• Bellator’s 8-man light heavyweight grand prix will begin on April 9th at UFC 256
• A first round matchup between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Yoel Romero has been booked for Bellator 257.
• Romero is still the slight betting favorite to beat Rumble at -120 to -110 as of February 9th.

1. Anthony Rumble Johnson Bodybuilding
2. Anthony Rumble Johnson Knockouts

Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is one of the UFC’s most promising young fighters. Perhaps the largest man ever to fight in the welterweight (170 lb.) division, Johnson is reputed to cut approximately 40 lbs. In order to make weight, and indeed, missed the cut in his fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida by a full six pounds. Anthony Johnson Highlights 2015 'Rumble'. Unsubscribe from Dream Eskimo? Subscribed Unsubscribe.

A big-time Bellator brawl has been booked for April 16th as promotional newcomers Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero square off in the opening round of Bellator’s light heavyweight tournament which is set to happen at Bellator 257.

The Viacom-owned MMA promotion announced its upcoming schedule on Tuesday including the start of its Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix. According to Bellator, 8-man light heavyweight tournament will begin on April 9th at Bellator 256 with bouts featuring Ryan Bader vs Lyoto Machida and Corey Anderson vs Dovletdzhan.

One week later, the other two quarterfinal matches of the Light Heavyweight Grand Prix will take place at UFC 257. Current champion Vadim Nemkov will defend his belt against Phil Davis while the highly anticipated slugfest between Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Yoel Romero will be happening earlier than expected.

One of the Most Anticipated Fights of 2021

Anthony Rumble Johnson Bodybuilding

The official bracket for Bellator’s upcoming LHW grand prix. Not gonna lie, Romero vs. Rumble already one of my most anticipated fights of 2021. pic.twitter.com/PMjnslLUyw

— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) February 9, 2021

Ever since both signed with Bellator last year, fans have salivated about a potential match-up between these former UFC championship contenders. Romero challenged for the middleweight title in four out of his last five fights in the UFC. Meanwhile, Rumble Johnson lost twice to Daniel Cormier while attempting to win the UFC light heavyweight belt.

Johnson was expected to return to the UFC last year after retiring in the aftermath of his UFC 210 loss to Cormier. However, he shocked the MMA world when he announced that he was signing with Bellator. On the other hand, Romero was one of the fighters cut by the UFC last year but he is coming off a losing effort against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Rumble went 5-2 during his second stint with the UFC, producing knockouts and Performance of the Night bonuses in each of his five wins. His only losses during that period came against Cormier. Romero finished his UFC career by losing four out of his last five bouts but even at the age of 43, the Cuban fighter is no walk in the park for anyone, not even Rumble Johnson.

Romero Still Favored to Beat Rumble

Betting odds have been released for a potential light heavyweight bout in Bellator between Yoel Romero (@YoelRomeroMMA) and Anthony Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble). Who is your money on? 🤔 https://t.co/wUVo47fa7e

— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) December 14, 2020

Current betting odds still have Romero as the favorite to beat Rumble Johnson. However, since we last looked at the betting lines last December, the odds have significantly narrowed.

The Solider of God was a -155 last December 16th at online sportsbook BetOnline with Rumble coming back at +135. However, as of the same oddsmaker’s betting odds as of February 9th, Romero’s odds have shortened to -120 while Johnson is now listed at negative money at -110. If BetOnline and the oddsmakers are correct, this one will be a toss-up and could go down to which fighter drops his big bombs first.

Romero and Johnson combine for 27 knockouts in 35 total wins or a 77.14% knockout rate. When both these fighters step inside a cage, they aren’t just looking to win fights. Rather, they come looking to take their opponent’s head off. With two prolific finishers, it won’t be a surprise if this bout ends prematurely.

As Anthony Johnson inches closer to his UFC return, ‘Rumble’ is getting the hype train rolling.

Although Johnson is expected to return to the UFC at light heavyweight, the feared knockout artist plans to ‘bury everybody’ in the promotion.

“Everybody [who he wants to fight]. Everybody. I’m not gonna call out one person – everybody. I’m trying to bury everybody,” Johnson said in a recent interview (h/t Ryan MacCarthy of Low Kick MMA).

Johnson submitted his first sample to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in September and is expected to make a comeback in 2021. The 36-year-old hasn’t fought since his submission loss to then-light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 210, which took place in 2017.

Anthony Rumble Johnson Knockouts

Although Johnson plans to compete at light heavyweight, Francis Ngannou would be ‘very interested’ in showing Rumble the ropes at heavyweight.

“Yeah, I would be very interested in that fight,” Ngannou told Morning Kombat. “Rumble Johnson is a guy that I respect a lot. I know him as a person, and I admire him as a person. It would be great to share the Octagon with him, no matter if it’s for the title or not.

“Even beyond Rumble Johnson I still have some dreams and some aspirations. But I have stay focused and realistic, and deal with the situation right now. Obviously that question has popped up before, and I would be down for that fight. It would such a great fight, and it would be such an honor to fight Rumble Johnson.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)