Retired Anthony Johnson teases return after watching Gustafsson knock out Teixeira

Could Anthony Johnson’s MMA retirement be short-lived?

Johnson (22-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) abruptly announced the end of his career last month following a title-fight loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210. Despite being one of the top-ranked fighters in the sport, “Rumble” said his desire to explore opportunities outside of combat sports made it the right time to walk away.

Less than two months later, though, Johnson claims he’s getting the itch to compete. He tweeted as much following Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 109 headliner in Stockholm, where Alexander Gustafsson scored a fifth-round knockout of Glover Teixeira in a crucial clash of 205-pound contenders.

Johnson, 33, owns first-round knockout victories over both Gustafsson (18-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Teixeira (26-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC). He stopped “The Mauler” in front of his home town at UFC on FOX 14 in January 2015 and put Teixeira away in just 13 seconds at UFC 202 in August.

With Johnson apparently retired, though, both men have risen up the ranks and take up more of the spotlight. Now it appears Johnson could be headed back to the spot to reclaim his territory.

For more on UFC Fight Night 109, check out the UFC Events section of the site.