UNCASVILLE, Conn. – After four years away from the sport, Anthony Johnson returned Friday with one of the biggest knockouts of many on an already packed highlight reel.
Johnson (23-6 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) shut down Jose Augusto (7-3 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) 90 seconds into the second round with one massive right hand and a quick follow-up on the canvas in the Bellator 258 co-main event. And with it, Johnson punched his ticket to the light heavyweight tournament semifinal round, where he’ll get a shot at current champion Vadim Nemkov.
Yet after the fight, Johnson had one idea on repeat at the post-fight news conference: He thought his performance was no good because Augusto dropped him in the first round and nearly finished him before Johnson mounted a comeback.
“(I’m) pissed,” Johnson told MMA Junkie after the fight. “He hit me. I don’t mind getting hit, but I got hit and I dropped. I mean, what the hell? That ain’t me. That was a piss-poor performance on my part. I’m better than that. I know I’m better than that. You guys know I’m better than that. I’m not going to call it a lucky shot – he hit me. He caught me slipping. He got in on me. That was all on me and I’m pissed at myself that he hit me.
“I’m getting mad at myself. That was a dumbass performance.”
But that “dumbass performance” culminated in a knockout, even though Johnson had to go through plenty of first-round trouble against Augusto at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Augusto, who filled in for Yoel Romero in the fight on short notice, likely broke his right hand in the first round against Johnson. But he continued fighting and hurt Johnson in the opening round. In his post-fight interview with John McCarthy on Showtime, Johnson said he didn’t remember getting dropped by Augusto when he saw the replay.
But regardless, his win in the second punched his ticket to the next stop in the tournament: a semifinal bout against light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov.
“Fighting Nemkov, though – that’s an honor to fight him,” Johnson said. “He’s a beast. He’s the most complete fighter of this tournament. He can strike, can wrestle, can submit people fairly easy. I’m a big fan of his.
“You’re only as good as your last performance. If I fight Nemkov, I definitely have to be better than I was tonight – and I will. I know that.”
Check out Johnson’s full post-fight interview in the video above.
Anthony Johnson breaks down his ‘piss-poor’ and ‘dumbass performance’ at Bellator 258