot. The only contenders that fit that category would be Glover Teixeira, who sustained a serious shoulder injury against Jones, Alexander Gustaffson, who is currently out with a knee injury, and fellow Blackzillians teammate Rashad Evans. Johnson has expressed that he would prefer to not fight Evans because he is a great friend and fellow training partner.
On September 27th, Daniel Cormier is challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title, and Johnson will be watching closely as this bout takes place. It is rumored that Gustaffson will get the winner of the two and this leaves room for Johnson to make his run against other contenders. Another option that could keep Johnson busy would be the winner of the August 16th bout between Ryan Bader and Ovince St. Preux. It is true that the the light-heavyweight division is rather top-heavy, but with up and comers such as Jimi Manuwa, Patrick Cummins, and St. Preux, there is no telling what could happen within the next couple years.
Johnson mentioned after his knockout of Nogueira that he wanted to put fear in the rest of the division. It’s no question that his large stature, superb athleticism and knockout ability will make him a danger to anyone in that division. It is a strong possibility that he could fighting for the UFC belt within the next year.
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