Anthony Johnson vs Matt Brown possible for TUF 9 Finale on June 20

by Jesse Holland on Mar 25, 2009 11:02 AM EDT

UFC welterweight standout Anthony Johnson (7-2) has agreed to locks horns with Matt Brown (9-7) in a 170-pound tilt set for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 Finale at "The Pearl" at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 20 according to MMAWeekly.

Newcomer John Howard was Johnson's original opponent, however that bout failed to materialize.

"Rumble" avenged his controversial loss to Kevin Burns at UFC Fight Night 14 last December, knocking the Iowan senseless with a brutal head kick in the opening seconds of round three. He followed that up with a first round destruction of Luigi Fioravanti at UFC Fight Night 17 back in February.

The 24-year-old Atlanta, Georgia, native has a ton of buzz because of his size, power and fight-finishing ability. He appears to get better each time out, training with Strikeforce champions Cung Le and Josh Thomson.

His road to the upper echelon of 170-pound fighters continues with the surging Matt Brown.

"The Immortal" competed on TUF 7 before being eliminated from the show by eventual tournament winner Amir Sadollah via triangle choke in the semifinals. He bounced back to defeat Matt Arroyo via technical knockout at the TUF 7 Finale in June.

After a close split decision loss to Korean import Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim at UFC 88 in September 2008, Brown rattled off two impressive stoppages, submitting Ryan Thomas via armbar at UFC 91 and pounding Pete Sell into dust at UFC 96.

Don't expect much downtime in this one.

TUF 9 will debut on April 1 and feature the lightweight and welterweight finales for the upcoming ninth season of TUF with coach Dan Henderson leading a US team against coach Michael Bisping and his British squad. The finalists from those divisions will also be featured on the televised Spike TV main card on June 20.

Diego Sanchez is expected to headline the show in a lightweight match against Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz are also likely to tangle in another fantastic 155-pound showdown.

And it's all for free.

For more on TUF 9 Finale click here.

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WOW! Joe Silva is putting on the best for 2009!
Cards are STACKED this YEAR!

by mikeybear on Mar 25, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions

i think brown is underrated and Johnson is Overrated

brown’s 9-7 record is deceiving! you would think with that record he is just another peice of meat for Johnson but he is definitely not… if anything i think he could win Johnson

as for Johnson he has the potential to be a top 10 WW and possibly a champion but he is definitely not a top 10 WW at the moment maybe 1 or 2 more fights against good opponents can get him in the lower ranks of the top 10

i like both fighters but i would like Brown to win because if Johnson losses he has plenty of time to bounce back and get better

but if brown loses well his record is working against him and he needs to win

by ufcaddict on Mar 25, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Brown certainly blew me away against Pete. His attitude seemed more in line with what the guys on the show were saying. If he comes out like that in the future, I’m a Matt Brown fan.

by Punch You in the Ovaries on Mar 25, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Matt Brown got finished by Amir- a guy without much power. Everytime AJ hits a guy, you can see that person lose their will and they don’t wanna be there anymore. I see him get wrecked hard.

by NameNotRequired on Mar 25, 2009 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Yep.

by Jeremyjackson on Mar 25, 2009 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t disagree. I was just comenting that I was impressed with brown last time.

by Punch You in the Ovaries on Mar 25, 2009 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Does the UFC want to kill Matt Brown?

by RedDog on Mar 25, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I totally agree. I got Matt Brown by TKO, but wouldn’t be surprised to see AJ

by Synyster on Mar 25, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

I got Rumble by brutal face stomping. I think this will be a sweet fight but I was kind of hoping AJ would get a step up in competition instead of this side step. Brown has shown some good stuff lately but to me he is still just a TUF scrub. If he can beat Johnson though I will be looking for him to take that next big step up in competition.

by DDT on Mar 25, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions

WOW, is the TUF finale card coming together!!!!

They must have some pretty awful finalists to have to stack the card like this. Diego/Guida and Nate/Daddy are both main card PPV worthy and are both more than worthy of headlining an UFN.

As for the matchup, Johnson will have too many adavtages for Brown to overcome with just skill, he is going to have to dig down deep and really let his heart show (as he mostly does) to pull of this win against Rumble. But that is why fights are not won on paper. Since the first Rumble/Burns fight I thought that Johnson was getting a little too much hype – Burns was winning that fight. His KO of Tommy Speers was his career highlight up until then. That controversy in the Burns fight actually brought attention to Rumble, and anyone in marketing knows that any name recognition is a GOOD thing. I actually DUMBLY bet on Luigi to upset Rumble but I forgot that short and stubby Luigi would be at about a 2 foot reach disadvantage to tall Johnson and his long limbs. As long as Rumble can keep utilizing his reach and use his wrestling to dictate where the fight takes place, he is a force to be reckoned with.

