Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is still fighting for the UFC light heavyweight title on May 23. He's just not fighting Jon Jones anymore.
After Jones was stripped of his championship and indefinitely suspended earlier this week, UFC officials tabbed Daniel Cormier to replace Jones and face Johnson in the main event at UFC 187.
Jones was considered by most observers to be the pound-for-pound best MMA fighter on the planet, well-rounded and dangerous in every phase.
Cormier is extremely talented in his own right, even if the Olympic wrestler's skill set is more predicated on a grinding method of offense.
Does this swap in opponent and opposing style change anything for Rumble? According to him, it doesn't.
“The game plan hasn't changed,” Johnson said, in an interview published Thursday with John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com. “The game plan is to whoop some ass.”
The decision makes sense.
After all, his own game plan is usually fairly simple. One of the most fearsome strikers in all of MMA, Rumble (19-4) has 13 professional wins by knockout. He earned both of his most recent wins that way, and in the first round no less, knocking out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in just 44 seconds and then earning the title shot by ending Alexander Gustafsson in just 2:15.
Also in the interview with Morgan, Johnson expressed disappointment over this week's Jones decision, which followed his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run collision in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that left a pregnant woman with a fractured arm.
I was disappointed, but I was never mad. It sucks that I don't get to fight Jon, but eventually, one day, I'll have a chance to fight him. I'm just focused on getting ready. I feel bad for Jon and Jon's family, and I feel bad for the MMA community. He let everybody down, but nobody's perfect. Life goes on, and I still have a great opportunity.
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