Anthony Johnson certainly put on a dominating performance at UFC 104, but was it truly impressive? Joe Rogan himself commented how it looked like the fighters were separated by multiple weight classes.  The miss begs a few questions, like if Rumble took the fight with too little time to diet and train, due to need or whatnot; and exactly what is the cap for these fighters missing weight before commissions will stop the fight?  Before there were weight classes and in the now supersized Heavyweight division we'd see certain size advantages and differentials; but If a cut by a 220 pound person who brings himself to the brink of dehydration to get to 6 pounds over the weight limit, in actually 5 pounds due to the one pound given, how can the commission let that fight happen? 

I have no answers for those questions, unfortunately.   But I bring you to the true topic of my post, Johnson's atttitude in reference to missing the weight.  I was waiting to see what Rumble would say post-fight when he inevitably knocked his opponent unconscious.  He did the right things, apologizing to the fans and the UFC brass, but he never apologized to the person who is most harmed by Johnson' indiscretions, Yoshiyuki Yoshida himself.  Already thinking that was in poor taste, i stumbled onto an article today on MMAJunkie.com about the change Johnson's life has undergone since missing weight.

Originally this comment stuck out at me:

"It's nobody's fault but mine for not making weight. So I accepted the punishment of not getting $60,000, but trust me, my feelings were hurt."

 

Why should his feelings be hurt? I don't believe in any way Johnson deserved the KO of the night.  He was a schoolyard bully; Pat Barry used technique and speed to defeat a lengthier fighter in Antoni Hardonk.  Barry absolutely deserved the bonus; Johnson knocked out a person who weighed probably twenty pounds less come fight time.  Further In the article, i read Johnson's quote about those fans who didn't respond favorably at his showing at UFC 104.  For them he had to say:

"That's life," Johnson said. "People are going to turn on you, and [others] are going to support you no matter what. You'll know who your real friends are and who your real fans are when they stick by you through thick and thin like this. 

"You make a mistake, people aren't supposed to turn their back on you, but they will. That lets you know who's in your corner and who's really supporting you and everything else. Some people are just nutriders. They just want to be on the bandwagon just because you're good."

As a former Rumble fan, I must say that he will have to re-endear himself to the fans, because I almost feel cheated.  He needs a little less rumble, and a little more humble, when he embarasses himself and another fighter by missing weight by so much.  The last offense I can think of that I had a worse taste about was Filho and his debacle against Chael Sonnen.  Rumble shows very little remorse and no apologetic attitude towards Yoshida, who's career and well being have both been damaged in the process. We weren't nutriders, Rumble, and I think you'll have far fewer people on your bandwagon the next time it rolls around.