Anthony Johnson has weighed in on his recent opponent Daniel Cormier saying he wants to take several months off from competition. Johnson doesn’t agree with Cormier’s decision, and compared the situation to Jon Jones’ run as a champion in UFC.
“I don’t know why he would say he wants six months off; maybe he wants time to heal, spend more time with his family and train more and just perfect his craft – I don’t know,” Johnson told MMAjunkie. “Do I see it as being selfish? No. But I want to say this: I don’t feel like he’s earned it enough to say, ‘I need six months off.’ If Jon was still the champ after like two years of whooping ass and said, ‘Dude, I need six or eight months off.’ You deserve those six to eight months off because you put in the time and the work.
“(I’m) not saying Daniel didn’t do that, but I think he should keep grinding. In my opinion, that’s what Daniel does. He should just keep grinding before it gets too late because there’s a lot of hungry guys coming up. It’s just a matter of time before his body is going to say, ‘No more.’ He needs to stay active.”
Johnson’s next fight is against Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 18. There’s no word on who Cormier will fight upon his return, but Jon Jones has made it clear he wants a rematch.
