Anthony Johnson received his big break early in his career. Fresh off an unsuccessful tryout for "The Ultimate Fighter," Johnson impressed Ultimate Fighting Championship’s management enough that Johnson was selected as an injury replacement to fight Chad Reiner in 2007.
Johnson did not squander the chance; he knocked out Reiner in just 13 seconds to improve to 4-0. Johnson’s quick rise as a middleweight was doused, however, when Johnson lost to Rich Clementi in his second UFC bout. Over the next few years, Johnson’s career stalled as he failed to make weight in numerous UFC fights and he was eventually released from the promotion. Johnson, who now competes as a light heavyweight (205 pounds), received another chance. He fought twice for Titan Fighting Championship and recently signed with the World Series of Fighting, where he will compete on its first card on Nov. 3. With the UFC controlling much of the market share, Johnson is grateful the smaller companies are giving fighters another chance at success. "I think it’s great that we have all these different companies coming along because there’s so much talent out there and so many guys are overlooked because they get one shot at the big time and then they didn’t have a fight and get cut or something happened business-wise," said Johnson, a 28-year-old Georgia native. "I think it’s great that we have all these different companies out there that are actually willing to give the guys an opportunity so you can make money and make this their career and their job instead of fighting in really small shows and making $2,000 to $3,000 a fight. That’s not how everybody wants to live when you’re fighting every four to five months and you’re only getting only $2,000 to $3,000." Johnson, who signed a three-fight deal with the WSF, will compete against D.J. Linderman (14-3) on the card. "He’s not a ground guy, and I’m not really a ground guy either," said Johnson, 13-4. "I plan on it being a slugfest. If he wants to make it a slugfest with me, then there’s a 90 percent chance he’s going to lose. If he wants to take his chances with that 10 percent chance of him really winning that stand-up war, then more power to him." The World Series of Fighting, headed by president and former fighter Ray Sefo, will have its events carried by the NBC Sports Channel. ANOTHER SHOW CANCELED For the third time in as many months, a major mixed martial arts card was canceled. Strikeforce scrapped its next card, scheduled for Nov. 3 in Oklahoma, last week when its top-tier talent on the card, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, sustained injuries and were forced from the card. Mir was set to face Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix winner Daniel Cormier in the main event. "Due to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked card in January," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said. Strikeforce previously canceled a card earlier this month when its lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez, was injured and unable to compete against Pat Healy. Showtime refused to air the event without the main event, resulting in the cancellation. "While we’re disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking forward to an even bigger Strikeforce event on Showtime early next year," executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza said. BELLATOR 77 Thirteen-year MMA veteran Rich Clementi can begin what likely will be his last run at a title when he faces Alexander Sarnavskiy in the quarterfinals of the lightweight tournament at Bellator 77 on Friday at the Reading Eagle Theater in the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pa. Clementi, who began his career with losses in six of his first 10 fights, enjoyed several runs in the UFC, including a spot in the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Clementi, 44-21-1, faces long odds of advancing, however, against the undefeated Sarnavskiy (20-0). The rest of the main card, which can be seen live at 8 p.m. EDT and on tape delay at 8 p.m. PDT, features the remaining quarterfinals matchups of Rene Nazare vs. Ricardo Tirloni, Marcin Held vs. Murad Machaev and Dave Jansen vs. Magomed Saadulaev. The preliminaries, which can be seen live at spike.com at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT and continue after the event, include: flyweights Matthew Lozano vs. Dave Morgan; featherweights Eric Albright vs. Brett Martinez; lightweights Cosmo Alexander vs. Mike Bannon; middleweights Duane Bastress vs. Lewis Rumsey; light heavyweights Carmelo Marrero vs. Lew Polley; and lightweights Emanuel Brooks vs. Darrell Horcher.
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