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Surgery shelves 'Rumble'

By Damon Martin/MMAWeekly.com

The war of words between Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and John "Doomsday" Howard will have to remain just that for now. A knee injury in training forced Johnson out of their upcoming bout set for the first UFC Live on Versus event on March 21 in Colorado.

Howard has since found a replacement opponent, while Johnson had to undergo surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his knee that will put him out of action for about a month.

Ken Pavia of MMA Agents confirmed Johnson's condition to MMAWeekly.com on Monday.

"He will be unstoppable when he gets back," Pavia said via text message while still in Australia with client Chris Lytle, who fought at UFC 110 over the weekend. "(He) had the issue for years, but hurt it bad now. Not a real bad injury."

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Josh Koscheck in his last fight, Johnson will recover from the surgery and then step back into a deep welterweight pool.

With Howard set to fight on March 21, when Johnson comes back it may very well be against a different opponent, but these rivals will someday look to settle the score in the Octagon.