After being submitted in the second round of his rematch with light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York last month, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson shockingly announced his retirement from active competition. At age 33, “Rumble” is still in the athletic prime of his career, but he cited a new opportunity outside of fighting as the reason for his retirement.
Little has been said regarding his future since, but Johnson recently revealed the industry he’s heading into and it may surprise you:
“My friend Paul, he’s in cannabis,” Johnson told former WWE star Booker T on his “Heated Conversations” show. “We’re opening up a facility, if you know what I mean,” “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.”
This may indeed be the new opportunity Johnson discussed in the immediate aftermath of his bout with Cormier, but he also says health concerns played a factor in deciding to hang up his gloves:
“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.”
“If those guys want to go in there and do that to themselves, go ahead, that’s your life, that’s your body, that’s your future,” he said. “But for me, I’m destined to do something greater.”
“I just couldn’t do it anymore. You gotta go in there and do your thing. You’ve gotta make your money and get out. That’s why Conor McGregor is killing it. He’s straight killing it.”
At the end of the day, Johnson is young enough to make a return to MMA, but he confirmed that he’s ‘not about that life’ anymore:
“That’s not me,” Johnson said. “When I say I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna do it. I’m finished, man. … I’m not about that life anymore.”
What do you make of “Rumble’s” comments?
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