Anthony Johnson will seek counseling and make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity after an incident with a woman at his gym and a subsequent angry Facebook status last week, the UFC announced Monday.
In a statement, the UFC said that it was “extremely disappointed” with Johnson’s recent behavior. Johnson apologized to the woman for the incident and the “insensitive” social media post afterward, the UFC said. According to the UFC, the woman accepted the apology and wanted to put things behind her.
Last Tuesday, Johnson posted a nasty rant on Facebook, calling the woman “ugly” and saying she looked like a “bag of dry dog food.” “Rumble,” a UFC light heavyweight contender, was angry because the woman was allegedly stretching near where people were lifting at the gym. Most concerning was that Johnson referenced picking up the woman’s yoga mat from underneath her and throwing it.
Johnson, 31, apologized one day later and the UFC said it would be launching a third-party investigation into the incident.
“Rumble” has a history of domestic violence. He was suspended by the UFC last year and later cleared after a woman claiming to be the mother of his children accused him of abuse. In 2010, Johnson pleaded no contest to a separate domestic violence charge.
The UFC’s full statement from Monday is below:
Following a thorough investigation by a third-party law firm, UFC® is extremely disappointed with Anthony Johnson’s recent actions, as the organization does not tolerate behavior of this nature from any athletes under contract with the UFC. Johnson personally apologized to the woman he verbally offended at a Florida gym last week and for the insensitive comments he made on social media afterwards. The woman accepted Johnson’s apology and indicated a desire to put this unfortunate matter behind them. In order to ensure these situations do not happen in the future, Johnson has agreed to participate in counseling and UFC will support him through this process. Johnson has also agreed to make a donation to a Florida-based women’s charity.