Anthony Johnson wants million dollar payday to fight Jon Jones at heavyweight
Anthony Johnson vs. Jon Jones is a dream match-up that could very well come to fruition one day – but the price has to be right.
Speaking to MMA veteran Josh Thompson in a recent episode of Sammy and the Punk (h/t Tom Taylor of BJPenn.com), ‘Rumble’ said a proposed heavyweight fight against ‘Bones’ would generate millions of dollars – and he wants his fair share of the cut.
“Jon and I were supposed to fight four years ago,” Johnson said. “If a fight that was supposed to happen four years ago is still a hot topic, that’s not some half a million dollar payday. That’s worthy of every penny you deserve to fight somebody. “I’m not gonna say a number right now. Put it like this. It’s more than a million — plus pay-per-view buys.”
Johnson, who is currently embroiled in controversy over his restraining order for ‘online stalking,’ said ‘everybody comes out on top’ in a Jones-Rumble superfight.
“At the end of the day, everybody comes out on top,” he said. “The organization is obviously going to come out on top, and the fighters come out on top cause they got paid, and the fans come out on top because they got to see that one fight that they wanted to see.”
When asked about how he matches up against Jones, Johnson, a heavy-hitting knockout artist from Dublin, Georgia, said he is confident that he has the skill-set to usurp the pound-for-pound phenom.
“I do think I can take Jon,” he said. “I honestly believe I can beat anybody. I’m a fighter, I’m supposed to believe in my skills.”
As of now, Johnson is currently retired. The 35-year-old announced his retirement after losing in a championship rematch to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210.
