Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will defend his 135-pound crown against the diminutive and dynamic Demetrious Johnson at UFC Live 6 on Oct. 1 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The UFC on Thursday confirmed the matchup.
Johnson (9-1, 2-0 UFC) has rattled off four consecutive victories since his April 2010 decision loss to American Top Team’s Brad Pickett. The 24-year-old Madisonville, Ky., native last fought at UFC 130 in May, when he took a controversial decision from former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres. The 5-foot-3 Johnson, who trains under Matt Hume at AMC Pankration, owns other notable victories against 2005 K-1 Hero’s lightweight grand prix winner Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative Damacio Page and former Ring of Combat champion Nick Pace.
A pivotal welterweight bout pitting the world-ranked Charlie Brenneman against Anthony Johnson will be featured at UFC Live 6, as well. The event will air live on the Versus network.