The UFC on Fox 14 main event between Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson was billed as a top contender's match to decide the next in line to face light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. While UFC executives are often quick to renege on those promises, the UFC is being good to its word...for now, at least.
UFC President Dana White took to Twitter immediately after the fight:
This is a scary man!! @anthony_rumble vs jonnybones for @ufc LHW title http://t.co/XoGTpMd4ft
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 25, 2015
Johnson, for his part, put on a particularly strong performance against Gustafsson. While the lanky Swede was expected to out-point Johnson with his rangy jab and kicking game, Johnson applied pressure, got inside his range and landed a brutal right. He continued his offense as Gustafsson stumbled and eventually got him to the ground and pounded him until the ref waved things off.
While the upset nixed a potentially lucrative rematch between Jones and Gustafsson (who put on 2013's fight of the year at UFC 165), Johnson's rise to stardom has been impressive.
Johnson was cut from the UFC in 2012 when he lost a bout to Vitor Belfort, mired further by flubbing what should have been an easy weight cut down to 185 pounds (he had, to that point, competed as a welterweight). During his brief stint with Titan FC, Johnson decided to move all the way up to light heavyweight, and has been undefeated through eight fights since.
While Jones vs. Johnson does not have as strong a storyline as Jones vs. Gustafsson, the dominance "Rumble" has displayed in the Octagon thus far has been nothing short of impressive. He returned to the UFC in 2014 with a lopsided victory over Phil Davis and followed that up with a savage knockout of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in order to set up the big fight with Gustafsson.
The UFC has not pegged a likely date for the light heavyweight title fight, but with a title fight already attached to each pay-per-view through UFC 187 in May, UFC 188 in June is the most likely landing spot. Stick with Bleacher Report for more news on the fight as it becomes available.
