Anthony Johnson Not Fazed By Jon Jones Saga, UFC 187 Opponent Change

Outside of Jon Jones, no one was more interested and invested in finding out the fate of the now former UFC light heavyweight champion after his recent arrest in Albuquerque than the man who was supposed to fight him on May 23 in Las Vegas — Anthony Johnson.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” Johnson said of the time between Sunday and Tuesday night, as he waited first for the legal process to begin after Jones was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury, and then for the UFC to decide whether he would be allowed to fight in the main event of UFC 187. “I didn’t know what the outcome was really gonna be. I knew that I was still gonna fight, but I just didn’t know who.”

On Tuesday night, the UFC announced that Jones was stripped of his title and placed on an indefinite suspension. Johnson would now fight for the vacant title against former number one contender Daniel Cormier. For “Rumble,” it was back to business in the Blackzilians gym in Florida.

“Honestly, I just wanted to know who I was fighting, and that’s all,” he said. “I didn’t care who, I wanted to know if it was Jon or DC so I could go ahead and visualize the fight because nobody wants to wait until the last minute to find out who they’re fighting.”