Is Anthony Johnson a real contender at LHW?

This past weekend we saw the return of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson against #4 ranked light heavyweight “Mr.Wonderful” Phil Davis. Johnson came back and extended his current winning streak to 7 by dominating Davis for all three rounds while also stuffing all 8 of Davis’ takedown attempts. After the final bell rang my first thought was weather Johnson is a legitimate contender at 205lbs.

Now Phil Davis is no slouch but to be honest in my opinion he was ranked too high. His biggest win is against former champion Lyoto Machida in a fight that not only did I think he lost but many MMA journalist and UFC president Dana White thought Davis lost all three rounds.

But back to Johnson… if he is to become a light heavyweight contender now would be the time that it could be a fast climb. During the post-fight press conference Johnson was asked many questions about the light heavyweight title picture and the possibility of facing Jon Jones down the line but Johnson kept saying that he doesn’t think he’s anywhere ready for a title shot. The UFC ranking might think differently as he moved up from being ranked 14^th before the fight to 5^th after the victory. 

I didn’t believe Johnson during the press conference when he said he’s nowhere near ready for a title shot because he trains with some great fighters at the Blackzillians camp like Vitor Belfort, Cezar Ferreira, Tyrone Spong and many others. I think the only reason he said it was so he doesn’t get asked weather he would fight his teammate/training partner and #2 ranked light heavyweight Rashad Evans.

In the next UFC pay per view event Daniel Cormier will face Dan Henderson in a match that has been said to determine the next challenger to Jon Jones’ title but in my mind the winner of that fight should fight Johnson. Yes DC (14-0) is undefeated but all but one of his wins came at heavyweight against Patrick Cummins who took the fight on less than a week notice. While Henderson just snapped a 3 fight losing streak against Maurico Rua in a fight that saw Henderson being on the verge of a 4^th straight defeat. A fight between the winner of Cormier/Henderson and Johnson should be the fight that determines the next contender.

I think Johnson is a legit contender but it remains to be seen if he believes it himself.

What do you guys think? 

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