Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who has decided to end his retirement to compete in the heavyweight division, recently claimed he’d be willing to cut back down to 205 pounds to fight the division’s king Jon Jones.
“I’m gonna wait until I get about, lose about 10 more pounds, get to 235lbs. I wanna see how my body feels. Then if it feels good, then I’m going to probably make 205lbs,” Johnson told Brendan Schaub of a fight with Jon Jones.
“We’ll make it happen if I get low enough. I’ll get to 205lbs. That’s a fight I wanted. I think Jon wanted that fight, too, before everything happened. That situation, which, it’s over with, it’s in the past,” he added.
“When we see each other there’s no animosity, we show each other love. But that was a fight, that’s why I went up to 205lbs man. That’s the guy I want. And then you know, when I get my heart broken, I have to fight Daniel Cormier, it’s not as motivating. The fight wasn’t in me to fight DC, but I fought him, kind of fought him, but it wasn’t the same drive.”
It did not take long for Jones to respond to these comments. While he respects Johnson, he said he’d be happy to choke him out. Jones also recommended Johnson ensures his cardio is in check.
We’ve always been cool but I’ll be more than happy to choke you out if that’s what you’re looking for. @Anthony_Rumble
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 15, 2019
We’ve always been cool but I’ll be more than happy to choke you out if that’s what you’re looking for. @Anthony_Rumble
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 15, 2019
“You better make sure you have that cardio together big fella,” Jones wrote in a Tweet that mentioned Johnson.
“We’ve always been cool but I’ll be more than happy to choke you out if that’s what you’re looking for,” he added in a second Tweet.
Does a fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson interest you? Do you think Johnson could defeat the champ?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/16/2019.