Following Saturday night's UFC 142 event at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, UFC president Dana White terminated Johnson's contract.
"This is his third time," White said of Johnson's failure to make weight for the third time in his octagon career. "Three strikes and you're gone."
Johnson (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC), of course, missed weight for his co-feature fight with Vitor Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC). The UFC president said Johnson came within a pound-and-a-half of the 186-pound limit allowed for non-title middleweight fights but was forced by a doctor to rehydrate because the former welterweight contender "couldn't make it."
"That was one of the most unprofessional things I've ever seen," White said. "The guy was at 170 pounds. He moved up to 185 pounds so this wouldn't happen anymore, and this is the worst weightcutting disaster he's ever had. He almost ruined the co-main event here in Brazil. I don't know what else to say about that one. I'm not happy about it."
On Friday, White stated that Johnson's job would be on the line, regardless of the result of his fight. While his words made it seem as if Johnson could potentially keep his spot in the promotion, the UFC boss said his decision was already made.
"I knew what the decision was when I talked to you on Friday," White told MMAjunkie.com. "This is his third time. Listen, the guy was having problems making 170 pounds. He wanted to stay at 170 or whatever his deal was. You go to 185, and you blow it as bad as he blew it? That's bad, man."
Johnson previously missed weight in welterweight contests with Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Rich Clementi. With this weekend's infraction, in which Johnson ultimately weighed 197 pounds for a 185-pound fight, White said he simply couldn't allow the fighter's actions to go unchecked.
That said, White said he's not forever ruling out the potential for Johnson to return to the promotion at some point.
"I don't dislike the guy," White. "I like him very much actually. When you talk to Anthony Johnson, he's a good guy.
"I don't know who you blame in this one. Do you blame him? Do you blame his team? Do you blame his camp? I mean who takes the blame in this one? Ultimately, you're a grown man. You're responsible for your own actions."
Stay tuned for more updates on UFC 142 and Anthony Johnson.
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