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Anthony Johnson is going to make his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) … eventually.
The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title contender abruptly retired in the wake of his submission loss to Daniel Cormier roughly three years back, but his plans to become a marijuana mogul didn’t seem to pan out.
So “Rumble” hit the gym, instead.
Unfortunately for Johnson, 36, getting thick and swole isn’t enough to pay the bills these days, which is probably why the former welterweight is planning his UFC comeback. But that requires six consecutive months of clean drug testing.
Or one of those “special exemptions.”
“Probably next month, something like that,” Johnson told the media about re-entering the USADA testing pool (via MMA Fighting). “I mean everything’s going smooth. No date set yet. I just plan on catching a lot of bodies when I come back. That’s all I know. It don’t matter if it’s heavyweight or light heavyweight. I knock them all out, it don’t matter.”
After rejoining the promotion back in 2014, Johnson (22-6) put together a 6-2 run at 205 pounds with his only two losses coming against Cormier. Five of those six wins ended by way of devastating knockout, but “Rumble” never got the opportunity to throw down against light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.
Better late than never, I suppose.