Despite his sudden and somewhat surprising retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA), it appears fight fans have not seen the last of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title contender, Anthony Johnson.
Well, so long as Jon Jones is around.
That’s according to manager Ali Abdelaziz, who is convinced “Rumble” and his newfound affinity for bodybuilding will make his Octagon comeback in a heavyweight showdown opposite Jones at some point in 2019 (or beyond).
“Anthony Johnson is 285 pounds right now, he wants to come back as a heavyweight,” Abdelaziz told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “He misses the sport and says he will come back to fight someone like Jon Jones. He’s resting his body. He’s having fun. He will fight again for sure, 100 percent.”
The last time Johnson (22-6) was inside the cage, he was surrendering to reigning light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, at UFC 210. “DC” has been the only fighter to stop “Rumble” at 205 pounds after watching him decapitate the rest of the field.
Including two-time title contender Alexander Gustafsson.
Based on his big balls current physique, it’s hard to imagine Johnson as a welterweight, a place he frequently competed earlier in his career. A hasty move up to middleweight yielded little fruit, so the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) slugger kept heading north.
Next stop, 265 pounds? Prob require yet another massive weight cut!