Johnson retired from MMA at age 33. (Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC)
Minutes after being finished by Daniel Cormier in the main fight of UFC 210, held last Saturday (08), in Buffalo (USA), in a duel valid for the light heavyweight belt, Anthony Johnson shocked the world by announcing his retirement from MMA. Still in the octagon, the now ex-fighter was asked by Joe Rogan, Ultimate commentator, the reason that led him to make such a decision, but 'Rumble' limited himself to saying that he would work in other areas.
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As it could not be otherwise, the subject was discussed again in the post-event press conference, but Johnson once again expressed concern about his future, but assured that he will not play in American football, a possibility raised after the athlete filled his Twitter profile with images and tributes to the NFL team Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s just business. I want to do something besides go to the gym every day and punch, kick and roll with another guy. This s*** is tiring. I've been doing this for a long time, I've been playing sports since I was 8 years old. It's time to move on to something different. I won't say something better, but different. And no, I'm not going to play football with the Rams. Why would I go to another sport that is the same as this, and you take all this impact? This is absolutely insane,” he said
Despite seeming very determined about retirement, Johnson did not rule out a return to MMA when asked about the confrontation against Jon Jones, which ended up never getting off the ground.
“I'm an alpha male, he's an alpha male. I wanted to see what I could do against him. I'm almost sure he wanted to see what he could do against me, because you (the press) talked about it so much, that I was the guy to defeat him. But I feel like I'm more, I don't know if sad or disappointed, for the fans, because I know they really wanted to see this. Day in and day out, people always talked about me and Jon Jones we fought, and it just never happened. Maybe if I decide to come back one day, we can fight at heavyweight or something like that,” concluded Johnson.
At 33, Anthony Johnson leaves MMA with a record of 22 wins and six losses. In the UFC, there were 19 fights, with 13 positive results and six negative results, having performed in three different categories: welterweight (up to 77kg), middleweight (up to 84kg) and light heavyweight (up to 93kg).
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