At UFC 210 on April 8th, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will step into the Octagon with Anthony Johnson for a highly anticipated showdown for the light heavyweight title.
In the pair’s first fight, fans were curious to see how Cormier adapted to the power of Johnson given that Johnson has proven to be able to knock out nearly everyone in the UFC’s 205 pound division.
Going into the rematch, Cormier has vowed to stand and trade with Johnson, surprising everyone as he believes that he will not need to use his wrestling in order to defend his light heavyweight title.
In an interview with MMAJunkie, Johnson spoke about how the MMA community believes he is a one-round fighter, and what winning the title would mean to him at this point of his career.
“(The) majority of the community believes I’m just a first-round fighter because most of my fights end in the first round,” Johnson said on today’s UFC 210 conference call. “They’re entitled to their own opinion, and that’s fine with me. I have nothing to prove to anybody except myself, so if (Cormier) wants to believe that and everyone else wants to believe that, that’s completely fine with me.”
“I’ve just got to go out there and be myself and do what I do,” Johnson said. “If I hit him one time, and he drops, then I’ll go after him again. If I hit him again, he’s definitely in trouble from the second punch, or punch or kick or whatever it is. Daniel, he has a great chin, he’s a great athlete, so he won’t be easy by any means necessary.”
Only time will tell if Johnson is able to emerge victorious in his rematch with Cormier, and capture the light heavyweight championship.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/31/2017.