Anthony Johnson: Anything Belfort can do, I can do better
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson has long struggled to make the Welterweight limit of 170 (171 for non title fights) and has…
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson has long struggled to make the Welterweight limit of 170 (171 for non title fights) and has been alleged by Dan Hardy to have down from as high as 235. Thus it was not a shock to hear that he would be moving up a division.
It was a little less surprising to hear he was stepping up at the top of the division, vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 on January 14th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Should he win he will be at a very near a title shot at the seemingly unstoppable Anderson Silva.
Posting via his Twitter feed, Johnson said of the move:
Ppl question why the move to 185? 1st its a challenge, 2nd because I want to, 3rd why not? What is life without challenges and trying something new? Life would be boring then!!! 170 is Still my home.
Johnson expanded on his views in an interview with Mike Chiapetta:
Anthony Johnson was at home when his phone rang, with manager Glenn Robinson on the line. Johnson had been awaiting his next assignment, and he instinctively knew this was it.
“I knew it was something serious,” ‘Rumble’ told MMA Fighting. “He doesn’t just call to joke around.”
“It surprised me. It really did. Just for a second. I said at first, ‘Are you serious?’ I really didn’t believe it, but he’s straight-up and honest so I knew he was being serious. I had no hesitation. I said, ‘Alright, let’s do this. Let’s have fun with this.'”
“This is a challenge, and what’s life without challenges? I hopped on this challenge and accepted it. Sometimes you have to go out of your comfort zone or your element just to see how you do.”
“I feel just fine about the matchup. He can’t do nothing that I can’t do. Anything he thinks he can do, I think I can do better. I think it’s a pretty even matchup. He’s fast, I’m fast. He’s powerful, I’m powerful. It’s going to be a fight that really determines who’s the man at the end of the day. Either one of us can get dropped, so it’s going to see who has the most heart.”
“When it comes down to it, the belt is where it’s at. That’s everyone’s goal. But right now I’m thinking about what’s directly head of me. The belt is out of sight, out of mind.”
“All I know is I’m going to win. I’m going to go out and do my best, and give the fans what they want and deserve. This is my first fight in Brazil. I have so much energy and excitement built up in me for this. I’m ready to get in camp, get with the Blackzilians and do what we do: train hard and win fights.”