"Whoever I have to go against, I'm not thinking about them. They have to worry about me because I'm just trying to do my thing. I have to make sure I become more well-rounded. That way, whoever they bring to the table, I will be ready for whatever they try to do to me. There is nobody specific that I want to fight right now. It used to be Matt Hughes, but after this weekend, I met him, because he was there with his 155-pounder Matt Veach, and he was pretty cool. My little grudge against him is kind of gone; I ain't tripping off of that no more," stated UFC welterweight contender Anthony Johnson as he talked about his future plans after his impressive win over Luigi Fioravanti at UFC Fight Night 17. Check out what else he had to say as he talks more about his win, Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn and much more.
PC: Congratulations on the big win my man.
AJ: I appreciate that man.
PC: You were pretty hard on your performance during the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. Have you had a chance to go back and watch it again?
AJ: Yeah, I watched it. I still think my performance could have been better. I should have been landing more, but you train to fight not to chase people around and make them fight. But that was probably his gameplan, to make me chase him so he could capitalize on whatever mistake I made, so no hard feelings towards him. That's what his camp trained him to do to fight against me; more power to him.
PC: With your striking ability, you're a very hard puncher and your kicks are coming around. Do you think that'll be the norm for you, to chase guys around with fewer guys being willing to bang with you?
AJ: Nah! If I was in his campÂ…he had a good gameplan. He tried to keep his distance and come in whenever he could. He tried to play the counter game with me and I'm a counter fighter anyway. He tried to dip and dive to get me to react so he could come with his overhand right or whatever. He almost caught me with it a couple of times. Thank God for my height and my reach. He never hit me in my face one time during the whole fight. The only time he hit me was in my chest and in my shoulders.
PC: And in the nuts.
AJ: Yeah! He caught me pretty good in my babies, but they still kicking (laughing).
PC: Was there anything about him that surprised you? I was a little shocked he didn't stand his ground more.
AJ: I'm never really surprised by anybody's gameplan because of my style of fighting. My style of fighting is hard to figure out. I don't think anybody else in my weight class fights like me. Nothing really surprised me with Luigi. I know if he would have had the opportunity to knock me out, he would have. He's a hard puncher and after the fight, my shoulders were hurting. He was constantly hitting my shoulders so every time he swung at me, it was a strike to kill. He had some power behind his punches. That's why I was telling everybody he was tough as nails. I never looked past Luigi at all because I knew he could knock your block off quick.
PC: You had some history going into the rematch with Burns because of the way the first fight ended. Was it a little tougher getting up for Luigi being that you were coming off of such an emotional win?
AJ: Nah! I treat every fight the same. It's just a fight. We're all in this sport together to make a living and to make a name for ourselves. It didn't really bother me that I didn't have any kind of history with Luigi. I didn't really have any relationship or history with Kevin, you know? He just fuckin' poked me in the eye and that was it. It is what it is.
PC: You mentioned your height being an advantage. It appears your height and reach is going to give a lot of guys problems in the welterweight division. How much does it benefit your fighting style to have those physical attributes?
AJ: Ah man, it benefits me tremendously. I love it. I think I have an advantage over 90% of the fighters in my weight class with my height, my reach, my speed and power. I'm happy with who I am and what I can do. It gives me a great advantage in a lot of my fights. It really won't bother the truly great fighters though. They'll take a punch or two just to get in and land their own.
PC: I remember at one point, it was a question of how long will you be able to make welterweight. You seem to have it down to a science now. Is that the case?
AJ: Yeah, it's getting easier and easier, but this last time, everybody was trying to lose that last pound. It just didn't want to come off of anybody really. We were all in the gym trying to sweat; it just seems like our body didn't want to let that 1 pound of water go. It didn't want to burn those calories, but it came off. Man, it felt like I was about to die trying to get that 1 pound off. My legs felt like they didn't want to move. I felt like a zombie really. It was rough cutting that one last pound.
PC: You're starting to show a lot more variety in your game and you look a lot more relaxed and comfortable in there. Do you feel like you're coming into your own?
