UFC Fight Night 17: Anthony Johnson vs. Luigi Fioravanti

by Jesse Holland on Jan 4, 2009 3:18 PM EST Comment 39 comments

The fight card for UFC Fight Night 17 ‘Lauzon vs. Franca’ continues to take shape with the addition of welterweights Anthony Johnson (6-2) and Luigi Fioravanti (14-4), set to do battle at the University of Southern Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida on February 7.

MMAmania.com learned earlier today that Johnson, fresh off his thrilling KO victory over Kevin Burns at UFC Ultimate Fighter Finale 8, will opt to come back in February rather than wait for a rumored fight with Mike "Quick" Swick later in the year.

Johnson avenged his controversial loss to Burns back at UFC Fight Night 14, knocking the Iowan senseless with a brutal head kick in the opening seconds of round three. Burns joins Tommy Speer and Chad Reiner on "Rumble's" ever growing highlight reel.

He won't have a free pass however against the gritty Fioravanti. The American Top Team standout and military serviceman-turned mixed martial artist has his share of knockouts, ending 50 percent of his fights by way of (T)KO.

Fioravanti was last seen taking Brodie Farber the distance in a unanimous decision win at UFC 16 'Fight for the Troops.'

UFC Fight Night 17 features several 155-pound match ups. Mac Danzig is expected to take on Josh Neer and Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca are slated to headline the show. Kurt Pellegrino and Rob Emerson will also likely hook ‘em up.

Here is the current UFC Fight Night 17 fight card:

Main event:
155 lbs.: Hermes Franca (19-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (17-4)

Main card:
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (18-5-1) vs. Josh Neer (24-7-1)
155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau (15-6) vs. Rich Clementi (32-13-1)
170 lbs.: Anthony Johnson (6-2) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (14-4)*
185 lbs.: Amir Sadollah (1-0) vs. Nick Catone (5-0)

Under card:
155 lbs.: George Sotiropolous (9-2) vs. Matt Grice (9-1)
155 lbs.: Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) vs. Rob Emerson (8-6)*
185 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (13-7) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-0)
265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (5-1)*

*Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com.

To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.

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Comments

Fioravanti by decision.

Mac Danzig will probably have a new opponent I am going to guess it will be JOE DADDY STEVENSONN.

by DirtyML on Jan 4, 2009 4:56 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Stevenson is already booked to fight Diego Sanchez

by 1-0 via Arm Triangle on Jan 4, 2009 5:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

hopefully stevenson will get his third loss and finally get out of the UFC and stop wasting our time

by brendan on Jan 4, 2009 5:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Stevenson isn’t goping anywhere buddy! and why should he? who has he lost to? Florian and BJ! Why disrespect such a consumate professional like stevenson.

u think dominating guys like Pellegrno and tibau isnt impressive?

I dont like wrestlers but I have to respect what stevenson has accomplished in his young career

by john on Jan 5, 2009 9:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

aS for the match up between Rumble and Luigi…. I have no beef with this match up. rumble is far from a finished product and Luigi is no slouch who has shown much improvement when he fought Diego to a decision. this will be a very competitive fight and if Rumble doesnt watch out, i could see an upset in the making.

Hope not cause I am a big fan of rumble!

by john on Jan 5, 2009 9:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ohh forgot about that. wonder how diego will handle the cut.

by DirtyML on Jan 5, 2009 2:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully it’s an opponent that knocks Danzig off the main card! I want to watch him fight on TV about as much as my neighbor.

by Tyler on Jan 4, 2009 5:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Too much KO power- AJ has longer reach and enough wrestling to stop Luigi once he realizes he doesn’t want to stand. I hope he tightens up his boxing especially his jab.

by NameNotRequired on Jan 4, 2009 5:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

While Luigi is a scrapper, that guy seriously needs to drop some weight. I mean, respectfully, there is no reason he can’t drop to 155 pretty easily.

by chefdaddy on Jan 4, 2009 8:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LOL… I’ve always said that Luigi needs to drop down a weight with that tire around his waist. I think some fighter’s use that option as a last resort to get a contract renwal or to get the UFC to give them another 1 or 2 fights… anytime a guy drops to another weight class there’s always speculation of how much better he can do there, so the UFC has a lets give him another chance and see what he can do attitude…. that’s the take I get on it anyway.

by THORAZINE on Jan 5, 2009 2:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ahhhhh cains on the undercard wtf!!! but other than that this is a fuckin stacked fight night WOOO!

by Jared on Jan 4, 2009 4:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering the same thing! How the f*ck is Cain on the undercard?

by JV on Jan 4, 2009 5:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

because hes a nobody and hes fighting a nobody

by brendan on Jan 4, 2009 7:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

brendan: 1st you bash a top notch lightweight like Stevenson, and now you Bash one of the most promising young heavyweights in the UFC.

Not every fight can be a GSP vs. Penn fight!

