Anthony Johnson News

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

Just yesterday, Daniel Cormier spoke out on Anthony Johnson’s alleged return to the UFC in the heavyweight division. It wasn’t just that, but he told an in-depth story that took place backstage, detailing an interaction between him and then Jon Jones. Cormier had revealed he lost respect for his former opponent and called him ‘soft’, that he’d never look at him the same again. Well, Johnson got word of this and boy, did he have something to say about it. “Damn D.C. didn’t know you were salty cuz I talk to the 1 guy that knocked you out. F-cking soft is what you called me, oh well that’s your opinion. Saying I gave Jon [Jones] advice lol buddy what advice is there to give him? I wasn’t fighting either one of you, so there’s no point of giving advice. That’s not my style! I believe in fair fights period.”

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

Jon Jones is gone for the time being, Daniel Cormier has been handed the UFC light heavyweight belt again, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is retired (for now). The division is both old and new; clean yet warped. On the supposed verge of Johnson’s return to a heavier division, Cormier made some comments about Johnson’s super quick comeback. Talking about Rumble brought some experiences back from UFC 214, causing Daniel Cormier to tell a story about he’ll interact with Johnson different from now on. “Rumble Johnson and I have always been respectful with each other, but something happened at UFC 214 that has forever made me change the way I’m going to interact with Anthony Johnson. So, I walk into the back of the weigh-ins for UFC 214, and there’s Rumble. And I go up to Rumble and he says ‘what’s up DC? You look good.’ Give him a hug, and I say ‘hey man, I hope you’re enjoying your retirement. You seem happy. I wish you nothing but continued success’, and I go about my business — as much as you’d expect two guys who have competed and ave respect for each other would interact. Then in walks Jon Jones, and I expect him to — a guy he was supposed to fight, and may at some point still fight — give him the same type of conversation and kind of keep it moving, as a man. But Jon walks in, they give each other the shake and the hug, and they talk a little bit. And the conversation seems like Anthony is almost giving him advice … like pre-fight stuff.”

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

While nothing is official, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson’s manager revealed that Johnson would be meeting with the UFC to discuss a potential comeback. This time, he’d be entering into the heavyweight division. The former two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger just retired back at UFC 210 in April this year. Daniel Cormier thinks Johnson should have took a little bit of more time before decided to come back that fast and details why on the recent episode of his podcast. “Here’s the thing. There’s something that’s kind of bothering me right now. News that Anthony Johnson is coming out of retirement. First off, I feel like if he was going to retire maybe he should have stayed retired a little bit longer. Because when you do that, you come back this quick, it just kind of feels like ‘oh you were mad because you lost, so you just quit’. Right? It’s not even a six month retirement. So, it feels kind of like you were mad because you lost, and you kind of just quit. That’s not the way things are supposed to be, you know?” — Daniel Cormier on his Talk and Talker podcast. 

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2017

Shortly after his UFC 210 disappointing loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, long-time light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson announced his decision to retire from mixed martial arts. Though he did leave the door open for a potential heavyweight showdown with Jon Jones sometime down the road, it really did sound like “Rumble” had fought his last fight. While the light heavyweight star has apparently been doing well in his ventures outside the cage, he must be getting the so-called itch again, because according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, he’s meeting with the UFC to discuss a possible comeback fight at heavyweight.

Tom Taylor - July 31, 2017

Shortly after his UFC 210 loss to then light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, brick fisted contender Anthony Johnson announced his plan to retire from MMA. While the fighter nicknamed “Rumble” assured his retirement was probably for good, he did suggest he’d be willing to come back for a future bout with light heavyweight great Jon Jones. After Jones’ UFC 214 destruction of Daniel Cormier, which he witnessed live, Rumble’s interest in a comeback seems to be inflating. He discussed the possibility on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - July 30, 2017

Last night, in the first bout of the stacked UFC 214 main card, Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir stepped onto the canvas with British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa in perceived light heavyweight number-one-contender fight. Though Oezdemir entered this fight as noteworthy underdog, he passed his test with flying colors, mauling his accomplished foe to a first-round knockout victory. Because this bout was just Oezdemir’s third in the UFC, his emphatic defeat of Manuwa might have come as a bit of a surprise to many members of the MMA community. Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson, however, was not surprised at all. Having spent the last few weeks training with Oezdemir at Combat Club in Lantana, Florida, he is well aware of what the Swiss bomber is capable of.

