After emphatically halting Ryan Bader‘s two-year, five-fight winning streak, Anthony Johnson has staked his claim for another crack at division supremacy. Johnson wasted little time in bringing the “rumble” to Bader. Just 86 seconds into the opening round, the former title challenger rained down a destructive fusillade of strikes that separated the No. 4 UFC light heavyweight from his senses.

After annihilating his world-class opponent at UFC On Fox 18, Johnson all but erased the bitter taste of a 2015 championship setback to division kingpin Daniel Cormier.

Since the 31-year-old’s lone loss at 205, the wrecking ball from Dublin, Georgia is fixated on gaining redemption in the form of world championship glory. However, with the returning Jon Jones soon to battle Cormier for his old mantle, Johnson may be waiting in the wings for his next golden opportunity.

Undeterred, Johnson expressed his desire, post-fight, to patiently wait to face the winner of the upcoming Cormier vs. Jones title tilt.

With victories in five of his last six octagon appearances — four of which came by crushing KO — the Jaco Hybrid Training Center standout has earned the position to command such a lofty future appearance.

However, following an embarrassing 2012 release from the UFC, not many would have envisioned Johnson’s emphatic ascendance in becoming the sport’s preeminent knockout machine.

For Johnson, the choice to make the jump from the 170-pound division (yes 170, that’s not a typo) to 205 has made all the difference in his combat sporting career. This two-division rise has allowed Johnson to retain his prodigious strength, while not sacrificing stamina due to massive weight cuts. “Rumble” is 9-1 as a light heavyweight, amassing impressive victories over the game’s finest along the way.

It is by virtue of this frightening, one-strike power that Johnson will be a legitimate threat to either Jones or Cormier when the time arrives.