We’re back again fight fans. This Saturday, the UFC presents UFC Fight Night: Johnson vs Bader live on Fox. With four fights on the main card, each of which offering interesting consequences for their respective divisions, it’s a card well worth tuning in for.
Headlining the show will be Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, facing off against Ryan Bader at Light Heavyweight. The fight is expected to have real connotations for the 205lbs title picture, with the winner likely to move on to face the winner of the as-yet unannounced bout between champion Daniel Cormier and the returning Jon Jones.
Johnson, ranked #2 in his division, was last seen in a performance of the night showing at UFC 191, where he rendered Jimi Manuwa unconscious in the second round. It was Johnson’s first fight since he lost against Cormier in his first attempt at UFC gold. On the comeback towards the title, Rumble’s teammates (including former Light Heavyweight champion Rashad Evans) have spoken to the media about Johnson’s new determination and drive.
Indeed, Johnson, who is usually one of the softer spoken fighters in the sport has been unusually vocal leading up to this bout. Engaging in Twitter back-and-forths and leaving Facebook statuses, this bout with Bader is clearly one rumble Rumble wanted (sorry).
“I think it will put me right back in title contention. I never saw myself out of title contention,” Johnson said in an interview with MMAJunkie last year. “I think it’s going to be a war no matter what.
“I believe I’ll catch him sooner or later, but Bader’s good; he might not have the most entertaining fights, but he’s a good fighter,” Johnson said. “I’ve read some of the comments about me putting Bader out in the first round and all that other stuff. I don’t really pay attention to it. If it happens, it happens.
“I’m definitely going to go in there and try to knock his head off. That’s a given.[…]I plan on running right through him. I’m going to take his soul.”
Not that Bader has shone away from the vocal sparring himself. The fourth ranked fighter has long been pursuing a title shot, and actually looked as if he may have earned it after beating Rashad Evans last time out at UFC 192.
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“My game plan is to go in there and make him quit,” Bader said on MMAFighting’s MMA Hour. “Do what DC did to him. He’s been chatting on Twitter, trying to get me to respond to him back, and I wasn’t going to let him and his camp dictate what we’re going to do in our fight. He keeps saying how I have to beat a top-three guy or I haven’t beaten anybody to deserve or warrant a title shot, when these other guys are just getting thrown in off losses and stuff.
“It’s just a lack of respect. And I don’t care. I like that, because I get to go out there and prove people wrong. If I get to do that every single time, with my opponent, the fans and what not, then that’s what I’m going to do. I like being in that position. I’m a big underdog in this fight and I love being in that position. I love proving people wrong and proving myself right and my coaches.”
With Rumble’s team claiming his wrestling has improved, and Bader’s admitted he’s looking to grind out a victory, Johnson vs Bader has the potential to be a fascinating, if tactical, match-up.
In the Co-Main event, two fan favourites in the Heavyweight division meet as Josh Barnett and Ben Rothwell try to move up the rankings. Ranked 8th and 7th respectively, you could be forgiven for thinking the two men were a couple of fights away from title discussions, but in a division as thin as Heavyweight nothing is certain.
Rothwell has been on a wave of momentum as of late, having fans clamour to see him fight after he made it clear he was prepared to do what it took to get a big name. The UFC rewarded him, and now he faces off with the veteran Barnett, who comes in with an impressive win over ‘Big Country’ Roy Nelson.
Elsewhere on the card, we have prodigy Sage Northcutt facing Bryan Barnerena. Usually fighting in the 155lbs division, Northcutt’s original Lightweight opponent dropped out and Barnerena stepped in. As such, Northcutt makes his debut in the UFC Welterweight division.
It’s a step up in competition for Northcutt, and his third fight in the UFC in quick succession. As someone with seemingly all the athletic ability in the world, Northcutt will be controlling much of the attention on Fight Night as fans look to see how the youngster’s skills have progressed.
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