(Why yes, Bas, I *will* have another bear claw.)
Fresh off a unanimous decision victory over a Carl’s Jr., wait, I meant Dave Branch at Titan Fighting Championship 22, it looks like an opponent, date, and location has been set for Anthony Johnson’s light heavyweight debut. Johnson will be squaring off against 8-3 KOTC veteran Esteves Jones on August 24th at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, at Titan Fighting Championships 24. The chance to finally see Johnson fighting somewhere around his actual weight has to inspire confidence that he will actually make weight this time, a feat in and of itself that “Rumble” has failed to do in his past two fights, and about every other fight before that.
When asked to comment on his newfound diet, Johnson could only mumble “It’s great” through a mouthful of Steak-umms.
Regardless of his training/diet regimen, Johnson should have little trouble putting away Jones, who holds a notable win over Darrill “Titties” Schoonover and no one else. Then again, his nickname is “Quiet Riot”, who were arguably one of the better mainstream metal bands of the 80′s, so…honestly, I don’t really know where I was going with that. Jones is a dead man.
But even better than the news that Johnson may actually defeat an opponent without having to hand over 20% of his purse afterward is the fact that also on the card, a certain BJJ legend will be making his MMA debut.
Possibly in an effort to finally get that match with Nick Diaz, two time ADCC champion (among many, many other things) Braulio Estima will be making his MMA debut at TFC 24 as well. Fighting at 170 lbs., Estima will try to avoid the powerful hands of Chris Holland, a 5-3 knockout artist who most recently dispatched Phil Baroni in the second round of their ROF 43 scrap back in June. Estima, who last competed and defeated former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza at the 2011 ADCC Absolute Trials, stated that his debut is less about achieving a title and all the glory that comes with it, and more about testing the waters of a whole new sport:
Georges St-Pierre is at the top of this weight class. But still, I like the challenge. I’m already very successful in other areas, I have a successful gym in Birmingham, and I do very well with my grappling career, so this move to MMA is not about the money. It is not about fame. It is about pushing myself and seeing how far I can go in this new area. I am having fun training with the Blackzilians and learning MMA. I want to enjoy the ride, and keep moving forward.
As long as Estima can develop some solid striking skills, or at least defense, he could find himself in the sport’s highest promotion before too long. The man’s ground game is second to none, and at only 32 years of age, Estima also has a little bit of time on his side to work on his standup and takedowns. Agree or disagree?