Russell Ess - June 23, 2017

Former UFC title contender Anthony Johnson shocked the MMA community when he announced his retirement following his light heavyweight title fight loss to champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in April. “This was my last fight,” Johnson told Joe Rogan in the post-fight Octagon interview. “I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t even tell Dana White. My coaches knew, my family knew and my friends knew. I didn’t want any distractions. But I have to thank you all for being there for me. I gave my commitment to another job. Something that I have wanted to do for a while. It is not MMA related or anything like that. It is just time for me to move on to something else. I’m tired of getting punched by guys and rolling around on the ground with guys and stuff like that. Ain’t nothing fun about that.”

Chris Taylor - May 28, 2017

Anthony Johnson weighs in on tonight’s main event scrap, says he is “getting that itch!” Following his second-round submission loss to current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at April’s UFC 210 event in Buffalo, knockout artist Anthony Johnson shocked fights fans by announcing his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2017

Last month, in the main event of UFC 210, Anthony Johnson came up short in his second attempt to claim UFC light heavyweight gold, succumbing to a submission dealt by champ Daniel Cormier. Despite this loss, the man nicknamed “Rumble” still stood out as one of the best 205-pound fighters on earth, which is why his subsequent retirement from MMA was so shocking. Rumble announced his retirement in the cage, hinting at a new opportunity that would keep him fed in his post fighting career.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

Shortly after his submission loss to light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 210, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson announced his plans to retire from mixed martial arts. Given that Rumble remained in the prime of his career, this news came as a definite surprise to pretty much everyone. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Rumble’s long-time teammate Michael Johnson weighed in on this surprising retirement from MMA.

bjpenndotcom - April 27, 2017

UFC light heavyweight Glover Teixeira is currently gearing up for his May scrap against former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in May in Stockholm, however he has been keeping a close eye on the light heavyweight title picture. Recently, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier successfully defended his light heavyweight championship against Anthony Johnson in the main event of UFC 210. Following the fight, Johnson left fight fans stunned as he retired from MMA. This was followed by Daniel Cormier’s post-fight Octagon interview, where he acknowledge Jimi Manuwa, a potential light heavyweight #1 contender who has been calling for a title shot for quite some time.

Tom Taylor - April 23, 2017

Shortly after his submission loss to light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 210, Anthony Johnson surprised the combat sports world by announcing his retirement from MMA. “This was my last fight,” a teary eyed Johnson said post fight. “I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t even tell Dana White. My coaches knew, my family knew and my friends knew. I didn’t want any distractions. But I have to thank you all for being there for me.”

bjpenndotcom - April 13, 2017

This past weekend at UFC 210, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier defeated Anthony Johnson in a highly anticipated rematch two years in the making. Prior to the fight however, Cormier made headlines for his controversial weigh-in. The champ stepped in the scale with just minutes to go until time was up, and weighed-in at 206.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the light heavyweight title fight limit of 205 pounds. Just over two minutes later, Cormier emerged from backstage and weighed-in once again, this time leaning on the privacy towel so as to offset his weight and assist him in making weight without having to cut the extra 1.2 pounds.

Russell Ess - April 13, 2017

You hear it all the time that in mixed martial arts, you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

bjpenndotcom - April 11, 2017

At UFC 210, light heavyweight top contender Anthony Johnson stepped into the Octagon with UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier for a highly anticipated rematch two years in the making. The showdown was a rather short one, as Johnson surprisingly opted to wrestle with Cormier rather than use his devastating knockout power to attempt to finish the champ. Ultimately, Cormier submitted Johnson, and retained his belt. Following the fight however, corner cam audio emerged of Johnson’s team frantically attempting to get their fighter to strike rather than wrestle. In a new interview, Johnson’s coach, Henri Hooft, spoke to MMAFighting about the strange gameplan, saying:

bjpenndotcom - April 11, 2017

In the main event of UFC 210 this past weekend, UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson stepped into the Octagon with light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier for a highly anticipated rematch two years in the making. When the fight started, many expected Johnson to look to score one of his signature highlight reel knockouts, however ‘Rumble’ surprised fans by opting to wrestle with Cormier, a former Olympian. This strategy proved to be an unsuccessful one for Johnson as he was submitted in the second round in similar fashion to his first loss to Cormier two years ago.

Chris Taylor - April 10, 2017

Coach claims Anthony Johnson’s post-MMA career ‘has to do with football’ Anthony “Rumble” Johnson shocked fans by announcing his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts following his second-round submission loss to Daniel Cormier at this past weekend’s UFC 210 pay-per-view event in Buffalo, New York.

Russell Ess - April 10, 2017

Following Anthony Johnson’s performance against Daniel Cormier in the UFC light heavyweight title rematch at UFC 210, “Rumble” announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts. With going in with a strange game plan and not listening to his coaches in the opening round, many fans including Johnson’s own corner were scratching their heads when “Rumble” decided to try and wrestle with Cormier instead of unleashing his vicious knockout power that he is known for, especially in the opening rounds.