One thing is for certain, I will be rooting for The Immortal (with all those losses on his record, he better be immortal! ZING, sorry)

by ViolentMike on Mar 25, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah Mike, if there aren’t any cancellations this is the best Finale card ever.

by Jeremyjackson on Mar 25, 2009 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Totally agree – this one has EXCITEMENT written all over it.

by DJ on Mar 25, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly what I was thinking, Rumble is overrated and Brown is underrated! Im becoming a big Johnson fan and didnt care to much for Brown on tuf. He was impressive in his last outing, but like Keven said, it was against Sell.
I want Johnson to win this and move on to better comp. Maybe of the likes of Kos. Most people prob don’t feel he will be ready for someone like Kos, but I think it would be a war. I don’t think he would trade with him, esp since his recent ko loss. I also don’t think he would be able to L&P on him for 15min either. Im looking forward to many years of Johnson in the octagon!

by BOW on Mar 25, 2009 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions

i dont even think kos will be able to take rumble down and if he does he will get tired easy because of the size of Rumble… rumble has great wrestling and his take down defence keeps getting better

by ufcaddict on Mar 25, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions

someone please tell me how Johnson is overrated?.. also tell me how great you think Matt Brown is for having won over the “incredible” competition he has had to face in his UFC career..

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions

johnson is overrated because alot of ppl think he is a top 10 WW….. he is not and therefore is overrated

i think you have to beat someone who is in the top 10 to be in the top 10

by ufcaddict on Mar 25, 2009 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I cant name 10 WW in the UFC that are better…

GSP
Alves
Fitch
Penn
Koscheck
Sanchez
Saunders
Swick
Hazelett

thats 9… who am I forgetting?

by ---Caesar--- on Mar 25, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

on any given night…Davis, Lytle, Karo, Hughes, Serra, Hardy, and maybe even Brown…I’m not saying AJ couldn’t beat these guys but I’m saying as far as rankings, fighting top comp, overall records and skillsets, I would rank a few higher than AJ….

P.S Sanchez and Penn are LW’s

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Chris Lytle? come on McArthur, he’d take him down easily and pound him into the mat.. Matt Hughes would get destroyed in every aspect of the game he’s too old now for a beast like Anthony, Serra too small, I’m sure he could beat Davis the same way Swick did abd Karo looked horrible last time we saw him..

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not saying its not possible…I’m saying its too early to say AJ is def better than the forementioned…imo he’s one win away

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

hey RoB…any thoughts on Tito’s return?? I’m thinking he’ll get the loser of Babalu/Fejeta (sp) if that fight happens…what do ya think?

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I know BJ and Diego are LWs now, but both have been and still could be considered top 10 WW

by ---Caesar--- on Mar 25, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah, its definitely going to be interesting to see how Tito performs without the back pain. I would actually love for him to get a tune up fight to get things going and then take on Babalu, but i dob’t think it’s gonna happen that way, I think he’ll end up fighting Frank Shamrock in his first fight back, two big names that knows how to sell tickets..

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

really?? Frank? Good chance but I just don’t know if Frank can put that kinda weight on anymore…I was thinkin he might get Southworth or even someone lesser…I’m expecting a can

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

haha, ok lets hope for a can =) that would be good cause it should be more about testing his body and just building some confidence, hopefully everything turns out well and then we’ll make an insane run back to the top!

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

The best thing about all of this is that he’s finally free from Dana who only tried to make to make him look bad in public on every oppurtunity he got..

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Tito does that well enough on his own.

by PJJ on Mar 25, 2009 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions

This should be a great fight. someone is gonna get KO’d.
Pete Sell didn’t even throw a punch at Brown so Matt should be ready to get hit this time
WOW! Joe Silva is putting on the best for 2009!
Cards are STACKED this YEAR!

by mikeybear on Mar 25, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

they need to stop given anthony johnson easy fights

by zack skokan on Mar 25, 2009 11:06 AM EDT reply actions

What? Matt Brown is NOT easy. Just ask Kim…

by OJR on Mar 25, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed. I agree he has talent, but I don’t buy into the hype surrounding Johnson….yet. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders though and works hard at improving. I am glad they didn’t give him John Howard so he can have a 15" reach advantage. Brown has shown he can hang with top talent in the stun gun fight. This is a match-up to look forward to.

by PJJ on Mar 25, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Spoken like a true newb. You should watch more mma dude, matt brown is for real ask pete sell.

by Dragon on Mar 25, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

I disagree, one great KO doesn’t make you a contender! I’d like to see Johnson fight tougher opponents! Brown isn’t that great, he knocked sell into next week…but Johnson will destroy him!

