Anthony "Rumble" Johnson shocked the UFC with an annihilation of light heavyweight No. 1 contender Alexander Gustafsson, and thrust himself in a position to challenge Jon "Bones" Jones for the gold. Las Vegas oddsmakers have installed Jones as an early favorite (-315), but one fellow light heavyweight who knows Jones well is picking the underdog.
Rashad Evans, whom Jones has beaten inside the octagon, is predicting a similarly shocking victory for Johnson.
"I'm extremely proud of my brother Anthony Johnson for his complete annihilation of Alexander Gustafsson! Rumble's journey to be where he is right now is story of inspiration. I'm blessed to have the privilege to watch my bro develop as a fighter and most importantly a person. Now let me be the first to tell you that Rumble is gonna knock Jones out with an uppercut!!"
A photo posted by Suga Rashad Evans (@suga_rashadevans) on Jan 25, 2015 at 7:44am PST
The storyline of Jones facing a threat like none before was used heavily ahead of his bout with Daniel Cormier, who was undefeated before losing a clear decision at UFC 182, but it might apply in Johnson's case.
Johnson has four losses on his record, but he hasn't tasted defeat since 2012 and has experienced great success after a past littered with missed weights. He has won nine fights in a row, and the last three in particular have come vs. name opponents.
Six of those nine victories have come by way of KO or TKO, and four of them within one round. After taking out Gustafsson, Johnson spoke of beating Jones in worse fashion since he believed Gustafsson actually was robbed at UFC 165.
"I think I'll be the hardest puncher he's ever faced," Johnson said. "And he's faced a lot of top quality guys. Hopefully I can just do things nobody has done to him. Alexander gave him the worst beating he's ever had. Hopefully I can give him one 10 times worse."
[Sherdog]
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