ANTHONY JOHNSON VS MATT BROWN AT TUF 9 FINALE

[Suizida]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=8440&zoneid=13






- ANTHONY JOHNSON VS MATT BROWN AT TUF 9 FINALE
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com

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Just weeks after the proposed match-up between Anthony Johnson and John Howard fell through, Johnson now has a new opponent as "Ultimate Fighter" season 7 competitor, Matt Brown, has been tapped as a replacement to fight on the "Ultimate Fighter" season 9 finale show.

The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Tuesday.

Matt Brown steps into the fight with Johnson coming off of a first round knockout win over Pete Sell at UFC 96 in early March. Brown caught Sell early in the round, but referee Yves Lavigne allowed the action to continue, which led to the Ohio native punishing his opponent for another series of strikes before the fight was stopped.

Now holding a 3-1 record in the Octagon with his lone loss being a controversial decision to Dong Hyun Kim in Sept 2008, Brown hopes to build on his current win streak in June when he faces a very game opponent in Anthony Johnson.

Johnson, who trains with Cung Le's team in California, is a fast rising star in the UFC's welterweight division. Known for his outstanding wrestling and powerful strikes, Johnson last fought Luigi Fioravanti in February, winning by TKO in the first round over the American Top Team fighter.

The bout between Johnson and Brown will most likely make the televised broadcast which will feature the finals of the lightweight and welterweight divisions for the reality show, along with the main event pitting Diego Sanchez against Clay Guida.


Good fight this one, Im actually picking Brown, he's Maui Thai looked fantastic against Sell and he can definetally outstrike Johnson + he has some nice jiu jitsu

Shaping up to have some sweet fights

[Malky]

I think Johnstone take sthis but Matt Brown is no fool proabably a late 3rd round stoppage or UD to Johnson

[bail3yz]

Hmm, I like this fight.. I think Im going to go with AJ.

But I havent put much thought into it.. I am curious what the odds will be for this fight, I think the odds maker will have AJ as a decent favorite.

[SammyJ81]

I think Johnson takes this rather easily. He is huge for the division and has better speed, more powerful strikes and better wrestling.

[Thaispider]

i think matt brown is a solid fighter but i think johnson takes this one by second round tko.

[Judoka]

Awesome, I have become a huge fan of Johnson lately. Brown is a tough fighter but I think Johnson by decision or TKO.

[IcemanCometh]

I like the majority see AJ taking this one rather easily. Isn't he also the bigger striker with better reach and hopefully he will able to use that to win. He will also be able to stuff any TD attempts by Brown which will be nice to see. I say 2nd rd KO or TKO

[LeeM]

I think AJ will use his wrestling to take Brown down since Brown has shit TDD and sub defense.

[e-thug]

AJ has the wrestling and better/faster striking.

Brown will make it competitive but at the end of the day its gonna be rumble pounding his chest in glory!

[Drogo]

Brown is a gamer but it is easy to look good against Sell. Johnson won't have much trouble with Brown. This will be very entertaining while it lasts (which will be less than one round I suspect).

[bbjd7]

I'll pick Johnson but it's close Brown is a lot better then he was and it'll be very interesting.

[Ebc_Kyle]

Has the ability to be a great fight. Both guys are good stand-up fighters and like to bang.

I have to give the edge in this fight to Rumble. He's faster, has a bigger arsenal of attacks, and he is black.

[PirateNinja415]

i think this will be a sick fight. brown's def the underdog coming into this fight, and i think he'll be able to hold his own standing up with rumble, but he will probably get taken down and will be controlled from there by anthony's top game.

[kc1983]

Good match up! Both guys have good striking. Should be entertaining. I will give the edge to Johnson - he is bigger, stronger and really explosive.

Johnson by TKO

[KJ Brophy]

I've noticed that I keep on picking against Brown and he keeps on winning but that won't keep me from picking Johnson.

[Rhodes]

Although Brown does have a very exciting Muay Thai which has improved to be very devastating and i gatta say i love the guy, his pace and striking are very entertaining However .. Johnson is a power house striker who i believe will finish this bout early.

[milkkid]

Man, this is a hard fight to call. Both of these guys are aggressive and have great striking.

I would give the ground advantage to Brown though.

[LeeM]

Dude have you seen how many times Brown's been subbed? xD.

[JT42]

I think this will actually be easier than some are anticipating for AJ. Brown is good but he is good against low level opponents like Sell, Arroyo, and Thomas. AJ will be able to use his quickness and power to tko Brown

[MilesHackett]

Nearly killing Pete Sell isn't going to convince me that Brown can beat Johnson standing. Even if that happens, I really don't see him being able to stop Johnson's takedowns, dude is ENORMOUS for a welterweight.

[Jack]

I hope Johnson stands with Brown cos I'm still unsure about just how good his striking is and Brown's looked really sharp in his last fight.

I've got a strong feeling I won't find out yet though cos I see him taking Brown down and doing enough damage whilst keeping him there for a clear UD. Brown's aggressive off his back but I don't think his guards good enough to sub AJ.

I'll be rooting for Brown but picking Johnson in this fight 30-27.

[milkkid]

Dude have you seen how many times Brown's been subbed? xD.

He has a blue belt in BJJ under Jorge Gurgel and is working towards a black belt in Judo.

Against Johnson, I would give the ground game to Brown easily.

I hope Johnson stands with Brown cos I'm still unsure about just how good his striking is and Brown's looked really sharp in his last fight.

I've got a strong feeling I won't find out yet though cos I see him taking Brown down and doing enough damage whilst keeping him there for a clear UD. Brown's aggressive off his back but I don't think his guards good enough to sub AJ.

I'll be rooting for Brown but picking Johnson in this fight 30-27.

You think it will go to a decision? If it stays standing, I think someone will get TKO/KO. Then again, there are those fights pitted against explosive fighters that do go to a decision lol.

[MilesHackett]

He has a blue belt in BJJ under Jorge Gurgel and is working towards a black belt in Judo.

Against Johnson, I would give the ground game to Brown easily.

I don't know if I'd go that far. Brown's a blue-belt under Gurgel, but Kevin Burns is a really good blue-belt and Anthony avoided all of Kevin's submissions relatively easily. If Brown ends up in the top position, then yes, I think he holds and advantage, but I don't think he's good enough off his back to threaten Johnson with submissions.

[Jack]

You think it will go to a decision? If it stays standing, I think someone will get TKO/KO. Then again, there are those fights pitted against explosive fighters that do go to a decision lol.

Yeah that's the thing, I just don't see it standing for long periods of time and both guys are pretty tough so I don't think it's gonna be easy for either of them to get a finish without a flash KO.

I think Johnson could stand with Brown but why would he want to, especially if Brown catches him with some decent shots early. I think this fights gonna be fought mainly with AJ in top position or maybe even clinched against the fence.

I think Brown might get a couple of close sub attempts but like I said, I see Johnson hanging out in guard and landing shots on Brown for 15 minutes.