Anthony Johnson Recalls Francis Ngannou Punching Him and Lists the Fighters He Wants at Heavyweight

Former light heavyweight title contender and one of the scariest striker in UFC history, Anthony Johnson has announced his UFC return. Anthony Johnson has also made it clear that he is likely to compete in the heavyweight division. 

There are few interesting match up for Anthony Johnson in the heavyweight division for sure. Francis Ngannou, Stipe Miocic, and Alistair Overeem are just a few of them. However, the fight with Francis Ngannou is the most intriguing for sure. Ngannou has been knocking his opponents out effortlessly on his way back to the title. Both Anthony Johnson and Francis Ngannou are knockout artists and fans would love to see these two giants go at each other.

Well, it seems they already have tasted each other’s power in a sparring session. In a recent interview, Johnson said that he once did a sparring with UFC heavyweight, Francis Ngannou.

Anthony Johnson said:

“We have sparred before. But it was not like all-out spar. We scrapped a little bit. At the end, he threw a right hand and he hit me square right here (on the face)”

When asked what did he took from that fight with Ngannou, Anthony Johnson said:

“But he hit me, it did not wabble me or hurt me anything but I felt his power cause I moved back, and usually when people hit me it’s like nothing to me. But he hit me and I moved back like that a little bit and I was like ‘I see why people got knocked out’. It was his power. It was not his speed, it was his power.”

Johnson has also shown interest in fighting Francis Ngannou at heavyweight division. Apart from Ngannou, he also has eyes set on Stipe Miocic, Curtis Blaydes, Alistair Overeem, and Junior Dos Santos. Johnson said:

“The top 4 to – Curtis, Francis, Stipe, and DC, to me there is nobody else..can hang with them like that. We still got Alister. I will definitely fight Alister. JDS for sure. He is a monster.”

Apart from a fight with the heavyweights, Anthony Johnson has also said that he would try to go to light heavyweight and fight Jon Jones is his body feels comfortable with weight cut.

Although nothing has been official yet regarding the UFC return of Anthony Johnson, there are already a few interesting fights out there for him. Reportedly, Anthony Johnson announced his retirement after his loss to Daniel Cormier in the light heavyweight division.