Sherdog’s Top 10: World Series of Fighting Finds

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3. Anthony Johnson

Johnson burst on the scene in 2007, needing only 13 seconds to knock out Chad Reiner in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. The win set the tone for what was supposed to be a meteoric rise to welterweight superstardom, but at only 22 years of age, Johnson’s body had different ideas. Johnson went 6-4 over the course of his next 10 fights under the Zuffa banner, showing brilliant finishing ability in his victories. However, three separate incidents involving failure to make weight finally ended the Blackzilians representative’s first tenure with the UFC; the final straw came prior to his UFC 142 defeat to Vitor Belfort.

Since that day in 2012, Johnson has been on a tear, picking up steam in the WSOF and winning every contest in which he competed. The Boca Raton, Fla., resident has also taken up shop in the light heavyweight division -- a choice for which many fans had been calling since his issues with the scale surfaced.

After leaving WSOF and rejoining the UFC, Johnson took on Phil Davis at UFC 172. Johnson easily took care of business against a highly regarded opponent, making it clear that his second UFC stint would be nothing like the first. He has since followed it with a 44-second rout of respected Brazilian Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Now 30, Johnson could have his say at 205 pounds sooner rather than later, thanks in large part to his WSOF stint.

Number 2 » Marlon Moraes