Whether he won or lost at UFC 142, Anthony Johnson was going to be in UFC president Dana White‘s dog house for missing weight for the third time in his UFC career.
That being said, a win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 could have easily given Johnson another chance to continue competing in the world’s premier MMA organization.
As the bout between Johnson and Belfort began, “Rumble” looked to be in good shape, as he secured two takedowns and damaged his opponent with ground and pound. However, after both takedowns, referee Dan Miragliotta gave Johnson less than one minute to work before standing the fighters up.
It could be argued that Johnson was attempting to stall his way to a decision victory, but a fighter who has worked hard to take their opponent to the ground should be given more opportunity than one minute to show that he is prepared to work for the finish on the ground.
While Miragliotta may have been in the wrong to stand the bout up so quickly, the blame cannot be placed fully on his shoulders.
Miragliotta was not responsible for what seemed to be a serious lack of conditioning on Johnson’s part. After the fight was stood up for a second time, Johnson appeared completely out of gas.
A sloppy takedown attempt then gave Belfort the top position, and Johnson was in survival mode from that point forward. Belfort eventually locked up a rear naked choke before the opening round came to an end, securing victory and sending Johnson packing from the UFC.
The fight may have featured some poor refereeing by Miragliotta, but Johnson has nobody to blame for the loss but himself.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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