Anthony Johnson on first UFC stint: 'I was a different dude back then'

(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

Anthony Johnson says his life outside of fighting in Boca Raton, Fla., is one drab stopover after another between training sessions, despite his surroundings. And that’s the way it should be.

“I’m really giving this thing a run,” the UFC light heavyweight told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie. “I’m actually taking a chance now at doing the best that I can in this sport and being the best that I can.”

If you asked him the same question two years ago, when weight was the biggest agenda item of his fight preparation, you would have gotten a much different answer.

Even his knockouts from those days — and there were many — don’t count, says Johnson (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who meets former Pride star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (21-5, 4-2) on Saturday in “UFC on Fox 12? in San Jose (Fox, 6 p.m. ET).

“I was a different dude back then,” says Johnson, who was released from the UFC two years ago after failing a third time to make weight and brought back in April. “I didn’t care about nothing. I thought I was the dude, and I wasn’t even the champ. I didn’t take life as serious as I do now.”

Johnson, 30, has perhaps three or four years remaining in his prime, and he aims to make the best of them.

“I feel like I aged for the better, for sure,” he says.

Johnson was still one year away from his professional MMA debut in 2006 when Nogueira fought a barnburner against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in Pride. Eight years later, they meet as symbols of successive MMA generations, with Nogueira, 38, one of the last vestiges of the now-defunct Japanese promotion.

“I do believe Anthony is part of a new wave of fighters,” says Glenn Robinson, Johnson’s manager. “There was the Pride era, which was very abusive on the fighters. There were 10-minute rounds; it was a whole other mentality of fighting.

“Now the fighters are learning all the martial arts at one time, and Anthony is extremely dedicated to each one of the disciplines, which helps him grow more evenly.”

In his return to the UFC after a two-year tour of other promotions, Johnson showed he still was capable of winning a title when he shut down Phil Davis in UFC 172. He has knocked out four of his last seven opponents.

Although he declines to entertain questions about his place in the 205-pound division, he took a huge leap by beating Davis and could take a spot behind Daniel Cormier for a shot at the title now held by dominant champion Jon Jones.

He could also signal another changing of the guard as the sport’s legends continue to age.

“His battles have been legendary, and that can take its toll on anybody,” Davis says. “It’s taken its toll on Wanderlei (Silva); it’s taken its toll on Chuck Liddell. We all saw it. Those were just guys that wanted to bang.

“I’ll bang with you, but I’m going to do it smart.”

For more on UFC on FOX 12, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.