During yesterday's (April 21, 2014) UFC 172 media conference call (full audio replay here), Phil Davis focused all of his attention on badmouthing light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, as he promised to break him like a "sugar cookie."
While that's nothing new in the fight business, it caught a few people off guard, seeing as how Davis is set to take on Anthony Johnson -- not Jones -- in the co-main event of this weekend's (April 26, 2014) pay-per-view (PPV) event in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sure, it might seem as if Davis is overlooking Johnson as he eyes a potential showdown against "Bones," but "Rumble" doesn't think "Mr. Wonderful" is dumb enough to do that.
He might, however, not be taking him seriously enough, as Johnson recently told FOX Sports:
"I don't think Phil's dumb, I think he's just preparing himself for what could come up next. That's not a bad thing. I don't think he's overlooking me, but at same time, I think he doesn't take me too seriously. I think he doubts me just a smidge and that's all I need."
The fight will mark Johnson's first inside the Octagon since 2012, when he was cut by the promotion after his loss to Vitor Belfort. A fight in which "Rumble" failed to make weight, his third such offense.
But after reeling off six straight wins on the regional circuit, Johnson received an invite back to the big show, this time as a light heavyweight.
Though he wasn't too sure he'd ever get the call back, Anthony says he's happy he received another opportunity and plans to make the most of it the second time around.
"If I never got invited back into the UFC, I would have accepted it and made it work to the best of my ability. If that's the way the dice rolled, then that's just how they rolled. But like I said, it was lovely, and I'm going to make sure now that I'm back, it keeps being that way."
While Johnson is far from a UFC noob, he will be the new guy on the block in the 205-pound weight class. And win or lose, he plans on making a statement in each and every one of his bouts to prove he belongs.
He explains:
"I'm the new guy on the scene. There are a lot of guys ahead of me who have put in a ton of work. As long as I win and keep moving forward, I make a statement every time I win. If I win, I make a statement, and if I lose, I made a statement, too. Either way, it's going to let everyone know where I belong. But I'll tell you, I never believe I'm going to lose a fight."
UFC 172 will feature a main event between the aforementioned Jones as he defends his title against Glover Teixeira.
Johnson, meanwhile, looks to make a splash in his return by defeating Davis, a man who may be more preoccupied with the outcome of the main event, than the current task at hand.