Anthony Johnson Details Shocking Retirement At UFC 210

Top-ranked knockout slugger Anthony Johnson shocked the MMA community when he decided to retire following a second submission loss to current champion Daniel Cormier (full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (April 8, 2017) UFC 210 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.

The emotional announcement came in the immediate seconds after a strange bout where “Rumble” decided to meet Cormier full-on in his glaring areas of strength – wrestling and clinch work – despite having a ton of success and potentially even breaking “DC’s” nose when he did use his immeasurable striking power. “Rumble” thanked the fans and told them he had a business opportunity he’d been wanting to try for a long time arise.

After the loss and subsequent announcement, Johnson elaborated on the surprising scene at the post-fight presser (quotes via MMA Fighting), calling his retirement from fighting ‘just business’ and ruling out a rumor that instantly began circling on social media:

“It’s just business,” Johnson said. “I want to do something besides going to the gym everyday punching and kicking and rolling around with another dude. That sh*t gets old. I’ve been doing this for so long, I’ve been in sports since I was 8, it’s just time to move on to something different. I won’t say better, but just different.

“And no, I am not about to play football for the (Los Angeles) Rams. Because everybody’s hitting me up and saying some crazy stuff about (how) I’m about to play for the Rams. Why would I go into another sport that’s the same thing as this, and you take all this impact and stuff? That’s absolutely insane.”

With that out of the way, Johnson moved on to address his mindset during the fight, a bout where he implemented such a strange, counterintuitive gameplan that many wondered if he was simply checked out and ready to move on with his life.

Johnson denied that, noting that he had the utmost respect for and enjoyment throughout his UFC journey:

“I was just soaking it all in. But no matter what, I was going to go out there and do my best. I hadn’t checked out or anything, but I knew what I needed to do regardless. And of course, I’m an athlete. I’ve always been an athlete, so I wanted to go out on top. It’s been a fun ride. Honestly, it leaves you kind of speechless. You just don’t know what to say, really.

“Every fight to me was a career highlight. I’ve just had so much fun, from my very first fight in the UFC until now.”

While he insisted he hadn’t given up, however, that may not quiet the grumbling of the angry Sunday morning mob of MMA fans who still vehemently question the fact that he lost to Cormier a second time the exact same way he lost their first match – only sooner the second time.

Again “Rumble” denied those suggestions, adding that he after his early success of keeping his cool, he went away from the plan and starting meeting Cormier in his areas of expertise:

“I felt great,” Johnson said. “I trained my butt off to fight Daniel. You still saw ‘Rumble’ out there trying to knock heads off and going out there and give it his all. So, I went out there and did my thing, and whatever happened was going to happen, so I wasn’t really worried about anything.

“The game plan was to win. Keep my composure, control the pace and things like that. And just in the middle of the fight, I just kind of fell off track and started playing his game, which was wrestling and things like that. I felt fine. I felt great. It wasn’t like I was tired. He beat me. I don’t take anything away from him.”

So the incredibly shallow and top-heavy light heavyweight will move on without arguably its most exciting competitor. It seems like a foregone conclusion that the UFC will book Cormier vs. Jones once again, but as we’ve seen with seemingly countless tries before, that fight happening is the furthest thing possible from a guarantee.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess as to where the formerly storied 205-pound landscape will head – and it’s almost just as uncertain where Johnson’s path leads next , at least for now.