Anthony Johnson happy to oblige Jan Blachowicz’s UFC 191 request

Anthony Johnson reenters the light heavyweight fray on Sept. 5 with a fight against veteran Jan Blachowicz at UFC 191. The match-up against Blachowicz isn’t one that “Rumble” expected, but he also isn’t the type of guy who often gets called out. So once he heard Blachowicz making some noise behind-the-scenes, Johnson was more than happy to oblige his foe’s request.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Johnson told MMAFighting.com during UFC 189 fight week. “The guy wanted to fight me, that’s what I heard. So boom, let’s do it. You want to fight? I’ll give you a fight, that’s for sure. Win, lose, or draw, you going to get a fight. You’ll know I’m there. I don’t know how the results are going to be, but you’ll know I’m there when I hit your ass one time.”

With his dance date set, Johnson (19-5) is poised to begin his trek back up the 205-pound ladder after learning a few hard lessons at the hands of Daniel Cormier.

Johnson nearly captured the interim UFC title at UFC 187, bowling over Cormier with a ferocious overhand right in the opening seconds of the fight. Things looked dicey after that, but Cormier ultimately recovered to wear down Johnson with a steady diet of Olympic wrestling then submit his exhausted opponent with a rear-naked choke midway through the bout’s third round.

While it was disappointing to have come so close to achieving his dream of UFC gold, Johnson nonetheless took the loss to Cormier in stride, acknowledging that he learned in defeat that he had to “stay focused” if he wanted to be a perennial fixture atop the division.

“I had to make some adjustments,” Johnson admitted. “My coaching, I added some people to my stable. Neil Melanson, he’s definitely the man when it comes down to grappling. Awesome guy. My stand-up is still the same, wrestling is still the same, jiu-jitsu is still the same, but I’m putting grappling in the mix with the jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Neil is that guy who’s in-between, obviously, with catch wrestling. So I’m excited.”

Despite his setback, Johnson’s revival as a top-tier light heavyweight still stands as one of the sport’s most remarkable storylines of the past several years.

Johnson debuted in the UFC as an oversized welterweight in 2007, and though he showed flashes of promise, the scales were always his greatest adversary. He missed weight three times over his first UFC run, finally earning his release from the promotion after tipping the scales 12 pounds overweight in 2012.

Around that time, Johnson joined up with an upstart team in Boca Raton that would eventually come to be known as the Blackzilians. It was there he found his way, reinventing himself as a monstrous light heavyweight slugger, cruising to nine straight wins, and becoming one of the most successful Blackzilians in the process.

So considering all he’s overcome, Johnson couldn’t be prouder of the way his teammates showcased the growth of the gym with their victorious run on The Ultimate Fighter 21.

“It means a lot to me,” Johnson said. “It means heart and dedication, man, and coming together. Because a lot of us at the beginning came from different places, different situations to be a Blackzilian. And we worked really hard to get where we are. To me, I think right now some of these guys who want to be a part of the Blackzilians, they just want the name on them. Some people, they don’t honor the code to be a Blackzilian. Some people don’t want to go through the fire to be a Blackzilian. Some people just want to say ‘I’m a Blackzilian, so that makes me a badass,’ when that’s not the case.

“The guys who originally started the team, before we even had the name Blackzilians, we went through a lot. There was like eight or nine of us, and we struggled, man. We pushed each other to where we are now, so the Blackzilian name means a lot to me. I just hope these younger cats understand what it means to be a Blackzilian.”

Anthony Johnson reenters the light heavyweight fray on Sept. 5 with a fight against veteran Jan Blachowicz at UFC 191. The match-up against Blachowicz isn’t one that “Rumble” expected, but he also isn’t the type of guy who often gets called out. So once he heard Blachowicz making some noise behind-the-scenes, Johnson was more than happy to oblige his foe’s request.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Johnson told MMAFighting.com during UFC 189 fight week. “The guy wanted to fight me, that’s what I heard. So boom, let’s do it. You want to fight? I’ll give you a fight, that’s for sure. Win, lose, or draw, you going to get a fight. You’ll know I’m there. I don’t know how the results are going to be, but you’ll know I’m there when I hit your ass one time.”

With his dance date set, Johnson (19-5) is poised to begin his trek back up the 205-pound ladder after learning a few hard lessons at the hands of Daniel Cormier.

Johnson nearly captured the interim UFC title at UFC 187, bowling over Cormier with a ferocious overhand right in the opening seconds of the fight. Things looked dicey after that, but Cormier ultimately recovered to wear down Johnson with a steady diet of Olympic wrestling then submit his exhausted opponent with a rear-naked choke midway through the bout’s third round.

While it was disappointing to have come so close to achieving his dream of UFC gold, Johnson nonetheless took the loss to Cormier in stride, acknowledging that he learned in defeat that he had to “stay focused” if he wanted to be a perennial fixture atop the division.

“I had to make some adjustments,” Johnson admitted. “My coaching, I added some people to my stable. Neil Melanson, he’s definitely the man when it comes down to grappling. Awesome guy. My stand-up is still the same, wrestling is still the same, jiu-jitsu is still the same, but I’m putting grappling in the mix with the jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Neil is that guy who’s in-between, obviously, with catch wrestling. So I’m excited.”

Despite his setback, Johnson’s revival as a top-tier light heavyweight still stands as one of the sport’s most remarkable storylines of the past several years.

Johnson debuted in the UFC as an oversized welterweight in 2007, and though he showed flashes of promise, the scales were always his greatest adversary. He missed weight three times over his first UFC run, finally earning his release from the promotion after tipping the scales 12 pounds overweight in 2012.

Around that time, Johnson joined up with an upstart team in Boca Raton that would eventually come to be known as the Blackzilians. It was there he found his way, reinventing himself as a monstrous light heavyweight slugger, cruising to nine straight wins, and becoming one of the most successful Blackzilians in the process.

So considering all he’s overcome, Johnson couldn’t be prouder of the way his teammates showcased the growth of the gym with their victorious run on The Ultimate Fighter 21.

“It means a lot to me,” Johnson said. “It means heart and dedication, man, and coming together. Because a lot of us at the beginning came from different places, different situations to be a Blackzilian. And we worked really hard to get where we are. To me, I think right now some of these guys who want to be a part of the Blackzilians, they just want the name on them. Some people, they don’t honor the code to be a Blackzilian. Some people don’t want to go through the fire to be a Blackzilian. Some people just want to say ‘I’m a Blackzilian, so that makes me a badass,’ when that’s not the case.

“The guys who originally started the team, before we even had the name Blackzilians, we went through a lot. There was like eight or nine of us, and we struggled, man. We pushed each other to where we are now, so the Blackzilian name means a lot to me. I just hope these younger cats understand what it means to be a Blackzilian.”