Anthony Johnson reveals new venture after retirement from MMA

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.

“This was my last fight. I didn’t tell anybody,” a tear-eyed Rumble told Joe Rogan after his loss to Cormier. “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.”

While Rumble made his plans to retire from MMA very clear, he kept the details of his new venture quite secretive. For a moment, there were widespread rumors that he would be getting involved with the LA Rams, though he was quick to shut these rumors down.

Now, Rumble has shared the details on this next phase of his career. From the sounds of it, he’s about to enter the marijuana industry. Given that the drug is on the cusp of legalization in much of the United States in Canada, this new venture could turn out to be quite lucrative.

“We’re opening up a facility, if you know what I mean,” Johnson told Booker T on his “Heated Conversations” show. “It’s for medical uses. We got some good things going on. 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.”

What do you think of Anthony Johnson’s new plans?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/14/2017.