“… BJ Penn, Minotauro (Nogueira) — everybody. If I could drop down to 135/140, I’d do that, too. There’s so much competition out there, I would love to test everybody just to see who’s the better man. Test our bodies and spirits.”
– Anthony Johnson tells SetantaSports.com that he plans to soon capture the welterweight championship and will then move up to “185 and beat everybody up at there.” And after that he’ll set his sights on anyone wearing a belt … he’s game for anyone. To begin that ambitious journey, however, he will first have to get past Kevin Burns this weekend at UFC Fight Night 14.
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If he can just get past that pesky Rich Clamenti. I am afraid that this guy might just be another Melvin Guillard. I hope I’m wrong.
Me too. I think this guy can become the real deal though. Id like to see him fight Koschek. I think that would be a great fight.
i wanted to see Rumble fight Marcus Davis!
Good comparison with Guillard except Johnson is a good wrestler and has a longer reacher and better hands than Guillard, and that’s saying something cause melvin can throw. A Johnson has more upside than any other fighter in the UFC and yes he’s feeling himself a lot right now because he knows he has the physical gifts to be something special.
this guy just started mma 2 years ago and joined UFC a year ago. he’s only 5-1-0, UFC record 2-1-0 there’s no reason to hate him, give him some time to improve his record and develop skill and potential. he’s a great striker and also a good wrestler. that loss to Clementi was unfair, Clementi had more experience than Johnson with over 30 fights while Johnson only went thru 3 mma fights including only 1 in UFC during that time. he will be a threat in the future.
a loss to clementi is unfair? ahaha. theres no such thing as an unfair loss. he got beat. fair and square
true but he’s too fresh, look at Clementi he went over 30 fights which is 10 times more fights than Johnson went thru at that time. it’s a newb vs big time match up.
It doesn’t matter how green he was, you can’t lose to Clementi at any time in your career, and expect to move all the way to heavyweight and win a title. He must be on some good shit.
ok RH im wrong about the loss, there’s no such thing as unfair loss, i messed up on that part, what i’m saying it’s unfair for Johnson as a newb taking on the big time fighters like Clementi who’s more experience with 30+ fights while Johnson only had 3 mma fights.
Ro, I agree, Rumble as a chance of becoming world champion one day. I would like to see him fight Paul Semtex daley if the UFC stops messing around and sign the guy.
i think he is ready to beat Fiovavantie right now as well as having a good chance against top guy like chris lytle!
This kid has championship potential, Lets hope he reaches that potential one day!
i’d like to see Semtex and Lytle match up with Johnson.
Gee whiz, I can’t imagine what about him reminds you of Guillard. Give me a break.
Johnson’s natural talent is among the best in the UFC, there are still a lot of questions to be answered… does he train properly, dedication, can he take a punch, will his ground game develope, heart? etc… the more we learn about him and the next 3 years will speak volumes. He definitely has the frame to move up to 185 lbs
This dude is full of it…
Yeah, apparently if you beat Tommy Spears your ready to call out BJ Penn. This kid needs to get his a$$ kicked.
He lost to Clementi at catch weight… he still has a long way to go, but could be really good.
I saw that fight and agree that he has a ton of potential. But he is a long way off from calling out the likes of Penn and Big Nog.
wtf is ur problem?
I don’t understand why people can’t respect a kid who loves what he does and has a ton of confidence in himself. I love hearing shit like this, it gets me jacked up!! I don’t want to see just one guy rule a division, I want to see the best of the best challenge each other no matter what weight they’re at and see who is the best fighter in the World. That shit jacks me up and I love the fact that this kid feels the same way.
You can count me on Anthony Johnson’s bandwagon and not just cuz we are namesakes.
Anthony, is your last name Johnson?
This guy lost me when in the interview after the fight with Tommy Spear he stated that the audience “had the priveledge to see him fight”.
Please…
….I thought it was a privilege…..can’t wait to see it again actually hahaha.
i use to like this guy but know i seriously hope someone kicks his ass his he high like yea hes a fighter he needs to have that i can beat most the people i face but i mean come on buddy u havn’t even beat anyone with credit yet how can u go around sayin ur gona clear out every division lol
I know right? Johnson does have a lot of naturally born physical skills that cannot be taught. He is super athletic and truely possesses (few too many s’s) KO power. He also has a solid wrestling background. If he can keep working on his striking/sprawl/and defensive BJJ, he could really start to go places in the WW division.
