Anthony Johnson was traded to the DC Defenders to the LA Wildcats earlier in the week. The defensive star had to take a cross-country flight to join his new XFL teammates. Given the viral topic of the week was whether people should recline or not …
Anthony Johnson was traded to the DC Defenders to the LA Wildcats earlier in the week. The defensive star had to take a cross-country flight to join his new XFL teammates.
Given the viral topic of the week was whether people should recline or not recline on airplanes, ABC’s Dianna Russini asked Johnson to weigh in. At 6-foot-3, 275, Johnson is clearly on “Team No-Recline.” And it would probably be a good idea to sit up straight if the defensive lineman is behind you.
On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they are signing wide receiver Anthony Johnson to a Futures contract. Pittsburgh has been hard at work since their season ended trying to hoard back as much talent as possible ahead of the start of the league year.
Johnson played his final two college seasons at the University of Buffalo. In two years he caught 133 passes for 2,367 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns. Despite that production, Johnson went undrafted and was signed as a UDFA by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released at the start of the regular season and spent the remainder of the regular season on the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad.
Here are 20 fights MMA Junkie hopes to see happen in 2020.
With a new year comes new things, including good ol’-fashioned fist fights. What kinds of matchups are we hoping to see in 2020? What kinds of bookings do we want the MMA gods to bless us with?Â
Here’s a list of some ideas and why they may (or may not) make sense:
Dillon Danis
20. [autotag]A.J. Agazarm[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag]
This list is being kicked off by “El Jefe” himself. I know this will automatically trigger the Twitter trolls, but hear me out. Danis and Agazarm easily are two of the best grapplers Bellator has in its lighter weight classes. The two have competed against each other plenty of times in the grappling world and they don’t have a lot of love for each other. Their name value doesn’t match their experience level in MMA, so they both often have fights against unknown opponents, which makes their fights hard to promote.
So why not pit them against each other? It makes sense for both fighters skill-level wise, it could be a fun buildup, and we could certainly see some fun, world-class jiu-jitsu.
Bryce Mitchell
19.[autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag]Â vs. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]
Let’s keep the jiu-jitsu train rolling. Gracie is jiu-jitsu royalty and Mitchell scored a cool-looking submission in his most recent fight – a twister. The UFC certainly is not shy about throwing Gracie against someone with far more experience (cough, cough – Cub Swanson). I know Mitchell is a bit more experienced than Gracie, but not by a crazy margin. Both guys need fights and have interesting and opposing personalities. Why not?
Some of the most significant in-fight moments and records in UFC history have occurred and been etched in stone over the past decade.
The past decade of UFC action has seen a lot unfold, and it is arguably the most important in the organization’s history from in terms of evolution.
Only within this era have statistics truly come to the forefront. After so many years of fights, the groundwork for what’s viewed as meaningful and the history attached has finally been laid out. The athletes and techniques have evolved, too, meaning new methods of causing damage and finishing fights are attempted and pulled off with a higher rate of frequency.
That evolution is apparent in the history books, because some of the most significant moments and records in UFC history have occurred over this past decade.
Let’s dig into the archives.
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EVENT FEATS
Sajik Arena in South Korea
The UFC held 363 events in 159 difference venues across 26 countries over the past decade.
“UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in October 2019 had the highest announced attendance in company history at 57,127.
“UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor” in November 2016 sold a largest live gate in company history at $17.7 million.
“UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” in November 2017 had the most total fight time of any event in company history at 3 hours, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.
“UFC Fight Night 55:: Rockhold vs. Bisping” in November 2014 had the least total fight time of those events at 1 hour, 3 minutes and 51 seconds.
The UFC canceled four events over the decade: UFC 151 in September 2012; UFC 176 in August 2014; UFC Fight Night 97 in October 2016 and UFC 233 in January 2019.
Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold at UFC 199
“UFC Fight Night 55: Rockhold vs. Bisping” and “UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington” in May 2018 each featured 11 stoppage results, the most for any card in company history.
“UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez” in April 2013, “UFC Fight Night 45: Cerrone vs. Miller” in July 2014, “UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2,” in June 2016 and “UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2” in December 2017 each featured eight knockout results, the most of the decade.
“UFC on FUEL TV 10: Werdum vs. Nogueira” in June 2013 featured eight submission results, the most for any card in company history.
Seven events each featured 10 decision results, the most for any card in company history.
“UFC Fight Night 134: Shogun vs. Smith” in July 2018 and “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” each featured nine consecutive decision results, the longest streak on a card in company history.
“UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal” in November 2015 and “UFC 222: Cyborg vs. Kunitskaya” in March 2018 each featured five split-decision results, the most for any card in company history.
