Anthony Johnson Interview

Originally posted on MMAbay.co.uk

Hi Anthony,

Thank you for taking the time to sit down with MMABay and answer a few of our questions:

MMABay - Ok, so you were last in action in February, defeating Luigi Fiorivanti in the first round. Can you tell us how you felt the fight went for you that night?

Anthony - The fight was ok, it was pretty good, but he had a pretty good game plan, he stayed out of my reach pretty good and I really couldn’t hit him solid like I wanted to. But I still got the result I wanted but not the way I wanted it.

MMABay - Your striking has improved massively over the past year, do you put that down to training with the likes of Cung Le?

Anthony - Cung is helping me out a lot with my striking, my kicks. Overall the whole team and my coaching staff have helped me improve 100%. I still have a lot of improving to do but from the time I first got involved with mixed martial arts to now, improvement with my overall skills has come up tremendously.

MMABay - Many people won’t know this but you did try out for season six of the ultimate fighter, why were you not on the show?

Anthony - I think in my opinion it was just my size overall, they thought I couldn’t make the weight. They didn’t want to embarrass themselves, me and the sport with me not making weight for the show. I don’t think want another repeat of what Gabe Reudiger did and embarrass the show like that. I think they made a good decision.

MMABay - Your next fight is against Matt Brown in what could be one of the most entertaining fights of the year. Do you have a strategy to deal with the type of aggression?

Anthony - I just do my thing and I’m sure Matt is gonna do his thing. I mean my strategy is to just go in there and win and that’s what I plan on doing. I mean I’m me, I’m not really trying to change. I’m trying to improve but not really try to change my thing with my kicks and my striking and my wrestling, I’m not trying to change any of that but I’m just trying to get it better. I’m still gonna kick and punch and do my take downs whenever I want to.

MMABay - Were you impressed by his performance last time out against Pete Sell?

Anthony - Matt keeps improving. He’s one of the fighters I can say keeps improving every time he steps in the ring. His striking has got better his kicks have got better. Matt is tough so I take nothing away from the man I actually like him. He’s aggressive and he makes this sport look good and he shows what hard work and dedication can do for you. It makes you a better person; it makes you a better fighter.

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MMABay - Are there any sponsors you would like to mention before we wrap it up?

Anthony - Yeah, I'd like to thank Tapout, Knox, my agent Ken Pavia of MMAAgents.com, my team and Cung Le, Josh Thompson and my coach Arron Marravella and Triple X Racing Fuel and anyone whos just supported me and I'd ven like to thank you guys for hitting me up for this interview.

MMABay - Thanks again Anthony

Click here to read the entire interview at MMAbay.com