Explosive Welterweights Anthony Johnson and John Howard to Meet at TUF 9 Finale

by Chris Nelson on Mar 2, 2009 11:25 AM EST Comment 23 comments

MMA Junkie has the scoop, replete with everyone's favorite hackneyed adjective:

Two exciting and explosive welterweights have agreed to meet at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in June.

Sources close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) Anthony Johnson (7-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and John Howard (11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) have agreed to the bout, which is expected to be finalized in the coming week or two.

MMAjunkie.com first reported last week that the TUF9 Finale is expected to take place June 20, though the event and a location have not been officially announced.

The event, set to air on Spike TV, also features the welterweight and lightweight finales for the upcoming ninth season of "TUF." The show, which debuts April 1, features a U.S. vs. U.K. squad with Dan Henderson heading the American team and Michael Bisping leading the British squad.

The Johnson vs. Howard fight will likely take place on the night's televised main card.

My first thought is that Johnson takes this fairly handily, but I thought Chris Wilson would dispatch of Howard too, and the journeyman "Doomsday" gritted out a tough win against a top-notch opponent.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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I wouldn’t be betting the house on Rumble in this one. Howard’s been a very good East Coast prospect for a while and had moderate success in the IFL. His Fight-of-the-Night victory over Chris Wilson (and one that he was supposed to lose) aside, he also has good wrestling and jiu-jitsu, so if AJ decides to take him down, he’s not going to just lay there.

The last time we saw Johnson against a guy with decent wrestling and good submission skills (Rich Clementi), we saw what happened. Although if this stays on the feet Johnson will surely have a very good chance at getting the (T)KO, if Howard can get it to the ground I wouldn’t be surprised to see him catch Rumble in a submission.

by Scott Haber on Mar 2, 2009 10:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Johnson was fighting on short notice in that one

and was in terrible shape. I think he’s learned his lesson on that.

"the spirit of your average dumbass with more overblown rhetoric" OR "the self-appointed savior of MMA"

by Kid Nate on Mar 2, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was going to mention that as well, he had to cut like 20lbs in a very short amount of time for that fight.

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Mar 2, 2009 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As Rampage would say “it’s time for some black-on-black crime.”

by Nick Thomas on Mar 2, 2009 11:09 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Sadly that is what my dad calls basketball…

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Mar 2, 2009 3:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

is “explosive” just anothe word for “black” in mma these days lol

by dbcb on Mar 2, 2009 11:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yes.

See also: “athletic.”

Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com

by Chris Nelson on Mar 2, 2009 11:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Baha, yes. That reminds me of the three bullet point system Joe Rogan outlines as every fighter gets vaselined up prior to entering the ring.

ATHLETIC
RARELY GOES THE DISTANCE
STRONG

by IImastersII on Mar 2, 2009 11:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chalk this one up to cynical matchmaking. Johnson has a bajillion inch height and reach advantage over Howard.

by smoogy on Mar 2, 2009 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

HMC did over Fedor, so I guess that was cynical, too… wait a minute, this fight is actually competitive.

by subo on Mar 2, 2009 2:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m sure you can come up with a more useless comparison than that.

by smoogy on Mar 2, 2009 4:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just pointing out reach advantage does not equal a win

by subo on Mar 2, 2009 10:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I def expect a highlight KO from Rumble.

by Bigperm on Mar 2, 2009 12:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Right, Left, failed headkick, body kick, redo headkick. End match.

Johnson by Deah via High Kick

by "Mr. NC-17" on Mar 2, 2009 12:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

This match is so explosively athletic, there will only be a crater left where the octagon was due to all the explosive athleticism exploding.

Keep firing Assholes!

by Ubernoober on Mar 2, 2009 1:07 PM EST reply actions 4 recs

Hahaha, rec’d!

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Mar 2, 2009 3:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

GSP is always described as explosively athletic.

by dualdiagnosis on Mar 2, 2009 3:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He also listens to rap.

Coincidence?

by bigweeze on Mar 2, 2009 3:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks, I didn’t wanna be the one to say it.

In the end, I guess the “explosive” and “athletic” tags just come with the fast twitch muscle fibers, but they do tend to be applied to black fighters over all others.

Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com

by Chris Nelson on Mar 2, 2009 3:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs