Anthony Johnson: 'Everything going as planned' for WSOF 2 heavyweight debut

For a man who’s spent a good share of his career hearing criticism about making weight, Anthony Johnson must’ve been loving life this week.

Johnson (14-4) meets Andrei Arlovski (19-9) in the main event of World Series of Fighting 2 on Saturday night – in a heavyweight bout. And that means worry about cutting weight has been out the window for Johnson, even though he actually considered dropping a few pounds for the fight.

WSOF 2 takes place at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., with a main card airing on NBC Sports Network.

“I’ll probably (weigh) about 235 (pounds for the fight),” Johnson told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “After my last fight, I pigged out a bit and got to 235. I was going to get down to 225, but I thought, ‘Forget it. I’m going to eat clean and eat healthy and train hard and let it be what it is.’ The 235 I weighed last month isn’t the same 235 I am right now.”

Johnson was a welterweight when he fought in the UFC – 65 pounds from where he anticipates he’ll fight on Saturday night. And we’re only talking about 18 months since his last fight at 170 – not a whole career ago.

But Johnson always struggled to make 170, twice missing the weight with the UFC. He moved to middleweight to face Vitor Belfort, missed weight there, and was cut by the promotion.

But outside the UFC, he has made a gradual move up. He beat David Branch at a 195-pound catch weight, then got wins over Esteves Jones and Jake Rosholt at light heavyweight before signing with WSOF – where he beat D.J. Linderman at 205 pounds and looked light a force to be reckoned with in the weight class.

But a fight with Arlovski, a former UFC champion, was too good to pass up.

“It just kind of fell into place,” Johnson said. “Andrei’s an athlete, he’s already a legend, and a great guy from what I’ve seen and heard. He’s a class act, and I’ve never had a problem with him. He punches hard and he fights hard. So it’s all about pushing yourself and seeing where you stand in life with this sport.

“This is, to me, just an extra challenge in life.”

The move to heavyweight, even if it’s a one-time only proposition for “Rumble,” wasn’t something he saw coming, or at least not seriously.

“I never thought I’d be fighting at heavyweight – well, maybe before I retired, I thought I’d fight my last fight at heavyweight just because,” he said. “But this doesn’t get in the way with anything I want to do. I don’t want to be labeled as anything special. I just want to be known as a guy who would fight … who went out there and fought his best.”

Considering the way he exited the UFC – on a loss, and on the heels of missing weight by 11 pounds – getting back to the world’s biggest promotion isn’t something Johnson would likely say no to. But right now, he’s focusing on Arlovski and giving 100 percent to his new home.

With four straight wins, and fighting a true heavyweight in Arlovski while realistically a light heavyweight, Johnson wants to keep proving himself for WSOF.

“I haven’t thought about the UFC,” he said. “The UFC isn’t one of my goals because I’m not with them. I’m not going to use World Series of Fighting as a stepping stone to get back to the UFC. When the time is right, or when my time comes to go back, I’ll probably go back. But I’m not thinking about them right now. I’m thinking about who I’m with and what I’ve got to do for them.”

“They’ve been great to me so far. Really cool guys, and you don’t feel like you have any pressure on your back from anybody in the organization. It’s young and still has a lot of learning and growing to do, but they’re going to get there. I have no doubt in my mind they’re going to be a top-notch promotion.

Probably about 235. After my last fight, I pigged out a bit and got to 235. I was going to get down to 225, but I thought forget it. I’m going to eat clean and eat healthy and train hard and let it be what it is. The 235 I weighed last month isn’t the same 235 I am right now.

For more on WSOF 2, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.