Normally, I agree with most of what you say, but today u sound like you got your panties up in a bunch! Having a bad day?

by john on Jan 5, 2009 9:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Johnson by TKO, no doubt.

by El_Mexicutioner, formerly The _Mexicutioner on Jan 4, 2009 5:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Is Neer gonna be able to fight, cause of all that legal shit?

by BMO on Jan 4, 2009 5:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He will be fighting off ass rape!!!!

by El_Mexicutioner, formerly The _Mexicutioner on Jan 4, 2009 5:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i want to see the sakara fight, screw all these gatekeeper lightweights

by brendan on Jan 4, 2009 5:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I would’ve thought sakara was as much of a gatekeeper as someone could be.

by JB on Jan 5, 2009 8:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Does anyone know when Matt Riddle is fighting next??? I really wanna know. Just like Junie, that dude has soo much raw talent that i cannot wait till the next time he fights.

by BrutalKnockout. on Jan 4, 2009 5:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

wat the fuck wat A WASTE OF 3 MONTHS OF ANTHONY JOHNSONS LIFE – liugi fioravanti. johnson will destroy him anthony is in contention for a route to the belt he should be fighting higher classed opponents than this lik i mean fuck me i was hoping he would be taking on someone whos lik number 3 or 4 ranked contenders for the belt lik dustin hazelett my pick, karo parisyan, Jon Fitch, Rich Clementi (rematch) Kim Dong Hyun or Paul Kelly but fuck me not Liugi??? any1 else think this will do nothing for Johnsons record lik im ean apart frorm GSP this kid is possibly the most gifted athlete in the UFC!

by Randy for Couture on Jan 4, 2009 6:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

why are you always writing ‘lik’
what the fuck does that even mean?

by J on Jan 4, 2009 8:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

luigi is a certifiable step up from kevin burns.

by JB on Jan 5, 2009 8:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He had a major knee injury I believe and could be out for awhile.

by the spyder on Jan 4, 2009 6:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ah, that sucks sooo bad. Go figure. Ah well, hope Junie doesnt injure something. I wanna see him keep making his way up the Lightweight list.

Junie Browning vs. Sean Sherk anyone??

by BrutalKnockout. on Jan 4, 2009 6:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ya I liked Matt coming out of TUF. Young a bit cocky tons of confidence and really tough, hopefully that knee doesnt end his career early for him he has good upside I believe.

by the spyder on Jan 4, 2009 7:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly bro! Ever since that sick knock out of Dan Simmler and the funny/cocky attitude, that dude has been a favorite of mine.

by BrutalKnockout. on Jan 4, 2009 7:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

man junie is nowhere near ready for sherk, sean would steamroll him for three rounds and make him think twice about choosing mma as a career

by brendan on Jan 4, 2009 7:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dear God, BKO, Sherk would kill him. Literally. He’d be charged with something after that fight. Give Junie some time with a decent camp where he will hopefully take full advantage of the experience of older fighters (where they can help him manage his life, not just learn fighting technique). Hopefully this kid isn’t the complete d*psh*t he portrayed himself to be. But you gotta give him time.

by chefdaddy on Jan 4, 2009 8:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

no…

by lauzon39 on Jan 4, 2009 9:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well yea, I suppose you guys are right. Sherk probably would steamroll through him, but I’m just so excited to see how much potential Junie really has. I mean, after that last fight, all I wanna do is see him fight contenders and see which ones he can beat. Not logical on my part, but I cant help it. I’ve been rooting for Junie since Day 1.

by BrutalKnockout. on Jan 5, 2009 6:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just met Anthony on Venice beach yesterday, that is one cool Kat!!!

by Kahaluu Caz!!! on Jan 4, 2009 6:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Im guessing Anthony will probably KO Luigi.

by the spyder on Jan 4, 2009 7:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Probably right. Man, the Welterweight division is getting ALOT of attention today.

by BrutalKnockout. on Jan 4, 2009 7:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Joe Silva come on, are you kidding me. Let Johnson start fighting some talent. I know he is young and i know Alves deserve’s the next title shot at 170, but how bout a Rumble vs Alves matchup. I’d love too see that

by See What Had Happend Was !!!! on Jan 4, 2009 7:58 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rumbly by KO. Diego should have fought rumblr before he moved to LW

by TRIKZ on Jan 4, 2009 8:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Rumble by KO. Diego should have fought Rumble before moving to LW

by TRIKZ on Jan 4, 2009 8:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Good matchup between Luigi and Rumble. Fioravanti has shown a tendency to be kind of boring when he has the wrestling advantage (i.e. against Cummo and Farber. Against Johnson he’ll have to stand and bang out or get taken down.

by Esposito on Jan 5, 2009 8:28 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

hmm, by the look of the picture it seems that Johnson is actually Absorbing Luigi; doubling his speed, skill and athleticism. Hopefully Fioravanti can avoid this absorption technique and maintain his own singular consciousness rather than becoming a part of Rumble Johnson.

by O Damn he got caught on Jan 5, 2009 11:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs