Anthony “Rumble” Johnson makes his return to professional MMA this Friday at Bellator 258. While there was a last-minute change in his opponent, Johnson says his goal is the same regardless of who he faces in the Bellator cage.
During Bellator’s media day for Bellator 258, Johnson shared his initial reaction to the news about Yoel Romero being removed from the light heavyweight Grand Prix. He said at first he was frustrated, but not for very long.
“A lot of frustration,” Johnson said. “A lot of frustration, when your heart and mind is set on fighting somebody, then it gets switched up. It throws you off track a little bit. But at the end of the day it’s still ‘seek and destroy’ you still want to fight.” Johnson added that the frustration he talked about only lasted “like a day.”
His new opponent, Jose Augusto has a few knock outs of his own that Johnson should be worried about, as well as two submission wins. The most recent coming at Bellator 255 when Augusto submitted Jonathan Wilson in the first round.
Johnson’s record is 22-6, five of his losses come by way of submission so it seems like the path to victory for Augusto could be on the ground, Johnson let the media know that is certainly not the case.
“It wasn’t that I sucked on the ground or anything like that, I just never wanted to be on the ground,” Johnson said. “I never wanted to be a grappler, I wanted to be a knockout artist. Whenever I’m training I don’t get submitted. I’m not trying to be a black belt, I’m not trying to impress anybody on the ground. It’s just not me, people want to see fights, they want to see knockouts and that’s what I bring to the table. So I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”
Noting the five losses, fans should also note that 16 of his 22 wins are by way of knockout, so whatever he has been doing, seems to be working.
Bellator 258 airs live Friday from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The prelims will air on BELLATOR MMA YouTube Channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel, and Pluto TV at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, with the main card airing on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
You can catch the results and highlights of Bellator 258 right here on MMANews.com!
