Anthony Johnson is officially making his return to the octagon.
In November 2019, Johnson got the mixed martial arts world buzzing when he announced his return to the octagon. The 36-year-old last fought at UFC 210 against Daniel Cormier; however, the light heavyweight ended up suffering his second consecutive loss to the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
However, nearly one year later, and Johnson has finally re-entered the USADA testing pool this week. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Johnson’s manager states that the veteran will make his return as a 205-pound fighter.
While Johnson has competed as a heavyweight in the past, “Rumble” mainly got his success throughout the light heavyweight division, with notable wins over Antônio Rogério Nogueira, Alexander Gustafsson, Ryan Bader, and Glover Teixeira.
Johnson did challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight title twice in his career; however, the returning UFC star failed to beat Daniel Cormier on both occasions. During a BKFC press conference, Johnson ultimately explains why he decided to make his return despite speaking out against guys making a comeback from retirement (Transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting):
“Honestly, I missed the sport,” Johnson explained. “I missed competing. So I know at one point I was against guys coming back from retirement. You usually see them getting mopped up. B.J. Penn came back got mopped. I’ve seen everybody that came out of retirement get mopped up.”
“I just don’t want to be one of those guys to get mopped up but I still feel good,” Johnson said. “I have no injuries. While I was in the UFC, I didn’t get hit much unless I lost and that wasn’t often.”
At the moment, there’s not an exact date for Johnson’s return, though it is expected of the veteran to comeback into the UFC. Johnson hasn’t fought in three years and has a record of 22 wins and 6 losses.