UFC Fight Night New Jersey: Anthony Johnson Ready To Beat Ryan Bader

Johnson (20-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) said he’ll welcome that wrestling attack from Bader (20-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC on FOX 18 main event tonight at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The main card airs on FOX following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

With both men situated at the top five of the UFC’s official light heavyweight rankings, it would not be a surprise if the victor of the said fight would be granted the next title shot against either Daniel Cormier or Jon Jones, who are being slated to fight for the title next. He was scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier, now the UFC champion, last June, but the bout was scrapped when Jones was stripped of his title in April after being involved in a hit-and-run vehicle accident. Instead, Johnson took on Cormier for the vacant title and lost by submission.

After losing to Cormier, Johnson beat Jimi Manuwa by knockout in September.

Bader defeated former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in his last performance back at UFC 192 on October 2015.

“When Johnson’s on and he’s getting you, he’s an fantastic fighter”, Bader said.

‘We know he’s got that bully mentality.

Knockout artist Johnson is clearly the highest calibre opponent Bader has faced since his loss to Teixeira two and a half years ago, and will be a true test of how far he has come. He’s been chatting on Twitter, trying to get me to respond to him back, and I wasn’t going to let him and his camp dictate what we’re going to do in our fight. Bader plays a different game, using his conditioning and athleticism to set up takedowns and control position. If I beat this guy, it’s a pretty significant win.

Also on tap on fight night is the heavyweight clash between Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett (34-7-0) and Ben Rothwell (35-9-0). I think Ryan will finish it earlier than that, I really feel that way.

It’s a step up in competition for Northcutt, and his third fight in the UFC in quick succession.

Simpson predicts Bader will stop “Rumble” Saturday night and extend his win streak to six win a row. But I’m not going in there thinking I’m just going to knock him out. Johnson is one of the hardest hitters in the sport and has exceptionally fast hands.

Rothwell has been on a wave of momentum as of late, having fans clamour to see him fight after he made it clear he was prepared to do what it took to get a big name.

Barnett doesn’t wield the kind of stopping power in his fists that Rothwell does however, and “Big Ben” is also an extremely durable fighter and isn’t afraid to eat a couple of punches to land one of his own. I’ll put that on anything”, Simpson said.”Bader is stronger on the cage.

As a former assistant wrestling coach at Arizona State University, Simpson says Johnson’s mental weakness was evident through out his junior college wrestling career and even Johnson’s wrestling coaches informed him of it when Simpson was looking to recruit new wrestlers.