Anthony Johnson's Fight with Jon Jones Could Be the Classic We Least Expected

It took Anthony Johnson all of two minutes, 15 seconds on Saturday to change the trajectory of the UFC light heavyweight division.

Johnson’s unexpected first-round TKO victory over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fox 14 effectively took a sledgehammer to the 205-pound status quo. It scuttled best-laid plans and sent the fight company’s marquee weight class streaking off in an exciting new direction.

Scariest part is, the former welterweight and one-time UFC washout might just be getting started.

Provided champion Jon Jones can free himself from his current drug-related scandal, Johnson should get the chance to alter everything we think we know about this sport when the two meet in a suddenly hotly anticipated title bout later this year. Jones commented on the bout via Twitter:

His performance this weekend was a good first step in that direction.

The main event scrap went down in front of 26,000 partisan fans in Gustafsson’s hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. It was largely expected to be the 28-year-old kickboxer’s final hurdle before a rematch with Jones, after he pushed the champion to the brink at UFC 165 in September 2013.

Instead, Johnson grabbed the opportunity to make a surprise run at the title, and a visibly crushed Gustafsson left the Octagon in tears.

Jessica Gow/Associated Press

“He’s an amazing athlete,” Johnson told UFC color commentator Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. “I feel bad just because he’s crying. I’m an emotional guy, so I feel his pain.”

The win capped a long and improbable career turnaround for Johnson. He was cut from the UFC in early 2012 after repeatedly failing to make weight in the 170-pound and 185-pound divisions. Later that same year, he committed himself full-time to light heavyweight and has gone 8-0 since (including one appearance at heavyweight).

He came back to the Octagon in 2014 and easily won his first two return bouts, but he was suspended in September after Bloody Elbow’s Brent Brookhouse reported that the mother of his children had filed for a restraining order against him. Two months later, the petition for the restraining order was dropped, and Johnson was reinstated by the organization.

Now he stands on the brink of being its champion.

Despite the fact he’d recently breezed past Phil Davis and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he approached the Gustafsson bout as more than a 2-to-1 underdog, according to Odds Shark. With the fight scheduled inside a large area in Gustafsson’s stomping grounds, Johnson was thought a considerable long shot.

The Swede came out of his corner looking confident and aggressive in the early going. He fired off low kicks and pumped his jab, deftly circling away when Johnson tried to press forward. Even when the American hit him with a stiff left hook in the first 30 seconds, Gustafsson appeared unperturbed.

He continued to work his game plan but caught Johnson with an inadvertent eye poke just after the one-minute mark. Johnson took a few moments to collect himself and, immediately after the restart, he countered Gustafsson’s high front kick with a winging right hand that sent him crashing to the mat.

Jessica Gow/Associated Press

Gustafsson attempted to collect himself, but Johnson would not let up. In the ensuing exchange, he landed a head kick and ultimately floored Gustafsson for the final time with a combination near the fence. After a series of punches and hammerfists on the ground, referee Mark Goddard stepped in to stop the action.

"I felt great for the few minutes that we fought," Gustafsson told Rogan moments later. "He just caught me. I got caught today. That’s what happened."

Indeed, Johnson’s punching power has been a revelation since coming back to the UFC. His unique blend of size, speed and heavy hands abruptly have him poised as a dangerous and capable contender to Jones’ title.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

It was just 21 days ago that the champion easily bested Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, in what was expected to be his most serious challenge to date. In the wake of the victory, it was revealed Jones had tested positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition pre-fight drug test.

The fallout has been considerable—and last week the UFC fined him $25,000—but it doesn’t appear the scandal will affect his 2015 fight schedule. He’ll just get an arguably more interesting bout with Johnson instead of the expected second meeting with Gustafsson.

To date, Jones has passed every bout with flying colors. Most recently, he neutralized Cormier’s wrestling skills and clinch game to begin the year. Two fights before that, he battled back from significant adversity to claim a tight but unanimous decision over Gustafsson.

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

In both those bouts, however, Jones proved hittable. He took Cormier’s best shots without much trouble and took a licking and kept on ticking against Gustafsson. Despite what appears to be a respectable chin, he won’t have the same luxury against Johnson.

So far in his UFC return, Johnson has shown that if he makes good, clean contact, he will knock you out. That fact alone—coupled with his wrestling skills—makes him a compelling opponent for the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Johnson will be an interesting puzzle for Jones to try to solve. In a division where the champion has been unspeakably dominant for the last four years, that should be enough to get fight fans excited.

Even if we didn’t totally see this coming.