Anthony Johnson is a scary man and a frightening match up for all who fight for the promotion's light heavyweight division. For this, his second stint back in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he has brought forth a powerful element that the 205-pound division has been sorely lacking: knockout power coupled with phenomenal takedown defense.

Last Saturday night (July 26, 2014) at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, Johnson needed all of 44 seconds to bludgeon Antonio Rogerio Nogueira with an assortment of punches that were all thrown with extremely bad intentions (video replay here). He would walk away virtually untouched for a knockout victory that left many with their jaw dropped from watching Nogueria crumple in a heap against the cage.

"Lil Nog" was already on the way down when "Rumble" landed another vicious uppercut for good measure, putting his lights out for the evening as referee Herb Dean mercifully intervened to call a halt to the action.

Johnson was heavily favored to win the match up and some oddsmakers had him as high as a 5-to-1 favorite. So the victory itself came as no surprise, but the way in which he went in and wasted little time to do what many felt he would -- finish his opponent -- was what made the win most impressive.

The Blackzilian has been reborn at 205 pounds and is now far removed from his days as an oversized welterweight (and even middleweight), who was cut for continuously failing to make weight in the big show. The knockout victory over "Lil Nog" earned him a "Performance of the Night Bonus" of $50,000 dollars and improved his record to 2-0 as a UFC light heavyweight, 18-4 overall. He also received high praise from UFC President Dana White, who said he was "blown away" with Johnson's performance.

"It's crazy," White told reporters at the post-fight presser. "There's no doubt he is a contender, but he still needs another fight to get up into that. It's amazing. I don't... I don't think we've ever had a guy go from 170 to 205 and actually be more powerful and more devastating than he was at 170. It's crazy. I've never seen anything like it. He looked fantastic tonight."

Johnson, 30, was asked at the presser if he felt that he would dispatch of Nogueira as quickly as he did.

"No," he said. "When you face a guy like Nogueira, you kind of think like 'Okay, this is about to be a battle,' because the last name Nogueira stands out and means a lot. Those guys fight with a lot of pride. But, I knew I had to finish him or hurt him really bad where the judges or anybody didn't have any second guesses and think he won."

Even if he was thinking that way, Johnson doesn't seem to be the type of guy that would say so. However, his teammate, GLORY light heavyweight Tyrone Spong, felt otherwise and sent out a tweet prior to the fight saying "It's about to get ugly!! Crime scene #callthepolice."

Strangely enough, no one asked Johnson about his much-improved striking under coach Henri Hooft as well as the benefits from working with a world-class striker like Spong and how that has translated successfully inside the cage for him in both his wins against Phil Davis and Nogueira.

Johnson would also be a part of the the post-fight festivities on FOX Sports Live where he would be interviewed by Jon Anik, Brian Stann and Daniel Cormier.

Did he feel any pressure to get the finish over "Lil Nog" since he was the heavy favorite?

"I didn't really feel any pressure," Johnson said in his usual calm tone. "I just stayed focused and made sure I did what I had to do to get that 'W.' My camp was great. I had a ton of support, so everything was like peaches and cream to me."

Nogueira went down about as easy as that traditional southern dessert usually does, only faster, and Johnson emphatically said he is "hungry" and that he "wants everybody," as far as future opponents are concerned.

Jon Jones and "DC" are fighting for the title on Sept. 27, 2014. Rashad Evans is still injured and he and Johnson are teammates so that fight won't ever happen. Alexander Gustafsson -- who Cormier replaced -- is also out with a knee injury, and rumors have circled that Glover Teixeira will be facing Phil Davis next, leaving only fighters that are ranked beneath him as his next fight options.

Stann suggested the winner of the UFC Fight Night 47 main event between Ovince St Preux vs. Ryan Bader that takes place on August 16. Johnson was warm to that idea saying, "I would definitely take on either one of those guys and if one of them gets hurt (Jones or Cormier) I would definitely step in. I will take whoever they give me."

Regardless of who maybe next, "Rumble" said he is moving closer to his title aspirations and gave warning to any future opponents.

"I feel like I am getting closer and closer to my goals of being a champion," Johnson told reporters at the post-fight presser. "Whoever they throw in front of me is just in a lot of trouble. They put them in front of me and I'm going to keep knocking them down."

It has now been almost three years since UFC 142, when Johnson lost to Vitor Belfort in Brazil, after failing to make weight for that middleweight clash and subsequently being cut shortly afterward. Over the last couple of years he said he has "grown up a good bit" and still has "a lot of growing up to do." Anik brought up the UFC 142 aftermath and if he knew back then that he would make it all the way back to where he stood on Saturday evening in San Jose.

"Honestly at that moment, I was so down on myself,"Johnson recalled. "I didn't what to do. I didn't know which way to turn. I didn't believe in myself, but during those two years away from the UFC, I definitely gained a lot confidence, so obviously you can see that."