The last time we saw Anthony Johnson inside the Octagon, he was announcing his shock retirement.
Anthony Johnson caught everyone off guard when he bowed out of MMA following another second-round submission loss to Daniel Cormier in a world title at UFC 210.
At 33, he was still very much in his prime and considering how shallow the UFC’s light heavyweight division is, he probably wasn’t that far away from getting another crack at the belt.
Right then, ‘Rumble’ was content walking away as one of the most feared knockout artists the sport had ever seen.
He finished up with a record of 22-6 with 16 of those wins coming by way of knockout. Although, he was 10-2 as a 205 lber having only lost to the greatest fighter to hold the belt not named Jon Jones.
Before settling at light heavyweight, Johnson was all over the place. The man became an advertisement against weight-cutting. He went from having his contract terminated for failing to make weight several times at welterweight and middleweight to having a career renaissance at 205 lbs, eventually earning his spot back in the world’s biggest MMA promotion.
He went 9-2 at 170 lbs, with one of those losses coming by way of eye poke to Kevin Burns, and he racked up a 2-2 record in catchweight contests. However, there is one division that he remains unbeaten in. Back in 2013, he
Back in 2013, he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovksi to a unanimous decision under the WSOF banner in his divisional debut. Somewhere between 205.1 lbs and 265 lbs is where he is likely to return, according to manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Abdelaziz told the MMA Hour that ‘Rumble’ will return to the UFC, but ‘it has to make sense for him.’ If Johnson wants to fight again, he confirmed that he will come back as a heavyweight.
“He has six months for USADA thing. We meet with the UFC this week to see what he wants to do. Dana White really loves Anthony Johnson. How can you not love Anthony Johnson? He’s terrifying!”
After leaving the sport, ‘Rumble’ said he was going to enter into the marijuana business, while he also cited the danger of concussions and CTE as reasons why he doesn’t want to fight long term.
RUMBLE! @Anthony_Rumble KOs @gloverteixeira in just 13 seconds! That's a scary man! 🔥 #UFC202 https://t.co/n2BeL4Ev8D
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) August 21, 2016
