Many fans were left shocked when Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson announced his retirement in 2017 after an unsuccessful attempt to win the light-heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier, but it seems he’s finally had a change of heart and is planning his comeback.
According to Johnson’s manager, Ali Abelaziz, Johnson is about to re-enter USADA’s drug-testing program with the intention of making his comeback to the Octagon in March of 2020.
The 35-year-old plans to step up a weight class and compete at heavyweight upon his return and has targeted big name opponents like Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos for his comeback fight.
One of the heaviest hitters in the history of the sport, Johnson demonstrated knockout power at both welterweight and light-heavyweight during his career to date, including registering clean KO victories over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira in te lead-in to his title defeat.
Johnson also does have prior experience at heavyweight, having taken one fight in the division against Andre Arlovski during his time in the WSOF promotion back in 2013.
Johnson would win the fight by decision, but actually broke Arlovski’s jaw earlier in the fight.
Meanwhile, Johnson has also just been cleared of a misdemeanor battery charge after reaching a plea deal that will see him attend an anger management course in exchange for his case being dismissed.
