Making good on second chances has been a hallmark of the success of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and he'll have another opportunity to reach the top of the mountain in the light heavyweight division when he once again meets champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 206 in Toronto on December 10th.

Johnson's first shot at the gold was at UFC 187, but for the 32-year-old it neither came, nor went as expected.

Originally, he was supposed to face then-light heavyweight title-holder Jon Jones on the Las Vegas card, before the champion was forced to vacate his belt and subsequently was suspended.  Instead, Cormier was inserted into the bout that was then made for the vacant title.

Despite knocking Cormier down with a vicious punch in the first round, Johnson was eventually submitted at the 2:39 mark of the third round, watching his UFC 206 opponent leave with the strap.

"I wasn't expecting a wresting match, that's for sure, so that played a big part, but I should have been more prepared," Johnson told TSN.ca. "Facing a guy like Jon Jones, I was anticipating a stand-up war. With Daniel, it was more of a grappling match and he wore me out. Midway through the second round, you can definitely see how tired I was. I wasn't used to someone just holding on to me and making me carry their weight like that, but that won't happen again, that's for sure. And if I hit him this time, I'm going to make sure he doesn't get back up."

Johnson is currently in his second stint with the UFC, returning to the promotion in February of 2014 as a light heavyweight after two years in other organizations.

Rumble's original UFC run as both a welterweight and a middleweight was marred by the multiple times that he missed weight, eventually leading to him being cut following a loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142, where he weighed in 11 pounds over the 186 lbs limit.

Getting his hands on the gold would be extra special after taking that route to earning himself another shot at the prize.

"It would mean everything, it would let me know that all of this hard work wasn't for nothing," said Johnson.  "I fought at 170 lbs and I was the biggest 17- pounder you'll ever see and I got cut from the UFC and to come back and win it, after having my run the first time at 205 lbs then coming back and knocking out everyone, that would just be...amazing."

Knocking out everyone has become the calling card of the Dublin, Georgia native.  To earn the title shot, he scored a 'blink and you missed it' 13-second, jaw-and-body-dropping KO victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 202.

Prior to that, he flattened both Ryan Bader (1:26 in the first round) and Jimi Manuwa (:28 into the second round) to earn his place on the Air Canada Centre marquee.

Cormier and Johnson have engaged in a little trash talk leading up to the match, including the champion - a wrestler by trade - indicating that he's willing to stand and trade with the challenger, who has made his name with his educated fists.

Rumble isn't buying it for a second.

"He's going to wrestle," said Johnson. "He has no choice. He ain't fooling me. I ain't nobody's fool, that man is going to wrestle for sure. If I hit him one good time, he'll wrestle, he'll change up his game plan quick.  Now he's not afraid to stand and bang, that's for sure.  He stood in there with Gus (Alexander Gustafsson) and did really well,  but he's not going to stand in there, in the pocket and bang with me. It's too dangerous. I'm not being cocky, I'm just telling the truth. Can he knock me out? Anybody can be knocked out, but if he wants a good chance of surviving, he won't stand in."

So if Cormier does what Johnson says he will and takes the fight to the mat, does the challenger think he can beat the champion in his domain?

"Even if he gets too close and locks in, I'm not afraid to grapple with Daniel," said Johnson.  "I know what to expect from him, I've felt his power and I know what he can do on top," said Johnson. After fighting him, my confidence level went way up after knowing what he can do, because I was like, 'Really? I lost to that?' But I lost and at the end of the day, that's what matters, so I have to make sure I don't put myself in bad situations like I did the first time. It was a different style than what I was prepared for and he used it to his advantage and he beat me."

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Tickets for the event at the Air Canada Centre are on sale now, visit UFC.ca for more details.