By Defeating Phil Davis At UFC 172, Anthony Johnson Finally Began To Realize His Potential

After spending several years gambling to make at 170 and 185 pounds, UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson finally found his true home after he was released from the UFC following his third failed attempt to cut weight prior to his submission loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 in early 2012.

Over the next two years, “Rumble” reeled off six straight wins in promotions like Titan FC and World Series of Fighting (WSOF), knocking his opponent out in four of them. His biggest wins were over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Strikeforce veteran Mike Kyle.

Johnson appeared reinvented during the streak, earning another shot with the world’s biggest MMA promotion and an instantly huge UFC 172 bout against No. 4-ranked Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis, who was fresh off of a highly controversial UFC 163 victory over former champion Lyoto Machida.

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“Rumble” capitalized with the biggest win of his career, outclassing Davis with a precise mix of well-timed strikes, conditioning, and stifling takedown defense. Many thought that favored former NCAA champion wrestler Davis would be able to take Johnson down and grind out a decision victory, and indeed three out of “Rumble’s” four total losses had come by of submission, one of Davis’ specialties.

But that didn’t matter at all last night (April 26, 2014) from the blockbuster event at Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Johnson surged past Davis with seeming ease, scoring a spot on the rapidly expanding list of top-level light heavyweight contenders.

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Blessed with the perfect gameplan inherited from Blackzilians teammate Rashad Evans, who was previously the only man to have beaten “Mr. Wonderful” in the Octagon, Johnson is due for a huge fight.

Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson will square off in a pivotal showdown at UFC 173 on May 24; with the winner potentially getting a shot at either Jon Jones or Alexander Gustafsson once the two rivals settle their differences in their long-awaited rematch, most likely sometime later this year.

If the timing doesn’t work out for that scenario, “Rumble” would provide an excellent opponent versus Cormier or Henderson for the No. 1 contender spot. UFC 172 title challenger Glover Teixeira has shoulder and rib injuries to deal with before he returns to the cage, but he would also be an excellent gauge of “Rumble’s” title readiness.

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It’s clear that Johnson has returned with a fire and is finally focused on fulfilling the massive potential that he has had all along. With a great team, training program, weight class, and skillset in place, the sky could be the limit for “Rumble.”

He always had amazing power; now he has the technicality to match. Will he ride it all the way to the top?

Photo: Tommy Gilligan for USA TODAY Sports