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Once exiled from the UFC for his brutal inability to make weight, light heavyweight Anthony Johnson is a free agent and a hot commodity in the MMA market. Johnson, whose last three fights (all wins) have taken place at World Series of Fighting, was seen by MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani at the Prudential Center during the UFC 169 prelims with a UFC official:
Just saw Anthony Johnson enter the building with a UFC official and walk to the back. Business has just picked up.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 2, 2014
"Rumble" (16-4) was cut from the UFC in 2012 after missing the middleweight limit by 11 lbs for a fight against Vitor Belfort. Dana White had all but written Johnson out of the promotion win or lose, and he ultimately lost to Belfort by rear-naked choke. Johnson had previously missed weight at welterweight twice, and wasn't particularly close in either instance. Since his release, Johnson has rattled off six consecutive wins, and has seemingly settled on a career at light heavyweight.
I recently advocated bringing Johnson back to the UFC, particularly given the porous depth of light heavyweight as it presently stands. This is all purely speculative at this point, but with the UFC publicly expressing interest in re-signing him earlier this week, and Johnson apparently speaking with UFC officials tonight, we could be seeing Rumble back in the Octagon very soon.
UPDATE at 9:21 PM ET: Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports tweeted this out:
Talked to @Anthony_Rumble for a minute before. He's front row in Newark. On potential UFC deal: "We're still working out some stuff."
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) February 2, 2014
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