Henry Cejudo def. Marlon Moraes at UFC 238
“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” in June 2019 featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a single-event record for the company.
“UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta” in April 2018 featured seven fighters who landed 100 or more significant strikes, a single-event record for the company.
“UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2” in June 2016 featured 15 knockdowns, a single-event record for the company.
“UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor” in July 2015 was the only event in company history to feature two knockouts stemming from flying knee strikes.
“UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till” in September 2018 was the only event in company history to feature two kneebar submission results.
“UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre” in November 2017 marked the only event in history to feature three title changes.
Anthony Johnson provides a minor update on his UFC comeback and says he’s waiting for the right time.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag] wants to make sure he doesn’t rush his comeback.
It’s been almost four months since former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Johnson announced he will be returning to competition at heavyweight. But he not yet entered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool.
At the Quintet Ultra media day, Johnson, who hasn’t competed since his second-round submission loss to Daniel Cormier in April 2017, provided a minor update on his comeback.
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“We’re waiting for the right time,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “We’ve got to make sure everything lines up right. When I come back, I want to make sure everything is good. I don’t want to try and bend any corners or step over anybody. I’m going to do everything legit and in the right way. So when I come back, let’s play ball.”
Johnson will be competing at the Quintet Ultra grappling competition Thursday as part of Team UFC in what will be the second time he competes in a grappling competition since retiring.
And while this competition is a way for Johnson to keep active, he admitted the comeback is not something he’s constantly thinking about.
“Honestly, I’m focused on the comeback, but it’s not like it’s on my mind 24/7,” Johnson said. “Like, when I come back, I’ll be ready, so I don’t really think about it. I just train, and when it’s time, it’s time. Right now, I’m just having fun, enjoying myself. I’ve been gone for two and a half years. It’s nothing to take serious right now. I’m here to enjoy myself, because before, I took everything so serious. That (expletive) is stressful, so I’m like, ‘(Expletive), I’m going to just have some fun, do what I’ve gotta do, whatever happens, happens.’ So that’s why I’m here.”
The Quintet grappling event coincides with UFC 245, which takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC 245 main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+. Quintet Ultra streams on UFC Fight Pass.
The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.
The lineups are set for Thursday’s Quintet Ultra team grappling event, and the opening matchups include a few intriguing contests.
Weigh-ins for the event took place Wednesday at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas, with each five-member team expected to weigh-in under 950 pounds combined. That didn’t prove an issue, with Team WEC registering 947.2 pounds, Team Strikeforce just behind at 946.6 pounds, Team UFC at 942.2 pounds and Team PRIDE the smallest at 936.6 pounds.
Featuring a unique 5-on-5 team grappling concept where the winning grappler of each match stays on the mat, Quintet Ultra takes place Thursday at the same venue and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
In the opening round of the tournament, Team UFC takes on Team PRIDE, while Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.
Team UFC will send out fast-rising bantamweight prospect [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] as their first representative, while Team PRIDE counters with former PRIDE lightweight champ [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag].
On the other side of the bracket, Team WEC is starting with three-time UFC title challenger [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag], while Team Strikeforce opens with two-time K-1 HERO’s middleweight grand prix champion and former Titan FC lightweight champ [autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag], the man best known as “JZ.”
In each match, the winning grappler stays on to take on the next representative from the opposing team. In case of a draw, both fighters are eliminated.
The two winning teams from the opening round matchups meet in the finals to close out the night.
UFC vs. PRIDE vs. WEC vs. Strikeforce? The full rosters have been announced for Thursday’s event.
Who would have won a team battle between the UFC, PRIDE, WEC, and Strikeforce? Quintet is hopping in a time machine to take fans back to an era when this question could be answered.
On Thursday, one of the world’s most unique grappling tournaments will return with Quintet Ultra. The openweight elimination challenge takes place at Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas and streams on UFC Fight Pass.
The event will see four teams compromised of five fighters – each team tied to a respective promotion. On Monday, full rosters and first-round team pairings were announced, with Team UFC taking on Team PRIDE and Team WEC vs. Team Strikeforce.
