Ouch.
Ryan Bader will throw hands with light heavyweight power puncher Anthony Johnson at the upcoming UFC on FOX 18 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which takes place this Saturday night (Jan. 30, 2016) inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Assuming Johnson doesn’t land one of his patented A-bombs, he’s probably going to run out of gas and give up. That’s according to former UFC welterweight standout-turned-Power MMA coach Aaron Simpson, who is well versed in the career of “Rumble.”
“A-Train” talks to MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting):
“It’s just evident in his career, it’s evident in his college career. I go back and his college coaches told me that when we were looking to recruit him. Once that’s in you, once you’ve quit and you’ve done it, it’s in you. It’s hard to get past that. It’s hard to be someone who when the going gets tough or you’re on your back or you’re on your knees and you’re starting to get tired you can come back from that. I love Anthony Johnson. I do. I think he’s a good guy and a great athlete and was a stud junior college wrestler, but that’s about it. When it gets into the fight game and we take him to deep waters, we’ll see how he responds and maybe he’ll be something different, but he hasn’t shown that in the past. He’s a heavy hitter and he throws wild, but technically, Bader is a better striker than him. If we’re talking about a pure striker and pure footwork and movement and athleticism, Ryan Bader is better. I’ll put that on anything. Bader is stronger on the cage. Bader is stronger off his back. Bader is stronger on top. If Vegas saw what I saw everyday, it be leaning towards Bader.”
Bader is currently a +265 underdog.
This is not the first time Johnson has been scouted as being mentally weak. That was the narrative from the “DC” camp heading into his Daniel Cormier fight at UFC 187 last May (see those comments here). “Rumble” found success early, but was tired out by the Olympian and eventually submitted.
Can Bader do likewise in “Dirty Jersey?” Find out here.