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Once foes, Blackzilians teammates seek titles at UFC 187

The moment Anthony Johnson tapped out against Vitor Belfort in Rio de Janeiro proved to be the turning point in his career.

Now, with Johnson on the verge of the culmination of one of the most improbable turnarounds in UFC history, Belfort is there with him in the gym every day preparing to pen the final chapter of his own great story.

Johnson and Belfort are teammates at the Blackzilians camp in South Florida and both will fight for belts at UFC 187 Saturday at MGM Grand.

Belfort, who hasn’t competed since November 2013, will challenge Chris Weidman for the middleweight title. Johnson is set to face Daniel Cormier for the vacant light heavyweight belt.

The road Johnson took to this point was set in motion when he was submitted by Belfort in the first round of a fight in January 2012. Johnson had shockingly missed weight by 12 pounds the day before the bout and badly gassed out after some early success against Belfort.

It was a recurring theme for Johnson. He was an insanely talented welterweight, who struggled to get down to the 170-pound limit. The weight cuts were clearly hampering his performance and he had finally agreed to move up to middleweight after missing weight twice. In his first fight at 185 pounds, Johnson came in at 197 pounds for the fight against Belfort. The weight issues, combined with the poor performance, led to his release from the organization.

Johnson was already planning changes to his career before the UFC even made the decision.

“I let my team down, all the fans, the UFC, all my family. I let everybody down. At that point, I got on the plane to come back and I made up my mind like, ‘Let’s do this.’ The whole flight we talked about what we wanted to do and we’ve been doing that so far,” Johnson said. “It was a major turning point. As soon as I tapped, things started changing from that point on.

“I changed everything. My mentality, my lifestyle, the people I’m around. Everything changed.”

It wasn’t an easy transition. Johnson missed weight again in his first fight outside the UFC, but he won the bout and then decided to move up again to light heavyweight. Competing at 205 pounds, Johnson’s career took off. He won five more fights in a row, including four by knockout, and was offered a contract to return to the UFC.

Johnson, 31, has taken full advantage of his opportunity. He is 3-0 in his return and has won two of the fights by first-round knockout. He was scheduled to fight longtime champion Jon Jones Saturday, but Jones was stripped of his title after fleeing the scene of a traffic accident last month in Albuquerque, N.M.

Instead, Johnson will fight Cormier.

“It feels good. It just shows I didn’t give up,” Johnson said of reaching this level. “(Vitor’s) a big reason I changed who I used to be. When I was fighting him, I was a little young knucklehead. I wasn’t nothing. He helped me turn myself into a man.

“I had to mature. I had to reevaluate some things and get my act together. As soon as I did that, everything started paying off. And now I am where I am.”

Belfort was living and training in Las Vegas when he fought Johnson, but was looking for a change of scenery in his career as he prepared to fight Jones for the light heavyweight belt in September 2012. He was interested in joining the Blackzilians, but both Belfort and the camp wanted to make sure Johnson was agreeable to the man he had lost to just a few months prior joining the team.

He didn’t hesitate to agree and now the gym can claim two world titles tonight.

“It’s been an honor,” Johnson said of working with Belfort. “We work together. We communicate really well. We’re always pushing each other. Vitor is an awesome guy and I look up to him, honestly. I’m just living in the moment and cherishing it.”

Belfort said it has been fun to watch Johnson’s progression as both a fighter and a person.

“He’s a beast, man. He made my eye close pretty bad. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever fought and now I get a chance to train with him every day and see how much he’s evolved. He’s a new breed of fighter for sure,” Belfort said. “I think he’s evolving in every area of his life.”

Belfort says the team aspect is important in all aspects of life, even when one’s job involves being locked in a cage to fight another person.

“Without a team, I think nobody can succeed,” he said. “Team is so important. Even Jesus had 12 disciples. I know they had some issues, but we all need a team. We all need someone to help us do the work. If God needs a team, imagine us. We need that to succeed in life.”

Belfort, 38, has been succeeding in the sport for a long time. He won the UFC heavyweight tournament title at the age of 19 in 1997. Belfort added the light heavyweight belt in 2004 and now has the chance to win another title.

He has battled controversy after a failed drug test in 2006 and became the poster boy for the debate over the now-banned practice of testosterone replacement therapy.

Through it all, Belfort has experienced great successes and continues to deflect any questions about his tribulations with responses about his faith.

Johnson admires his perseverance.

“I was looking up to him before we even fought each other,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the pioneers of the sport. He’s the only guy still in the sport from back in the day. He’s a legend that’s seen it all.”

They have a chance to celebrate together tonight should they both be successful. They have not, however, talked much about that possibility.

“We don’t have to. We know how important it is,” Johnson said. “We know what time it is.”

The two championship bouts are part of a pay-per-view event that airs live at 7 p.m. A four-fight preliminary card airs on Fox Sports 1 (Cable 329) at 5.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.

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