Anthony “Rumble” Johnson seemed on his way towards the top of the UFC Welterweight food chain after a win over Charlie Brenneman, and had Johnson stayed at 170 pounds, there would be no telling who he might have drawn in his next bout.
However, a consensus-demanded move to middleweight found itself in the cards for Mr. Johnson, and the way he is being rewarded for the decision to jump to middleweight could not have been more instrumental in deciding his future potential as a fighter.
However, the reward in this instance comes with a risk: defeat for Johnson at UFC 142 in Brazil will not come with a release or a relegation to the Facebook prelims of a future card, but it will come with the misfortune of being just another highlight on Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort’s reel.
Disregard foolishly the accomplishments of Belfort if that is your choice, but never deny that Vitor Belfort still has vicious hand speed and power.
Even if the failure to unleash the beast led to famously getting a Curitiba curb-stomping from Anderson Silva on Super Bowl Weekend, it does not make this fight any less of a test for Johnson, who has the kind of wrestling needed to put Belfort in danger and the kind of knockout power that very few fighters have been able to unleash on Belfort.
The question is, will Johnson be ready for what Belfort will offer him in what might be the biggest test of his career?
Belfort has two hands that say he will not, and if that is so on fight night, Johnson will be in for a long night.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com