UFC 210's 'Thrill and Agony' captures Anthony Johnson's backstage moment with coach Henri Hooft

Coach Henri Hooft took a lot of criticism from MMA fans who accused him of deserting his charge Anthony Johnson at UFC 210.

But as a preview of the UFC’s “The Thrill and the Agony” video shows, Hooft was there to share an embrace with Johnson after he retired.

“It’s alright, my man,” said Hooft as Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) meets him backstage this past Saturday at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. “I love you, you’re my brother.”

Johnson stops in his tracks, leaning on the coach as he breaks into tears.

“I love you too, man,” said the two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger, who’d just moments before retired in the octagon after his second loss to champ Daniel Cormier (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC). “I made the mistake. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about that, man,” Hooft replies. “We did a great thing together. … And we’re going to do more great things.”

As with past episodes of the behind-the-scenes feature, it’s an intensely raw moment captured amid the chaos of a UFC event. It also provides Hooft some validation after a controversy he unwittingly sparked. The full version is available on UFC Fight Pass.

As Hooft previously told MMAjunkie, he had no idea Johnson would retire after the fight, and following his usual routine of quickly heading backstage, was caught unaware as Johnson tried in vain to find him.

“If I knew that he was making a speech, or he said, ‘Listen, this is going to be my last fight, so stay here,’ that’s something different,” Hooft said. “But I had my emotional moment backstage.

“I heard (his retirement), and they said, ‘Hey, they want you back in the cage,’ and when I walked back, he was already out of the cage,” Hooft said. “I saw him where the doctors are, because that’s where I wanted to wait for him, and we shed a tear together.”

Although Hooft admitted he was intensely frustrated at the outcome, a reaction explicitly backed up by corner audio from the fight, he said he would never leave a fighter high and dry.

In the video, Johnson quickly moves on after the embrace and runs into ex-champ Jon Jones, whom he was supposed to fight at UFC 187 before the promotion stripped Jones of the title in the wake of a hit-and-run accident and installed Cormier in a bout for the vacant belt. Johnson and Jones share some friendly words and leave with a hug.

Johnson is now on to the next venture in his life, which Hooft said involves a job with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, though Johnson denied his new job had anything to do with football. He also retired his nickname, “Rumble,” and brushed off critics of his career.

Check out the video for an intimate look at the goings-on backstage at UFC 210.

And for complete coverage on the pay-per-view event, visit the UFC Events section of the site.