AJ: Kind of. I'm starting to develop more every fight as everybody can tell. My kicks and my striking are coming along better. My wrestling is still there. I still got a lot of improving to do. Before I used to beÂ…if I would have fought Luigi the way I used to fight in the UFC, like in my first 2 fights when I was just bomb rushing people, he would have knocked me out. I'm improving. I'm learning to pace myself and how to just stick with the strategy and not try to just depend on my athletic ability to get me by. I'm improving everyday and I still have a long way to go. I don't think I'm near my potential.
PC: I think your biggest improvements have been, of course, your kicks and your patience. How much has training with Cung Le helped both of those attributes of your game?
AJ: Yeah, watching Cung in the gym when he spars, I want to be like that. He's very patient and when you rush things, that's when you get caught. When you're patient and calm, that's when you see things better and things open up. I'm constantly looking at my trainer's fights just to learn stuff and see how patient they are and their movements and stuff like that. I look at Cung and I look at Josh Thomson and I gain knowledge from them.
PC: You're opening some eyes in the division, but I understand you still don't feel ready for St. Pierre. What did you think of his performance over Penn?
AJ: It was a good fight. I think BJ was out of it in the 2nd round to be honest with you. I don't know the whole deal with the Vaseline, but I think St. Pierre would have still pulled it off. He was just too big and strong and it wasn't BJ's night. His gameplan just didn't seem to work for him. My hat is off to GSP for what he did. He's the champion; a true champion. I like the way if they did do it on purpose with the Vaseline, they were slick with it. They rubbed his face and then they rubbed his shoulders a little bit, you know? They played it off smooth if they did it on purpose so I tip my hat to them for that too because they did they thing. I was telling everybody they slick with it. All trainers rub their fighters shoulders and backs just to get them relaxed and they were smooth with it if they did it on purpose. You can't get no smoother than that, but since he got caught, he messed it up for a lot of people.
PC: How can I get that 8 pack that you sport at the weigh-ins?
AJ: (Laughing) I don't even do sit ups to be honest with you. It's just good genetics I'm blessed with and hard training all at the same time. Even when I'm like 200 pounds, you could see my abs, but not as good. But when I'm dry as a bone, you could see everything. I guess it's just good genetics. Hopefully I look like this when I'm 70.
PC: I wish you would have said to eat donuts rather than say you don't even do sit ups.
AJ: (Laughing) I don't do nothin', dog. When I'm getting ready for a fight, my coach will have me do abs, but even if I didn't do that, I would still have my abs.
PC: What level of fight would you like to have next?
AJ: I say all of the time whoever the UFC gives me man. I don't really say no to a fight unless it's like a bullshit fight; I'll say no. I'm just enjoying the ride right now and if it comes my way, it comes and if it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm just training my ass off so I could become the best fighter one day. I just gotta keep improving. I'm not thinking about what's next or who's next; I'm just doing me. I'm not thinking about anything else but me. Whoever I have to go against, I'm not thinking about them. They have to worry about me because I'm just trying to do my thing. I have to make sure I become more well-rounded. That way, whoever they bring to the table, I will be ready for whatever they try to do to me. There is nobody specific that I want to fight right now. It used to be Matt Hughes, but after this weekend, I met him, because he was there with his 155-pounder Matt Veach, and he was pretty cool. My little grudge against him is kind of gone; I ain't tripping off of that no more. I'm just enjoying life and he's doing his thing. He was pretty cool. He was talking to me and he told me good luck and I know he done heard me talking shit about him. So for him to say good luck showed a lot of respect and you show me respect and you get respect right back.
PC: Congrats again on the win. As always, thanks for your time my man. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
AJ: I would like to thank all of my sponsors and I have to thank you man for hitting me up and taking the time to holla at me. My sponsors are TapouT, Knoxx and my agents at MMA Agents, Ken Pavia and my team, my coaches, my family and my fans. Without all of those people I just named, I wouldn't be who I am right now.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]