After Two-Year Exile, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson Returns To The Octagon at UFC 172

By Adam Martin

UFC fans better get ready to “Rumble” this weekend at UFC 172 as Anthony Johnson returns to the Octagon for the first time in over two years to take on Phil Davis in an important light heavyweight contest.

It was in January of 2012 when Johnson was unceremoniously cut after missing weight badly and then getting choked out by Vitor Belfort at UFC 142. It was Johnson’s third time missing weight in the UFC, and the promotion decided that, even though he was 7-4 inside the eight-sided cage, the fact he couldn’t make 170 or even 185 on a consistent basis meant he had to get the boot, and he was released from his contract with Zuffa.

When fighters are cut by the UFC, they often lose all of their confidence and never make it back to the top of the sport. Some of them even decide to call it quits. That could have easily happened to Johnson, but instead of feeling bad for himself and thinking he couldn’t make it back to the UFC, the 30-year-old Blackzilian instead decided to reinvent himself during his exile from the Octagon, and the results have been flawless.

After losing to Belfort at UFC 142, Johnson has since won six fights in a row over Mike Kyle, Andrei Arlovski, DJ Linderman, Jake Rosholt, Esteves Jones, and David Branch to earn another shot in the UFC. Sure, those aren’t top 10 fighters or anything, but that’s four UFC vets – one a former UFC heavyweight champ – as well as a Bellator vet. And as far as competition outside the UFC goes, Johnson has honestly been fighting some of the best guys at light heavyweight (and heavyweight in the case of Arlovski) and he’s defeated them all in dominant fashion.

Rather than just squeaking out decisions, Johnson has been absolutely destroying his opponents. Against Kyle and Linderman, Johnson hit both right on the button with his massive right hand, sending both men crashing face first into the canvas. Johnson broke Arlovski’s jaw and won a clear-cut decision, despite giving up 15 pounds of weight. Johnson showed off his athleticism against Rosholt, as he knocked him out with a booming high kick. And against Jones and Branch he didn’t even break a sweat, winning both fights easily.

Although the UFC was obviously upset that Johnson missed weight all those times, they couldn’t ignore the fashion he was finishing his opponents during his exile and they made the right choice to re-sign him to a contract after his deal with World Series of Fighting ended. And to prove that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva thinks Johnson could be a serious contender at 205, he decided to match him up against the top-five-ranked Davis at UFC 172 in what is arguably the most important fight of his career to date.

With an upset win over Davis, Johnson would most certainly jump into the top 10 of the UFC light heavyweight division, and possibly even into the top five, depending on how impressive he is in victory. In a division lacking fresh contenders for divisional kingpin Jon Jones, Johnson – with his mix of raw athleticism, knockout power, and prior Octagon experience against a range of high-level opponents — would certainly be an interesting addition to the mix should he defeat Davis on Saturday night.

But Johnson certainly has a tall task ahead of him, as Davis has proven nearly impossible to defeat inside the Octagon, with only one loss. However, one thing to consider is Johnson’s teammate Rashad Evans is that lone man to defeat Davis, and you better believe the former UFC light heavyweight champ has been giving his Blackzilian teammate advice heading into this big fight at UFC 172.

Although he was once the laughingstock of the MMA world due to his weight-cutting mishaps, Johnson has truly earned his second chance in the Octagon, and he did it through good old fashioned hard work and determination. Now at 205 pounds, all the weight-cutting issues have gone away, and we get to see Johnson at his best. I can’t wait to see what he does with this second chance.