Anthony Johnson keeps on rumbling his way back towards the UFC.
On Friday night, the former welterweight continued his metamorphosis into a light-heavyweight, knocking out another octagon veteran with a second-round finish of Jake Rosholt at Xtreme Fight Night 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
After a relatively even first round, Johnson overwhelmed Rosholt with powerful barrages in the second before finally putting him down with a left high kick at 4:22.
“I feel OK,” he said afterward. “I’ve still got a lot of improving to do. I’ve got to get comfortable with this 205 [pound] body, so bear with me, it will come.”
The win was the third straight for Johnson since being cut by the UFC in January. Two of them have come against former UFC fighters.
The beginning of the end came shortly after an inadvertent finger to the eye knocked one of Johnson’s contact lenses out. On the restart, he rocked Rosholt with a right hand and turned up the pace immediately afterward. To his credit, Rosholt withstood a lot of punishment before the final sequence. By the time the fight was over, Rosholt was badly bleeding and the referee had stopped the fight on one occasion to see if the cut should prevent him from continuing. Johnson never let up and eventually got the finish.
He’s now 13-4 overall as he tries to make his way back into the UFC, his stated goal since being released following a UFC 142 loss to Vitor Belfort.
It was the second straight loss for Rosholt since moving up to light-heavyweight. He’s now 12-5 with 1 no contest.