The teams are as follows:
Team UFC
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] (captain): former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, current UFC light heavyweight contender, WSOF veteran
[autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag]: former UFC light heavyweight title challenger
[autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]: Dana White’s Contender Series signee, undefeated UFC bantamweight
[autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: 29-fight UFC veteran, current UFC lightweight
[autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag]: current UFC lightweight/welterweight, second-degree black belt
Team PRIDE
[autotag]Kazushi Sakuraba[/autotag] (captain): UFC Hall of Famer, competed in 27 fights under the PRIDE banner, UFC Japan heavyweight tournament winner
[autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag]: PRIDE lightweight champion, Pride 2005 lightweight grand prix winner, UFC veteran
[autotag]Gregor Gracie[/autotag]: grappling world champion, ONE FC veteran, member of the storied Gracie family
[autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag]: former Bellator middleweight champion, Bellator Season 1 middleweight tournament winner, international judo federation gold medalist
[autotag]Yves Edwards[/autotag]: three-time PRIDE competitor, UFC and Strikeforce veteran, current PFL commentator
Team WEC
[autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] (captain): two-time UFC featherweight title challenger, most knockouts in UFC featherweight history (tied with Conor McGregor), two-time NCAA Division 1 All American
[autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag]: former UFC light heavyweight title challenger, current UFC light heavyweight contender, most submission victories in UFC light heavyweight history (tied with Jon Jones)
[autotag]Mark Munoz[/autotag]: two-time WEC competitor, 15-time UFC competitor, two-time NCAA division 1 All American
[autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag]: former UFC featherweight title challenger, former WEC title challenger, 11-time UFC/WEC bonus winner
[autotag]James Krause[/autotag]: two-time WEC competitor, current UFC welterweight, currently riding a six-fight win streak
[autotag]Gesias Cavalcante[/autotag]: two-time K-1 HERO’s middleweight grand prix champion, former Titan FC lightweight champion
[autotag]Renato Sobral[/autotag]: Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, former UFC light heavyweight title challenger
In addition to the team competition, Quintet Ultra will feature singles matches. [autotag]Gordon Ryan[/autotag] meets [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag], while Cynthia Calvillo takes on [autotag]Danielle Kelly[/autotag]. A prelims single match between [autotag]Craig Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Fredson Paixio[/autotag] also is set.
Anthony Johnson says he’s targeting a summer return to the UFC and thinks he’ll have a big speed advantage over other heavyweights.
[autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag] is edging closer to his octagon return.
During BKFC 9 fight week, Johnson told Mac Life while he’s not back in the USADA testing pool just yet, he just needs to sit down and further discuss things with the UFC. But he thinks things are moving in the right direction.
“I was trying to shoot for April, May but maybe June, July – we’ll see,” Johnson said. “But whenever I come back, I’m going to make sure it’s going to be known, you know what I mean? I want to come back and showcase everything and just fight – and just hurt people.”
Johnson (22-6 MMA, 12-6 UFC) has proven power with 16 knockouts in his 22 career wins. Currently walking around at 240 pounds, he is confident ahead of his heavyweight debut.
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The two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger thinks he will have a speed advantage in the division.
“I’ve dropped (and) knocked out two people already in training on the first two days of sparring, so I feel like everything is clicking,” Johnson said. “My advantage would probably be speed over the majority of those guys because everybody in heavyweight for the most part has power, but I think I’m much faster than those guys and I probably have a little bit more knockout power. Don’t take that from me – just check my record.”
Johnson hasn’t fought since a second-round submission loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in 2017, where he failed to capture the 205-pound title. If he returns in the summer of 2020, he will be coming back from a hiatus of more than three-years for his run in the heavyweight division.
A whole host of familiar faces will take to the mats when Quintet hits Las Vegas on UFC 245 fight week.
The UFC’s final pay-per-view card of 2019 is a suitably festive event, as UFC 245 on Dec. 14 features a stacked card with three title fights.
It will be a big enough week leading up to the show at T-Mobile Arena that other events of note are being planned for fight week in Las Vegas.
One of those is Quintet Ultra, a grappling show which will be held at Red Rock Casino on Dec. 12.
The 5-on-5 team grappling event, founded by UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Kazushi Sakuraba[/autotag], often features big-name mixed martial artists, and this card is no exception.
The company has announced the captains and a member of each of the four teams participating in the card. Team UFC will be lead by [autotag]Anthony Johnson[/autotag] and include [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag]. Team PRIDE is anchored by Sakuraba and will include former champion [autotag]Takanori Gomi[/autotag]. Team Strikeforce features a pair of former champions in [autotag]Gilbert Melendez[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Shields[/autotag]. And captaining Team WEC is [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag], and includes [autotag]Glover Teixeira[/autotag].
Additionally, a super fight will be held between Gordon Ryan and one of the UFC’s finest heavyweight grapplers, the master of the Ezekiel choke, [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag].
More details on participating grapplers and team rosters will be revealed in the weeks to come. The card will stream live at 10 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass.
