Anthony Johnson: ‘Jon was always the champ’

Top UFC light heavyweight Anthony Johnson has been reignited now that his division has a returning top talent in Jon Jones, who is bound to shake the division.

Johnson who lost a title fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier spoke with MMA Junkie on how the former champion, Jon Jones is bringing something fresh to the table.

“It lights a fire under my ass, and I think lights a fire under everyone because (the division) got serious again,” Johnson said. “To me, Jon was always the champ because it was never taken away from him. It was his actions outside of fighting, but that’s a whole other story. To me, Jon was still the champ regardless.”

With Jones and Cormier likely being the next title fight, Johnson sees “Bones” taking it in a convincing fashion.

“Jon didn’t make (the first fight) look easy, but he didn’t make it look that hard either,” Johnson said. “I think Jon is definitely going to do his thing. I think Jon is definitely going to try to put him away. I think the first fight Jon was playing around with him a little bit to see what he had to offer. But I think this time Jon is definitely going to try to end it just to put a stamp on everything.”

Johnson’s next opponent is Ryan Bader, a top contender who is also looking to get a title shot. However, Johnson has plans of his own to get another shot at winning the UFC title, in a match that never came to maturity with Jon Jones.

“With Jon coming back and when we do fight for a title, I always feel like I have the upper hand every fight, but Jon is tricky,” Johnson said. “He’s long, he’s athletic, and he catches you with weird kicks and weird elbows at different angles. You just have to be ready for Jon Jones. That’s the guy you can never really plan for. You just have to go in there and fight his ass.”

Who takes the W in a Johnson versus Jones fight? Lay out your predictions in the comment section below!