SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
February - 2016
19
Outsidetheoctagon,Anthony“Rumble”Johnson
is just about the most chill guy in the world.
Inside the octagon, however, Rumble has zero
chill. After stuffing Ryan Bader’s early takedown
attempt, Rumble patiently worked his way to
back control, defended Bader’s ill-advised kimu-
ra, and transitioned to mount. From there, he
quickly separated “Darth” from his conscious-
ness with brutal punches, leaving Bader face-
down and motionless on the mat, less than 90
seconds into their fight.
The first round KO puts Rumble in line to fight
the winner of the soon-to-be-scheduled title
fight between Daniel Cormier and Jon “Bones”
Jones. Although Rumble famously tapped to
“DC” at UFC 187 in May 2015, he’s since won
two-straight – both by vicious KO. Given that
he also has a KO win over two-time LHW title
challenger Alexander Gustafsson, the Bader
win definitively separates Rumble from the rest
of the herd.
Timing, however, can be a tricky thing. At the
UFC on FOX 18 post-fight press conference,
UFC VP of Public Relations Dave Sholler an-
nounced that details of the upcoming Jones-
Cormier fight will be released soon. Some are
speculating that the fight will be booked for the
UFC 197, currently scheduled for April 2016.
There’s no guarantee that the winner of Jones-
Cormier will come out healthy, and then there’s
the ever-looming possibility of an immediate re-
match – especially if Cormier wins.
At the post-fight presser, Rumble admitted that
he’d be willing to wait as long as necessary for
“the biggest fight of [his] life,” but also hinted
that he said he’d consider taking another fight
in the interim simply because “that’s a pay-
check.” Luckily, there’s a former-LHW title con-
tender on a two-fight win streak also in need of
a dance partner. Enter Glover Teixeira, another
top 5 light heavyweight with dangerous hands
and solid wrestling defense. Depending on the
timing of Jones-Cormier II, a clash between
Johnson and Teixeira has the potential to be an
all-out striking war and will keep the division
moving while Cormier and Jones sort out who
is the true top dog at 205.
You want to make a statement in your divi-
sion? Follow Ben Rothwell’s lead. After alter-
nating wins and losses over the first five fights
of his UFC career, “Big” Ben is on a four-fight
winning streak, including TKO stoppages over
Brandon Vera and Alistair Overeem, and a sub-
mission win over Matt Mitrione. Oh, and most
recently, there’s the matter of him becoming
the first UFC fighter to ever beat Josh Barnett
by submission, a nauseating and painful “go go
choke”, as Rothwell called it, that wreaks havoc
on your adam’s apple.
The past couple of months have been a particu-
larly busy time for the UFC heavyweight divi-
sion. Generally, this activity would help clear up
the rankings and title outlook; however, both
champion Fabricio Werdum and number 1 con-
tender, Cain Velasquez, recently dropped out
of their scheduled UFC 196 title fight due to
injury. Details of the extent of their injuries and
timelines for their return to action are still un-
clear, meaning that the top of the division will
most likely begin to bottleneck in their absence.
Despite his impressive run, Rothwell will have
to stay active in order to maintain relevance in
the division. One way to stay relevant is to take
on potential title challenger, Stipe Miocic. Roth-
well and Miocic already have history. The two
were scheduled to fight at UFC Dublin in Octo-
ber 2015, but Miocic backed out due to injury.
The UFC then famously booked Miocic to fight
Andrei Arlovski at UFC 195 this past January,
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson
Possible Fights: Winner of Daniel
Cormier vs Jon Jones, Glover Teixeira
“Big” Ben Rothwell
Possible Fights: Stipe Miocic