If, when, if Johnson wins the fight against Burn, how about giving him the loser Sanchez/Alves. That way he can finally fight someone in the Top 10 of the division, and we can finally start to begin to see where he would rank in one division.
i would like to see rumble fight marcus davis if he wins his next fight, or the winner of luke cummo/tamden mccrory would be nice as well. the skys the limit for this kid, he just cant get to overconfident.
too late
I don’t think that he was saying that he could take BJ right now. He has openly stated that he doesn’t have that great of a ground game. I think that he is just setting his career expectations really high. He wants to do big things. He is only 24 years old and with a little over 2 years of MMA experience, he has made it to the biggest MMA promotion in history.
So he’s saying that when he’s in his prime, he wants to take on an over-the-hill BJ? Who does he think he is, Tito?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=HATER
That would be you
Just give him one of the ultimate WW gatekeepers — Karo or Burkman.
I’m pretty sure this guy can be the ww champ, He will just have to come up with a gameplan to get past Fitch’s wrestling
Fitch? You pickin Fitch over GSP I’m guessing.
Please… GSP is going to blast right through Fitch. Fitch will drop down to the bottom of the ladder.
I do not know about blast through him, but win for sure. This is by far GSP’S most difficult fight to date.
It’s not “by far GSP’s most difficult fight to date.” He fought Koscheck, and despite what anybody says about the guy, Koscheck IS a better wrestler than Fitch. Fitch’s stand-up is awful, too. GSP’s not going to have a hard time with this guy.
Lol what about Penn?
He KO’s 2 cans and loses to a 155 lb. Clemanti. This dude still has a lot to prove before we start talking about WW champ.
those were really nice knockouts though, not your average sloppy lucky shots ya know? I just thought his fight with Tommy Speer looked like a replay of Silva/Leben. And yes I am picking Fitch over St. Pierre. Anyone who doubts that Fitch has a chance should have been silenced by Forrest.
Huh? Fitch has a chance at pulling it off, but what the hell does Forrest-Rampage have to do with GSP-Fitch? If Rampage won, would that mean Fitch has less of a chance? Makes no sense.
I think the comparison is meant to compare Fitch as an underdog to Forrest as an underdog and coming out on top. But to be fair, Fitch isn’t nearly as much of an under dog as Forrest was in his fight. I want GSP to win and get matched up with BJ PENN but I think Fitch has a legit shot at an upset. I also hope BJ doesn’t take Huerta/Florian too lightly and end up on the recieving end of another upset.
If GSP vs PENN happens i’m going with BJ =P
GSp’s toughest test is Fitch? lol thats a joke… BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, and Matt Hughes werent good enough eh?
So what was his point? That underdogs can win? No shit. There have been victorious underdogs since the beginning of civilization. Even empires can fall. It’s just not likely that GSP will lose to Fitch.
I hope Kevin Burns submits him
I hope you go blind and can never watch MMA again. Hope in one hand and shit in the other cause Rumble is going to do some damage
Yeah i remember that time he beat Rich Clementi…. oh wait
Like his fifth MMA fight he rocked a guy like Rich Clementi. That’s pretty impressive. Not to mention, he took i on short notice. I just hope that he doesn’t get ahead of himself.
“I just hope that he doesn’t get ahead of himself.”
Too late….
Talking like that in the UFC only gets your embarrassed. Looks like Rumble is smokin’ the crack-a-lack baby! This guy’s stint in the UFC will be short lived…
I hope this chump gets finished in his next fight, bring that ego down in size a little.
This guy has potential to be a future champ. but he needs to beat some real contenders to be talking like that.
He is just confident. Nothing wrong with that. If didn’t say he would beat every champ he said he would like to test himself body and spirit. I think he is a true competitor.
And in his defense he accepted the Clementi fight on short notice. He didn’t get to train as much. It was a good loss for him.
I would like to see him fight Davis or Alves that would be a stand up War.
Come and test Bisping and you will be put to sleep!
MW =P
Man this is all we hear out of you. Bisping is b level at best. What happens when your hero gets exposed by the top guys? Will he drop to the next weight class?
My replies to tony never post! Don’t get caught up in what he says. It’s the same thing over and over w/o ever backing it up with an analysis or opinion. EVER. But I am surprised that Bisping is so quick on his feet with this clown swinging from his n*ts all the time.
