Manager: Anthony Johnson ‘will fight again for sure’, wants to return at heavyweight against Jon Jones

Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s retirement in April 2017 came as quite the surprise to the MMA community. But like most things, it may not last forever.

Since his retirement, Rumble has gotten into bodybuilding and started his own marijuana business.

However, it seems like that MMA itch may be needing to get scratched again as his manager Ali Abdelaziz spoke on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show today and stated that the two-time light heavyweight title challenger will be making a come back at some point in the future.

“I talked to Rumble last week, right? And he said if Jon Jones fought DC (Daniel Cormier) as a heavyweight, and if Jon wins, he wants to come back and this is the only fight he thinks he’d come back to fight, Jon Jones.

Anthony Johnson is 285-pounds [right now]. He wants to come back as a heavyweight. But I think it [will] have to be something different. He can’t just come back. He misses the sport and says he will come back to fight someone like Jon Jones.

He’s just having fun [with the bodybuilding]. He’s been in the sport for a long time, he’s resting his body, he’s having fun. He will fight again for sure. For sure, 100 percent.”

Due to Johnson’s retirement, upon his return, he will have to go through the standard six months of drug testing as he re-enters the USADA testing pool. Which could end up lining things up perfectly for his dream scenario assuming things play out the right way and assuming he re-enters sooner rather than later.

Johnson was supposed to face Jon Jones at UFC 187 in May 2015 but the fight was canceled when Jones got into legal troubles after his hit-and-run incident that forced the stripping of his title. Johnson instead fought Daniel Cormier for the vacant title in which Cormier would win via third-round submission.

Johnson’s final fight last year also came against Cormier and the outcome was even the same except it came one round earlier in the second.

Cormier is the only man to have defeated Johnson in fights that took place at 205-pounds or higher. He is 12-2 in his last 14 (22-6 career record overall).

As for Jones, his next fight will take place at UFC 232 on December 29 when he rematches Alexander Gustafsson for what will be at the time, the vacant light heavyweight title.

on 11/5/2018