Anthony Johnson rumbles no more.
After failing in his second bid to win the UFC light heavyweight championship, losing via a second-round submission to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 on Saturday in New York, Johnson surprisingly retired.
That was the plan all along, according to Johnson, who said that he went into the Cormier rematch having decided, win or lose, he was done fighting. He apparently has a lucrative endeavor awaiting him and decided that now was the time to quit getting punched in the face for a living.
And no, waking up Monday morning, Johnson didn’t have a sudden change of heart. In fact, in a statement he released via Instagram, he sounds excited to do away with the Rumble moniker and pursue life simply as AJ.
“A new beginning starts today and I am so happy about that,” Johnson wrote. “My body can recover and I can focus on something different other than MMA.
“My life has been amazing and I haven’t come close to scratching the surface. I’ll miss MMA and every aspect of the game, but my time is over and I’m ready to watch (a) new generation take over.
“Now I can be Anthony Johnson/AJ and not Anthony Rumble Johnson!”
