After a long hiatus, John “Doomsday” Howard has returned. It’s been nearly two years since “Doomsday’s” release and he is set to return to action this Saturday night against Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 27.

Anyone for “Doomsday?” John Howard returns to the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 26

First and foremost, the topic of not only returning to the big show, but doing so in front of a hometown crowd was brought up when he chat with MMASucka Radio. The proud Bostonian recounted his reaction to getting the call from Zuffa, and his efforts to be on the UFC Fight Night 26 card.

I was at New England Combat, I’m an instructor there, I was teaching, and I got the call, man, and it was crazy. I just screamed, was yelling, running down the street, I was so happy to be back. It was just awesome.

I fought in my hometown before, I’ve been inside Boston, and on several islands. I’m good, because on paper, they have him winning, so there’s no pressure. I have no pressure, no nothing. He’s a popular fighter, I’m not. I’m the underdog, you really have to press yourself to beat the underdog.

Since his release from the UFC in 2011, John moved up in weight and went 6-1 on the regional circuit. This run included winning the CES MMA middleweight title. When asked about that period, “Doomsday” was happy to share what he felt he’d worked on in the past two years.

Better technique. I went back to my basics, I had bad basics. I was basically only a power hitter, I had this attitude where I was, “If I hit you, you’re goin’ down.” The problem is, you can see my punches landslide, if he was a good striker. I had to clean that up. I cleaned my technique up and my grappling, my wrestling, my striking, my boxing… I think it might have been a blessing in disguise to get the opportunity to do that.

This career resurgence for “Doomsday” also came on the heels of another change. After spending much of his career as a welterweight, putting himself through draining weight cuts, Howard made the decision to move up to middleweight. Now, he couldn’t be happier.

The weight cut was killing me, I used to cut 30 or 40 pounds every time I had to cut weight! It sucked for my body. Even though I’m short, I’m a big dude. I walk around at 200 lbs. Actually, I’m going to the UFC right now to do my pre-weigh in, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be like 198, and I didn’t even eat today! That should tell you right there how big I am, how much weight I carry on me.

With his last two victories, and many more prior, coming by way of knock-out, is Howard concerned about facing a flashy striking artist like Uriah Hall? Not at all. In fact, when asked about a potential power differential, Howard feels he edges the TUF alumnus in a particular kind of “power.”

I think not knockout power, but staying power. Because he’s a power hitter, just like me, the only thing is, he stays at the exact same power, so if he messes up, I can clip him and knock him out. I know he has the same power as me, but it doesn’t matter, it don’t stop there. If we have the same power, if I can get in his face and hit him with everything I’ve got, then that’s that.

People in the (The Ultimate Fighter) house were scared of him because they’re fighters, but not they’re not top tier fighters… I’ve fought scarier fighters: Thiago Alves, Matt Brown, Jake Ellenberger… These guys are serious. Thiago Alves is the best welterweight striker in the UFC. GSP said it, I agree with it. I got kicked by Thiago full force, that was on my skull, but he couldn’t finish me. He beat me, but he couldn’t finish me. So I don’t fear his power, I don’t fear his strikes. I respect it, but I don’t fear it. I’m going in there to swing and bang, and everybody knows I like to stand and bang.

John also touched on Halls’ array of flashy strikes, noting that it was nothing you don’t encounter when sparring with high level guys. So much so, that he is not only unafraid, but also prepared.

I think so too, man, because me being a striker, sparring with the high level people, I can see that a mile away… If he tries that spinning kick or something, it may hit, but I’m pretty sure I can see that coming from a mile away. I spar with top tier strikers all the time, top Muay Thai people, top K-1 people, so I can come to see that. If he misses, I can capitalize on that, or there’s other options.

With this fight being on slightly short-notice, Howard has been preparing for a UFC return for some time now. He hasn’t, however, fallen prey to over-visualizing the fight. He recognizes that this will be a tough fight that could go either way, but has the confidence to only predict victory for himself.

First of all, I’m always going to go to the finish. I do see a KO on my behalf if I kick him in the face. This is not an easy fight for him or me. I’ve trained for a war. A Hell of a war! I’ve been working with retired UFC vets, guys like Jorge Rivera, and he hits like a madman, he hits hard. I don’t think he has the same power as Jorge, but if he does, I’m ready for it.

An interview with any middleweight wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of the massive seismic shift in the division that took place recently. With Chris Weidman finishing Anderson Silva and taking the 185 lbs. crown, it’s easy enough to see how many fighters would be surprised.

I was very shocked that that happened. Anderson Silva, I think, was showboating a little bit, and Chris capitalized. The rematch? I see it being a turned-up fight, training harder, to show the world he’s still got it. As an Anderson Silva fan, I want to see him get it back, but only if he fights correctly.

John and Jeremy discussed more, like Howard’s hair, pump-up music, and other things, so check it out on the latest edition of MMASucka Radio. You can see John “Doomsday” Howard take on Uriah Hall on the main card of UFC Fight Night 26, on the premiere night of Fox Sports 1 in the United States, and Sportsnet 360 in Canada.