Hes a gagger welterweight, but lets not forget who the champ is. He’s also gotta get by the likes of Koscheck and Fitch. He lost to Clementi, which is nothing to be ashamed of, but hes more of a lightweight. Get some wins before running your mouth……
Kurt, get back to work.
this guy is straigh up scary. look out welterweights except the top 5, pierre,hughes,fitch,koscheck,alves. they could destroy this guy
lol what a tool
he should go up to 185 and fight anderson. Not that he deserves it yet, but IMO it would be a good fight.
the kid is a beast, he is 6.2, very strong, great striking, great wrestling.
that’s the future, if his head isn’t too messed up..
If he keeps improving and wants it bad enough he may do it. He is very strong, an experienced wrestler, and he has crisp striking. He could become a fan favorite quickly, but first he has to win more than 1 in a row in the ufc.
People should read the entire interview before judging. Sure he’s a bit overconfident but he was trying to make the point that any fighter should be ready at all time to take on any other fighter regardless of skill level or weight class. That’s why his fights are always on short notice. He cut like 33 pounds for the Clementi fight. I like his mentality and let’s hope that his skills catch up to his physical potential.
rumble young man rumble!
This guy is scary good. If he has the work ethic and a good mental game I could see him being a champion. Not many wrestler’s can throw combos like him….Thats scary…
he’s american therefore i like him
Anthony Johnson another melvin guillard lol…
they should put those 2 up against one another…both powerful strikers who like to bang
Anthony Johnson vs Melvin Guillard!
rumble would show the assassin to the door. i would like to see johnson vs marcus davis someday. talk about bombs away!
Guillard beat Marcus Davis didn’t he?
guillard is lightweight
i feel that if he wins he should get swick.
i would love to see him ko swick.
sorry swick fans but i dont like the guy since he beat my boy marcus.
He has a superman tattoo on his arm.Good indication that he’s a douchebag.
lol nicely put
Go say that to Shaq. And tell me how my azz taste!
LOL @ he wants to fight BIG Nog!!! that was a knee slapper. good 1.
What a punk.
I am not sold on his power. After all, it was a kick to the head that put Speer on queer street. Johnson has tools no doubt. But Speer was trying to figure out how to get past that reach and he went in on a shot and caught shin clean on the face and was still standing. He was out on his feet and it still took Johnson another dozen punches to put him out. I am withholding judgement. Johnson has a ton to prove before he deserves “title shot” and his name mentioned together.
Yeah, and Tommy Speer has zero standup. Johnson is an exciting fighter. I hope to see him in some good matchups. But right now he is on Houston Alexander status. Not that he has had two losses, but he has a lot of hype with little, so far, to back it.
I bet kevin burns knows what he is doing and i bet he takes johnson down and submits him in the first round. johnson might be big and have decent hands but if he fights a guy with a chin and has more heart than him, he is going to lose. Burns via choke in round 1.
seems like his future goals are just to test himself against the best. if i was a fighter to fight guys like bj would be my goals. and i’m sure it was an answer to a question in an interview and not him just saying it to say it. p.s. mania i can’t leave comments on my phone anymore, it makes my cry oh so many tears. i doubt you can do anything about it though so oh well.
IF he is committed to getting a better ground game and working with his sprawl (because obviously his hands are his greatest weapon) then I could see him being an incredible fighter.
You know, I know this has been said and thought 3424322 times today, but he reminds me of Melvin Guillard. Better fighter and better chance on backing it up, sure. But in the end, it’s like upgrading your chances from zero to a snowballs chance in hell.
Still, he pretty much ended Tommy Speer’s UFC career. For the time being, anyways. We’ll see. What’s most likely to happen is this dude wins a couple more and starts thinking he’s “that guy.” At that point, he gets whooped. Probably twice.
AJ what the heck are you thinking.
Sure you are athletic but I cant see you making it except in ww.
He is just too much of a “?” if hands are his strong suit then I would think someone with awesome kicking power would put him to sleep asap.
I hope he doesnt turn out to be another Houston Alexander and crash anytime soon.
This next fight should proves whether if Anthony Johnson is for real or not. We’ll know if he sizzlin’ or fizzlin’.
I say give him Chris wilson next, I think these guys both have potential and would make for one hell of a brwl. Also, they are at about the same contention standing, so why not.