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Daniel Cormier will be defending the UFC Light Heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson at the main event of UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in Canada on December 10th.
The champ made the announcement himself at Wednesday’s edition of the UFC Tonight show on FS1:
It’s on! @UFC champ @DC_MMA will be defending his light heavyweight title against @Anthony_Rumble at #UFC206 pic.twitter.com/kEFf9qlWIW
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 6, 2016
Take Two
The bout marks the second encounter between the two fighters. Cormier defeated Johnson via rear naked choke submission in the third round of their title bout at UFC 187.
Back then, the two were fighting for the 205-pound title which was vacated after Jon Jones’ series of run ins with the law. After the victory, Cormier has defended the title once, against Alexander Gustafsson. The champ is coming off a unanimous decision win over Anderson Silva in a non-title bout at UFC 200.
On A Roll
Johnson meanwhile has been on a roll, winning three fights in a row since losing to Cormier. All of those victories have come via knockout. Rumble Johnson has won 12 of his last 13 bouts since returning to the UFC. The only blemish in his resume during that period was the loss to Cormier.
After knocking out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds at UFC 202, Johnson now has the opportunity to exact revenge and finally win the title that has long eluded him.
Grounding Rumble
In his announcement, Cormier vowed to stand and trade with Rumble. He promised to knock his challenger out in the middle of the Octagon. But If we recall their first bout however, Cormier used his wrestling expertise to ground his explosive opponent. Johnson never got his offense going against Cormier who tried to keep the fight on the mat. It will be interesting to see whether Cormier is going to do as he says because going toe to toe with Anthony Johnson is a mortal sin.
In 22 MMA victories, Anthony Johnson has knocked out 16 opponents. Twelve of those knockouts happened in the very first round. Four of Johnson’s last five wins have come via first round knockout. Known for his punching power and explosiveness, Anthony Johnson loves to brawl like a fish loves water. He’s not known as Rumble for nothing. As for DC, Cormier is known to have a granite chin but it’s still unlikely that he will take his chances in a rumble with Anthony Johnson.
