Anthony Johnson Mulling Move To UFC’s Middleweight Division

MMAjunkie.com brings word that one of the best young welterweights in the sport, Anthony Johnson, is considering a move to middleweight.

A persistent knee injury has UFC standout Anthony Johnson contemplating a move to middleweight.

Johnson, a welterweight who cuts as much as 50 pounds to make the 170-pound limit, was in February forced to withdraw from a bout with rival John Howard at UFC on Versus 1 because of the injury. He has struggled since to get his knee back to 100 percent.

“He has to maintain a very diligent cardio routine to stay in striking range of 170 pounds,” Johnson’s manager, Ken Pavia, today told MMAjunkie.com. “Because of his knee injury, his weight has gotten up a little bit, and we don’t want to delay his comeback because of a weight issue. So we’re entertaining the possibility of taking a fight at 185 pounds.”

I don’t think this report comes as a surprise to anyone. As it’s mentioned above, “Rumble” walks around at close to 220 pounds, making his weight cut one of the most significant in the game. So significant in fact, that for his fight last fall with Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104, he missed weight by five pounds.

Ultimately, whether or not the move to middleweight is made right now so he can return from injury quicker, I think he’ll be at 185 to stay. At 26 years old, Johnson actually still has room to grow from a physical standpoint making a drop to 170 in the future near impossible.

And I don’t necessarily view it as a negative for Anthony. Sure, one of his main advantages at welterweight was his size factor, which will of course be cancelled out at middleweight. But, the path to middleweight gold is far clearer than it is at 170 where Georges St. Pierre reigns.

In Johnson’s last bout against now number one contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 106, he was beaten quite handily by the more well-rounded athlete. Suffice as to say, there just aren’t as many top challengers at 185 as there is at 170, and with middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva contemplating his own move up a weight class to light heavyweight, there is more than ample room for Anthony Johnson to reach his full potential in the UFC’s middleweight division.