Dana White 'blown away' by Anthony Johnson; still thinks he needs antother tune up fight

At one time Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was an over-sized welterweight who washed out of the UFC following a long history of weight cutting issues and underwhelming performances.

Two years later, Johnson has emerged as a legitimate contender in the UFC light heavyweight division, and is possibly one big win away from challenging for a title.

“He still needs another fight to get into that (level),” UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie following UFC on Fox 12 Saturday night.

“It’s amazing. I don’t think we’ve ever had a guy go from 170 (pounds) to 205 and actually be more powerful and more devastating than he was at 170. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I was blown away by Anthony’s performance tonight. He made it quick, and he made it look easy. We’ll get him another fight.”

Johnson lumped-up the usually ultra-durable Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, smashing "Minotoro" with anvil-like right hands before turning out his lights with a vicious uppercut just 44 seconds into the first round.

Following the event, Johnson said he's ready to fight "everybody" at 205 pounds, a far cry from the out-sized welterweight who was once choked out by blown-up lightweight Rich Clementi.

“When I got cut from the UFC, that was the day I was like, ‘I can’t do this any more. I’m making myself look like a fool.’ I was hurting my team, I was hurting my team, and I was hurting myself," Johnson said. "Sooner or later, you’ve got to grow up and listen. I think along the two years I was away from the UFC, I grew up a little bit.

“I still have a lot of growing up to do; I’m still a big kid.”