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions

agreed with most here but Kevin is right…the Sell fight is a terrible measuring stick for Brown

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

I go by the carreer as a whole, and was never impressed with Brown on TUF. He talked like he was chuck Liddell, but ended up looking more like Tank abbot (not fat, just all talk).

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions

where is Amir anyways??? No news, no fights, no nothing…

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Off topic, but affects most of us. I got a message from comcast this morning saying the NFL is dropping comcast…n more NFL network. No biggie now, but they carry a half dozen or so games every year. be on the lookout and ready to bombard the NFL with emails!

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:54 AM EDT up reply actions

keeps getting hurt.

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

McArthur-

The Kim fight is a damn good measuring stick…

by OJR on Mar 25, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions

AJ is the big favorite and is going to beat Matt Brown! and no Johnson is not overrated, if anything he’s underrated i mean it would be good to see him step up in competition.. Pete Sell for the record is one of the slowest fighters in the UFC, just imagine what AJ would have done to him..

by RoB on Mar 25, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

To be fair I think he only got hurt once. The first time he had a nasty staff infection if I remember correctly. Not sure I would consider that an injury. I hope he is not one of those guys that is always hurt because that can really ruin a good career. Some people are just more susceptible to injury and I hope Amir is not one of them.

by wAyNe on Mar 25, 2009 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions

OJR – agreed…not saying Sell isn’t a good fighter, he just got caught early and never recovered…from either KO he suffered that night

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

your parents should have given up sex, since its obvious the results are all defective

by liukangstoupee on Mar 25, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

I have Brown by 2nd round arm bar.

Don’t believe the Rumble hype!

by Chief on Mar 25, 2009 11:08 AM EDT reply actions

Chief speaks the truth. Brown by 2nd round sub or 3rd round TKO.

by c-war on Mar 25, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Don’t sleep on Brown’s jitz. Gurgel might not be the best fight but he is a damn good teacher.

by WB on Mar 25, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

WORD , people make gurgel sound like absolute shit. he is an absolute shit fighter, but hes an amazing mma ji-jits su teacher.

by Jared on Mar 25, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

sick fight, ill give it to johnson though. think he’s ready to step into the elite status after this bout.

by Holdin McGroin on Mar 25, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions

Sick, sick fight. This is shaping up to be an incredible free card, even better than UFC 95.

by mburtoni on Mar 25, 2009 11:20 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah this is gonna be an awesome fight with a brutal ending!!

by Dragon on Mar 25, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

Johnson’s striking is too calculated for Brown. He’ll be eating shots from many angles and get put down early in the second.

by GodDamnMike on Mar 25, 2009 11:27 AM EDT reply actions

Sick fight…I like it.

by FukStyck on Mar 25, 2009 11:32 AM EDT reply actions

Book it!

by Robert(1) on Mar 25, 2009 11:33 AM EDT reply actions

nice, fuck yes this is gonna be a badass fight. brown’s looked really good in his last 3 fights and rumble always comes to throw down

by denniskuderjr on Mar 25, 2009 11:35 AM EDT reply actions

Wow… Joe Silvia is being too nice. This fight is good enough to make most main card PPVs but for free on TUF finale? thats almost like chirstmas in June!

by liukangstoupee on Mar 25, 2009 11:36 AM EDT reply actions

The IMMORTAL looked awesome in his Pete Sell beat down hope he keeps it going and punches AJ out. fight of the night maybe.

by Cory on Mar 25, 2009 11:39 AM EDT reply actions

Excellent, excellent matchmaking. Both of these guys are capable of winning this in an entertaining manner. I think it will it could be fight of the night and if they don’t televise it I will crush them.

by Mattchupichu on Mar 25, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

the fighers on this season of tuf must really not be that good because they are really stacking this finale card:

Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida
Joe Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz
Matt Brown vs. Anthony Johnson
Chris Lytle vs. Kevin Burns

by matt on Mar 25, 2009 11:40 AM EDT reply actions

It’s stacked because with the emergence of mma in the mainstream, you know all the fighters better than 5-6 years ago. If this were then, you’d be complaining no Chuck or tito. I agree, but every card is now stacked!

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Brown is a cool guy and definitely talented but I can’t see him being a near match for Johnson’s speed or power. He is REALLY quick :)

by MrAngry on Mar 25, 2009 11:42 AM EDT reply actions

you never know man, he could armbar Johnson

by Bill Maher on Mar 25, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

He could, but I think he will have to get him on the ground first. And if anyone is going to the ground first its Brown via head kick.

by DDT on Mar 25, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

“Brown is a cool guy.”
why? because he chews tobacco? I never got “cool” from him at all!

