BUFFALO, N.Y. — The UFC bid adieu to one of its best knockout artists on Saturday night.
Following his UFC 210 loss to Daniel Cormier in the light heavyweight championship fight, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson announced his retirement while addressing the crowd at KeyBank Center.
“This is something I have to do for me,” Johnson told Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview. “I love you all. … This was my last fight. I didn’t even tell (UFC president) Dana White. I didn’t tell anybody. I didn’t want there to be any distraction. I have to thank you all for being there for me.”
Johnson explained that he wants to focus his energy on another career.
“I gave my commitment to another job, something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” Johnson said. “It’s not MMA-related or anything like that. It’s just time for me to move on to something else. I’m tired of getting punched by guys and rolling around on the ground with guys and stuff like that. Ain’t nothing fun about that.”
Johnson did not specify during the post-fight press conference what exactly he will be doing with his career, but he ruled out speculation that he was joining the Los Angeles Rams organization as a player or front-office member.
Rumble ends his career with a 22-6 record and 16 knockout victories. He won 12 of his final 14 fights and his only two losses in that span came at the hands of Cormier in title bouts.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
