Former two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson retired from competition in 2017, but has recently been teasing a comeback.
Johnson has stated repeatedly that he’s interested in returning to the cage for the right price, specifying that he wants to fight at heavyweight in his prospective comeback.
“I’m trying to get my slim on, you know what I mean?” Johnson told The Mac Life back in November. “I was up to probably 280 and that was the worst I’ve ever been. That’s the worst anyone’s ever gonna see me and I’ll never be back up there again. But I needed it to happen. I needed to hit rock bottom as far as the way I was, going to the gym and taking care of myself. Going to the gym since I was eight, it can take a lot of wear and tear on any human being, so I’m glad I took the break that I took.
“I’m coming back now and I feel a lot better, my punches are stronger, harder, faster,” Johnson added. “The other day my coach said, ‘AJ, you’re still dangerous.’ He walked up to me after – this was the second time he saw me spar, because he’s been gone – he came up to me and said, ‘AJ, you’re still dangerous. You’re still very fast and punch hard.’ I’ve knocked out two people already in training in the first two days of sparring so I feel like everything is clicking.”
While it’s been no secret that Johnson wants to fight again, the setting of his potential return has remained a mystery. That being said, the former title challenger recently gave reason to believe it could happen at UFC 248 on March 7 in Las Vegas.
UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena https://t.co/oJSmmty6vf
— Rumble Johnson (@Anthony_Rumble) January 21, 2020
“UFC 248 at T-Mobile Arena,” Johnson wrote out of nowhere on Twitter.
UFC 248 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between champ Israel Adesanya and challenger Yoel Romero, and co-headlined by a strawweight title fight between champ Weili Zhang and challenger Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Would you like to see Anthony Johnson return on this card?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/21/2020.