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions

and we all know you have the final word on cool

by ActionJackson on Mar 25, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions

thanks buddy!

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions

This is such a fucking sick fight.

by belfort_fan on Mar 25, 2009 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

FINALLY, Rumble is going to be tested against a top fighter!

I still see AJ winning but Brown will put it up 2 him! AJ by tko in 2nd or 3rd.

by Randy for Couture on Mar 25, 2009 12:08 PM EDT reply actions

????
can one of you guys please explain to me and the rest of us non delusional maniacs how beating pete sell makes Brown a “Top fighter?”
I hate to break it to you guys, but being on TUF and winning doesn’t make you a “top fighter,” never mind not winning.

by kevin on Mar 25, 2009 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions

It does not but I was more impressed w/ his loss to Kim.

by OJR on Mar 25, 2009 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed with OJR and Kev…

by McArthur on Mar 25, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Just because he stopped Sell doesnt mean anything Sell is a crap fighter anyway.

I agree.

by NM on Mar 25, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

This is a test for “both” fighters, they are at the same level in the ufc and this fight is gonna determine whos gonna be launchd to the top 10 in WW, Joe silva knows what hes doing, this is gonna be a great fight
AJ 2nd round tko

by N-Cryptic on Mar 25, 2009 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Brown looked good against Sell, but Sell is complete crap. AJ by 1st rd TKO.

by Jeremyjackson on Mar 25, 2009 12:59 PM EDT reply actions

Fireworks, Fireworks, Fireworks !

They are both healthy by the moment and they both have a lot of time to be stronger at this date. Brown was crazy against Sell because he had a killer instinct. If he keep that attitude he can KO Rumble.

But..

If he let Rumble too much time he is dead by brutal KO.

by Daddy Lupo on Mar 25, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions

ooooooooooooo fun fight!
I got Johnson for the win in this one though.

by UK_Chris on Mar 25, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions

Someone in another thread said the Barncat was replacing Howard and taking on AJ … this is a better fight.

by Jeremyjackson on Mar 25, 2009 1:58 PM EDT reply actions

Love this match-up, if Matt Brown is going out strong he’ll get the W!

by JonnyBoy on Mar 25, 2009 2:39 PM EDT reply actions

bye bye Matt Brown! AJ by destruction.

by jake on Mar 25, 2009 3:25 PM EDT reply actions

i like aj and i like brown. but aj was getting hit pretty good by a stubby luigi for the 2 minutes they fought. i give matt brown a good chance at beating aj and wouldnt be surprised if he actually did. but whoever wins this is a fucking awesome fight ~!

by Jared on Mar 25, 2009 3:56 PM EDT reply actions

Oh yes, this got FOTN written all over it!

by JonnyBoy on Mar 26, 2009 8:07 AM EDT up reply actions

No kevin i didnt see Pete sell as a big challenge, i was more impressed like some others by Browns performance against Kim plus although i say top fighter i do not mean Brown to be worthy of challenging for titles but compared to Rumbles previous competition Brown is a very good tester without pushing AJ on title contenders and so after this fight i hope AJ will be given to fight maybe the likes of Koscheck or even someone rated higher, although i do not see the UFC doing so.

by Randy for Couture on Mar 25, 2009 4:04 PM EDT reply actions

I’m glad some ppl think this is going to be a close fight or are even picking Brown. Hopefully, these same folks will be willing to bet on Brown at +170 cause I’ll definetly take AJ at -200 or better.(I’d probably take him at -300) I really hope Johnson gets a top 5 or top 10 WW after this.

by naturalist on Mar 25, 2009 4:42 PM EDT reply actions

you guys are nuts if you think brown has a chance in this fight, AJ by TKO.
Brown is just a wildman, that’s all.

by nath on Mar 25, 2009 5:14 PM EDT reply actions

I think both guys are talented with AJ being a litte more in other departments.

AJ has size, speed, power and is athletic.

Brown is a tough S.O.B.

I could see AJ pulling it out by ko, but I think Brown might pull this one out with a armbar late in the 2nd.

by Little Focker on Mar 25, 2009 7:09 PM EDT reply actions

Nice matchup

by MMA040 on Mar 25, 2009 8:58 PM EDT reply actions

Good matchup but see rumble having to big of an advantage in striking. Allthough brown is most talented fighter he has faced imo,I expect aj to come out fast and win early.I just think its rumbles time, can’t wait to see him vs one of those aka boys.

by mr guillotine on Mar 26, 2009 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m not sure pete sell remembers wether or not brown is for real. He prob don’t remember much after that beating yves lavigne let him take. Maybe he should of worried about blocking and not smiling at brown. Rumble should shred this cat

by mr guillotine on Mar 26, 2009 12:54 AM EDT reply actions