"A loss is a loss. My legs just got really tired. I didn't get beat up in there and he really didn't hurt me with what he hit me with. I just got tired. I've got to figure this thing out."
-- In his post-fight remarks following his first round loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 last night (Jan. 14, 2012), Anthony Johnson explains that he really wasn't rattled by anything that "The Phenom" hit him with, but rather, was just tired. Assumingly, the fatigue stemmed from the weight cut troubles he suffered trying to make the 185-pound weight limit. A visibly bigger "Rumble" used his weight advantage early to outmuscle Belfort and score a few takedowns, but the Brazilian prevailed in the end, pleasing the home town crowd with a first round fight-ending rear naked choke that put Johnson out of his misery. Johnson came in 11 pounds more than the required weight limit, which marks the third time he has failed to make weight in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. He previously missed weight against Rich Clementi at UFC 76 and Yoshiyuki Yoshida UFC 104. After making the jump up to middleweight to limit his weight cutting issues, it came as a big surprise that he failed yet again in his first fight at middleweight and wasn't more prepared. Perhaps with the 15 pound gap, "Rumble" had the confidence to allow himself more leeway. With his "a loss is a loss" mentality, Johnson seems to be taking it in stride, however, in this case, a loss just isn't a loss, but rather, it could mark the end of his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) career, which means he might now have plenty of time to "figure it out."