Rumble's next fight could be at MW

http://www.mmamania.com/2010/7/19/1576593/ufc-quick-quote-anthony-rumble

Quote :

"Anthony Johnson at one point weighed the same as Ricco Rodriguez,
which is kind of scary. He weighed the same as Ricco Rodriguez, except
he had abs. He had a knee injury. He had surgery, took some time off to
let it heal, it was giving him some problems, but now he's in rehab and
doing rehab for his knee. We had a UFC offer in September that we
weren't able to pursue. We're entertaining the possibility of taking a
fight at 185, which is something we might have done anyway even if he
didn't have the knee injury because that cut is just so tough for him.
We were offered a fight at 185, a fight that we liked and before he
accepted it, he said even if I do take a fight at 185, September might
be pushing it. I want to get some time in the gym first. We're looking
at late October, early November for him, and we're not sure if the first
fight back is going to be at 70 and we're going to kill ourselves, or
at 85 and just kind of kill ourselves."

He should probably be at LHW but I can understand not wanting to get into that uber-talented division.

damn .. I was hoping he was going to try LW..

no but really he needed to move up.. he couldnt stand at the weigh ins

He just needs more discipline. If Koscheck could take him down at WW, then he will be in a world of trouble at MW.

Bad sign for Rumble. He should be at 170lbs. He isn't gonna offer much to guys at 185lbs when it comes to the top ten.

With Wrestling and length like his I think he has plenty of wiggle room to scoot by on Talent in the Middleweight division. He may never be a top tier fighter there but hell he was never one at Welterweight either anyway.

why? It's not like there are a ton of dominant wrestlers at MW. This is a smart move and could revitalize his career.

this guy needs to go to 205 he is killing his body and has been for a while

I see some resemblance with him to what Bones gets now. Not so much with weight divisions and size, but hype. Before the Kos fight, Rumble was Bones, well maybe to a lesser degree. But anyways..

The Kos fight showed us where he was in terms of grappling skill though. He can be handled by an opponent with the know-how.

He is big and strong for his division, but there is nothing that makes me think his strength lies in wrestling talent as much as the size and strength he can apply when wrestling. At 185 those deficiencies would only be magnified. I still think if he keeps working to develop his game and get his weight cutting routine down solid, he could do big things one day at 170. If he can bring his skill level up and still effectively make 170, the advantages could grow exponentially.

If AJ hired a nutritionist and a top class conditioning coach he'd be lean and mean at 185lb.

agree Ali