It’s been almost two years since Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson unexpectedly retired from the sport and it seems that absence hasn’t made the heart go fonder in his case as he’s in no rush to return, despite still only being 34-years-old.
However, there is one fight he would strap his gloves back on for – and that’s the chance to fight all-time-great Jon Jones, but only on the condition that it takes place at heavyweight.
“The only way I’d come out of retirement is if Jon Jones goes to heavyweight, and then that’s when I’ll come out of retirement and fight Jon,” Johnson told the Into The Weeds podcast. “I mean, that’s the only guy I want to fight, because after him, I can officially say I did my job, my mission is complete. Although I didn’t win a title, I fought the best of the best. I can go to sleep at night.”
There had been talk of Jones and Johnson fighting in the past and it certainly would have been an interesting fight, with ‘Rumble’ being one of the hardest punchers the sport has ever seen, having knocked out the likes of Glover Teixeira, Ryan Bader, Jimi Manuwa, Alexander Gustafsson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his second stint in the UFC.
That being said, there is one big stumbling block if the UFC ever did try to make a fight between them a reality – Johnson hasn’t trained since he last stepped out of the Octagon.
“I haven’t trained since my last fight. I’ve been so focused on the cannabis and CBD, MMA just, I had to make everything else take a back seat, you know what I mean? I had to give it my undivided attention.”
