Anthony Johnson will return to the cage this spring, as the former UFC talent will headline Titan Fighting Championship 22 against a to-be-named opponent.
A former UFC welterweight standout, Johnson, 28, was released by the promotion earlier this year after losing a middleweight showdown via first-round submission to Vitor Belfort. Previously one of the welterweight division’s largest competitors, Johnson has been known to struggle with making the 170-pound limit, coming in overweight for his bouts with Rich Clementi and Yoshiyuki Yoshida, the latter of which occurred in 2009.
After making weight in three straight welterweight fights that saw him earn wins over Dan Hardy and Charlie Brenneman, Johnson failed to make the 185-pound limit in his UFC middleweight debut against Belfort on Jan. 14 at UFC 142 in Brazil. As a result, the fight was contested at a 197-pound catch-weight.
Regarded as a knockout striker during his time with the UFC, Johnson saw just one of his 11 Octagon appearances go to the judges’ scorecards. “Rumble” is expected to compete at middleweight in his Titan debut.