Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has become a boogeyman of sorts in the UFC's light heavyweight division after a three-fight winning streak, the last two being KO victories, and those wins earned him a shot at Jon "Bones" Jones' title. Jones is out of the UFC 187 main event thanks to outside issues though, and the title is up for grabs against Daniel "DC" Cormier.
Cormier, a decorated wrestler, suffered his first loss in January to Jones, but is undeterred against Johnson. He derided his opponent as something of a quitter, bringing up previous tapouts when Johnson was an underachieving middleweight.
"At the core of Anthony Johnson, Anthony's the guy who got submitted by Josh Koscheck. Anthony's the guy that tapped out before Vitor Belfort got the choke in," Cormier said. Johnson is aware of the comments made by Cormier, but said he puts no stock in them.
"I heard Daniel say some things and it didn't change my opinion of him. It didn't make me upset because I'm going to fight him regardless. He can say what he wants, he can look at me however he wants, that's his own opinion. He can feel how he wants to feel," Johnson said.
The Cormier vs. Johnson matchup is intriguing, and about as good a fight as can be made in the UFC without involving Jones. Cormier is a master wrestler, while Johnson is the division's purest striker. Even Jones, the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, admitted he's far outgunned by Rumble in that category.
Jones says he couldn't bust a grape
"He has much more striking power than I do. That's pretty obvious. I haven't knocked out anything," Jones said. "Rampage said I couldn't bust a grape, and I think that is true."
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