It has been over two years since the last time that Anthony Johnson competed, which was a second round submission loss to former two division UFC champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 210.
Johnson would announce his retirement a short time after that defeat, but it looks like the fighter known as “Rumble” is going to be returning to the Octagon.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN, citing Johnson’s agent in Ali Abdelaziz, is reporting that Johnson is going to return to the UFC next year and is going to be competing at heavyweight. Johnson has reportedly filed paperwork with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and must be tested for six months before he can compete in the UFC again.
Abdelaziz told Okamoto that Johnson can fight again in March of next year, so Johnson may already be undergoing drug testing from USADA. A returning Johnson isn’t granting interviews at this time according to the report, but Abdelaziz told Okamoto that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem are foes that interest Johnson.
A potentially returning Johnson’s professional MMA record currently sits at 22-6 and that includes two light heavyweight title bout losses to the aforementioned Cormier.
