UFC president Dana White claims long-time light-heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson has “sort of disappeared” after talking about his desire to return to fighting. Speaking to media post-fight at UFC on ESPN 11 White said he had held initial talks about Johnson returning to the sport but he hadn’t heard from the ferocious knockout artist in a while.
“You know what, there was talk about it for a minute and then it all stopped and he sort of disappeared again,” White said. “Listen, it is good because if you don’t wanna fight and if you walked away the first time, and you’re coming back for what? What are you coming back for? If it’s just a payday, he’s a smart kid he can go do a lot of other things man.”
“This is a young man’s game,” White continued when speaking on Anthony Johnson. “These up and coming kids are savages. Look at this [Josh] Emmett and [Shane] Burgos fight. Both of those guys looking for the credit and the respect they feel they deserve. Those are the type of dudes you’re gonna fight. This is a young man’s game.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Speaking to MMA Junkie earlier this year Johnson revealed watching Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic rematch at UFC 241 had motivated him to return to fighting, he said.
“(It was) DC and Stipe 2 (at UFC 241),” he said. “I was actually watching them fight, saw them fight, and that was actually probably the third or fourth fight I’d watched since I retired. When I said I was done with MMA I was really done with MMA. At least, mentally I felt like I was done. I saw them fight, saw them go at it. They were the two best guys at that time. They displayed so much skill and talent. Everybody else probably saw a normal fight where they weren’t doing that much, but I saw skill, talent, the timing, the setups. Everything was at such a high level. It just made me say, ‘You know what, I can still do that, so I’m going to go out there and give it a shot.’”
Do you think Dana White can convince Anthony Johnson to return to MMA?