Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson shocked the MMA world when he announced his retirement from MMA in the Octagon at UFC 210 last month, claiming that he had committed to taking a new job outside of the sport, though he stopped short of saying what it was at the time.
The rumor mill went into overdrive afterwards, with the initial claim being that he was going to be joining the LA Rams as a coach.
However, despite his coach Henri Hooft appearing to confirm that was the case, it turns out that Johnson’s new venture has nothing to do with that.
Instead, Johnson revealed this past weekend that he’s actually getting into the legal marijuana business.
“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.”
Johnson went on to reveal that concerns over his long-term health fueled his decision to hang up his gloves, despite still being on the best light-heavyweights on the planet.
“My health, man,” Johnson said. “You hear about CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and all this other stuff. Head injuries. You’re harming your body playing football and stuff like that, but this stuff can happen just as fast in mixed martial arts as any other sport, because we’re constantly beating on each other. I love myself, you know what I’m saying? A lot of guys don’t think about that.”
Backstage after his last fight Johnson had appeared to leave the door open for potentially one day returning to the sport to fight Jon Jones, but on reflection it appears he’s now decided that’s no longer going to be an option he’d be looking to pursue.
“I’m finished, man. … I’m not about that life anymore.”
