Anthony Johnson explains why heavyweight showdown with Jon Jones needs to happen

Two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson has recently expressed interest in a showdown with reigning champ Jon Jones — but not at light heavyweight.

Instead, Johnson has been campaigning for a lucrative heavyweight showdown with the light heavyweight king.

Speaking with UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Josh Thomson on Sammy and The Punk recently, Anthony Johnson explains why this fight appeals to him so much, and what he’ll need to be paid to make it happen.

“Jon and I were supposed to fight four years ago,” he said. “If a fight that was supposed to happen four years ago is still a hot topic, that’s not some half a million dollar payday. That’s worthy of every penny you deserve to fight somebody.

“I’m not gonna say a number right now,” he added when pressed about how much he’d have to be paid to end his retirement for this fight. “Put it like this. It’s more than a million — plus pay-per-view buys.”

While Anthony Johnson will need to be well compensated for this potential fight, he believes it’s a matchup that will leave everybody happy.

“At the end of the day, everybody comes out on top,” he said. “The organization is obviously going to come out on top, and the fighters come out on top cause they got paid, and the fans come out on top because they got to see that one fight that they wanted to see.”

If the fight does happen, the man they call “Rumble” will look to succeed where legends like Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson have all failed, and topple the seemingly unbeatable Jon Jones.

While he recognizes the scale of this challenge, Rumble believes he could pull it off.

“I do think I can take Jon,” he said. “I honestly believe I can beat anybody. I’m a fighter, I’m supposed to believe in my skills.”

Do you want to see a heavyweight fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/12/2019.