Retired Anthony Johnson Says He's ‘Getting That Itch’ After Gustafsson's KO of Teixeira
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is already feeling like he needs to scratch something specific.
Johnson, 33, was choked out in the second round of his April 8 Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York and abruptly announced his retirement from MMA after 28 bouts in 10-plus years. Retirements in MMA are viewed with suspicion, as so many high-profile fighters have returned to action not long after hanging up their gloves. However, watching two former opponents square off in the main event of this past Sunday's UFC Fight Night 109 card in Stockholm, Sweden seems to have stoked a fire inside of Johnson even more quickly than we're used to.
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I'm getting that itch!
— Anthony Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble) May 28, 2017
Show these boy's how to throw an uppercut the Right way!
Johnson owns knockouts over both Gustaffson and Teixeira. In Janaury 2015, “Rumble” earned his first UFC light heavyweight title shot by destroying Gustafsson in front of 30,000 Swedish fans at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm. Following his first title loss to Cormier in May of that year, Johnson ripped off three straight knockouts to earn his second crack at “D.C.” earlier this year. Following demolitions of Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader, Johnson brutally destroyed Teixeira, knocking him out cold in a mere 13 seconds at UFC 202 last August.
Immediately following Johnson's MMA retirement, it was rumored that he would attempt a pro football career and may try out for the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams. Johnson shot down those rumors, but recently told professional wrestling star Booker T on his “Heated Conversations” podcast that he was looking to get involved in the medical cannabis business.
“We’re opening up a facility, if you know what I mean. It’s for medical uses, We got some good things going on,” Johnson said. “It’s already big. We're just waiting for that law to pass and whenever it passes, we’re golden. We're playing our cards right, we're playing by the book, so that way there’s no issue.”
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