A pivotal light heavyweight bout will serve as the main event for an upcoming UFC on Fox card. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will take on Ryan Bader in a five-round main event that will see the winner be thrown right into the mix of the 205-pound title picture.
Johnson (20-5) bounced back nicely after losing to Daniel Cormier for the vacant light heavyweight championship with a knockout win over Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191. The loss to Cormier was Johnson’s first since returning to the UFC in April of 2014.
Bader (20-4) is currently on a five-fight win streak and has been calling for a title shot for some time now but unfortunately due to his strong grappling style all of those five wins have come by way of judges’ decision. The light heavyweight division has traditionally been a division of knockout artists and the biggest star all have the ability to finish fights. Out of his 13 UFC wins, Bader has only recorded four finishes while Johnson has nine knockouts inside the octagon. But a win over Johnson would force the UFC to take a strong hard look at Bader as the light heavyweight division’s new number one contender.
UFC on Fox takes place January 30 at Newark’s Prudential Center in New Jersey.