On Saturday, the theme was fighters finalizing their road to redemption. The main event featured two welterweights, who weren’t even mentioned as possible contenders at the beginning of 2013. They put on outstanding performance to be in that particular spot, after being inconsistent throughout their career. Robbie Lawler was considered an underachiever, while Matt Brown simply wasn’t good enough.
Both fighters have shed those labels over the past 18 months. Their revitalizations have been surreal to witness, although not quite as surreal as another fighter who made a great impression on Saturday. They never had to deal with having an identity crisis on what division they should fight in. Neither of them had actually ever been released by the UFC.
Anthony Johnson’s road to redemption has been just as incredible as the other two welterweights. People tend to discount that because of Johnson’s physical attributes and freakish power. They label Johnson as an underachiever, who wasted far too many opportunities. The last straw was against Vitor Belfort, where he showed up 11 pounds overweight at UFC 142.
He was perceived as an under achiever for not utilizing his physical gifts and setting a proper weight cutting regime down. A once promising prospect was forced to compete in lower organizations. Eventually he found his home at light heavyweight in the World Series Of Fighting. Besides moving up to heavyweight to face Andrei Arlovski, it seemed like 205 pounds was his home. His two-minute annihilation of Mike Kyle signified that he should remain as a light heavyweight and have another opportunity in the UFC.
While his striking may be not be the most technical, Johnson’s ability to explode and close the distance is nearly impossible to counter. It was easier to counter when he was drawn out from cutting around 60 pounds to make 170. Most welterweights had a distinct speed advantage on him. Now he’s just as muscular as all the light heavyweights and has a distinct speed advantage.
It appears that he is undersized in height, yet that hasn’t hindered him or another “undersized” light heavyweight in Daniel Cormier. The ability to have so much confidence in rushing in without worrying about being struck is an underrated skill. Raw explosiveness can’t be taught; it’s simply a trait that you were given and were able to utilize. Johnson has that and it has propelled him into being a contender.
Unlike most people, I actually chose Johnson to upset Phil Davis. It was more on the end of Davis’ shortcomings in the striking department. My belief was that Johnson would catch him with a counter punch and would finish him off with relentless ground-and-pound. Instead we saw three rounds of Johnson controlling the octagon and picking his shots at will. His takedown defense was outstanding in stuffing all of Davis’ double leg takedown attempts.
We witnessed his ability to rush in and hit Davis with numerous combinations. The three-round domination of Davis had thrust him back into the spotlight. The newer fans had recognized his raw combination of speed, power, and technique. His work with Rashad Evans and Tyrone Spong has shored up his overall arsenal. They have greatly contributed to his elevation into being such a feared light heavyweight.
When the matchup was announced that he would face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, my eyes did roll a bit. The light heavyweight division has become so diminished from the glory days between 2006-2011. There aren’t the likes of Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Lyoto Machida, and Chuck Liddell any longer. Now the division is broken down from the elite (Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, Rashad Evans) to past their prime (Mauricio Rua, Dan Henderson, Nogueira). There are some decent prospects, but none of them have yet to stand out.
Johnson is in a tough position, where he could only beat well-recognized names. He had to make the best of the difficult situation. It didn’t matter if it was against a 38 year old, who had been out for over a year and has lingering back problems. Johnson took the opportunity and made another loud statement. Nogueira’s speed had clearly been diminished, along with his head movement. It was a similar case to his older brother, who was demolished by Roy Nelson.
This fight was beyond a mismatch and Johnson had proved that in 45 seconds. Despite Nogueira’s ability to box and fluster his opponents, he wasn’t going to withstand Johnson’s pace and blitzkrieg striking. It took one short right hand, before the blitzkrieg had begun. Nogueira had to cover up immediately against the fence, which is the worst idea of defense against such an aggressive and rapid striker.
A barrage of punches, followed by a few well-timed lethal uppercuts and the fight had to be stopped. On the big stage on Fox, people are now talking about Johnson as a contender and wanting to see him fight for the belt. That may take a while, but he’s on the right path. His persistence and discipline are the main improvements towards becoming well-recognized for positive reasons.
It only seemed like six months ago that Johnson was primed to fight for the World Series Of Fighting’s inaugural light heavyweight title. Now he’s possibly one fight away from a title shot in 2015. The lack of contenders is worrisome for his development, although the UFC could continue to build him up against older fighters like Shogun Rua. I’d like to see him face a true top contender to test him completely. It was apparent that Nogueira wasn’t going to pose much of a threat.
The winner of Ryan Bader vs. Ovince St.Preux doesn’t justify a spot as a top contender. Bader tends to struggle against powerful strikers, who are extremely explosive. St. Preuix is still relatively untested and needs more experience. I’m confident that the UFC would like to keep Gustafsson sidelined until he can fight for the title. That would make Glover Teixeira as the only logical option.
We know how powerful Teixeira’s boxing is, but his wrestling and ground game could really challenge Johnson to his limits. We could potentially see how he’d handle himself on his back against a top light heavyweight. Teixeira’s versatility would truly test Johnson, unlike any of his past opponents have done so far in his light heavyweight career.
At 30 years old, Johnson is now entering his prime. The Blackzilians have really transformed him into a well-rounded beast. When he was younger, he was too aggressive for his own good at times. Now he’s more calculating in his attacks and has used his physical attributes to his advantage. Daniel Cormier was supposed to be the only threat to join the light heavyweight division in 2014. That has now changed with the emergence of Anthony Johnson.
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
