Here’s something that I never expected to type up. The 46-year-old former Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson is apparently going to fight former Pittsburgh Steelers OLB James Harrison in the days leading up to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Johnson made the announcement on X. It is unclear if he is having a little fun trolling the masses on social media, or if this is legitimately happening.
Here he is claiming the fight will take place below.
“I’m fighting James Harrison in a exhibition MMA format 3 round bout in New Orleans before Super Bowl, I’m so excited.”
They are both 46 years old, but one looks like he could still suit up and notch a couple of sacks on an NFL Sunday, while the other is noticeably smaller. Harrison was last listed at 6-0, 243 pounds while Johnson was last listed at 6-1, 192 pounds. Harrison may have even gotten bigger since his playing days. Harrison played the role of a pro wrestler named “Apocalypse” on a STARZ show called Heels. Here is a photo of him from that production, looking as big as ever.
In your typical MMA weight classes, that would make Harrison a heavyweight while Johnson is firmly a middleweight, two weight classes below Harrison.
Johnson discussed the fight on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe after Thursday Night Football.
“James Harrison, I consider him a friend of mine. A great competitor, one of the most fiercest defensive players of all time,” Johnson said. “Unbelievable, crazy, animal-like training regimen. And I just owe him an ass whooping. And just for that, I challenged him to an MMA fight. He thinks because of his size, because of him being strong, that really means nothing. So in the octagon, I’m probably going to probably beat his ass, just being honest.”
I can think of few things as terrifying as going toe to toe with a guy like James Harrison in an enclosed space for three (or five) rounds.
“I can tell you what he gonna do because of my size,” Johnson said. “He gonna be aggressive. He gonna rush in not understand my groundwork is impeccable similar to that of Khabib, and I would probably choke his ass out with a guillotine. That’s what’s gonna happen. He doesn’t have the martial arts background that I do.”
There is no doubt that technique can overcome brute strength in combat sports, but at a certain point the sheer strength can win out, and it is not as if Johnson is a professional battle-tested martial artist, at least not professionally. The nearly 50-pound weight difference between the two is going to be a problem.
Shannon Sharpe said he is definitely putting his money on Deebo [Harrison].
I still have no clue if this fight is actually happening, but they spent five minutes talking about it on Nightcap. For Johnson’s sake, let’s hope this is all just a joke. Or he may find out just how serious it actually is once he gets in the ring.
Deebo and Ocho went back and forth on CW’s Inside the NFL. Here is a clip from the segment shared by NFL Films on X.
