Anthony Johnson

Anthony Kewoa Johnson (March 6, 1984 – November 13, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist.

He spent most of his career competing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a multiple time title challenger, before ending his career with a single fight with Bellator MMA.

He fought in the welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

He was known by his nickname, Rumble, which he was given because of his one-punch knockout power.

Johnson's next fight was against Kevin Burns, at UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin aired live on Spike TV on July 19, 2008.

Johnson was repeatedly poked in the eyes throughout the bout, with Burns receiving multiple warnings.

In round three, Johnson would again be poked in the eye, resulting in a cracked retina that rendered him unable to continue.

However, referee Steve Mazzagatti controversially declared Burns the winner via technical knockout.

Johnson appealed the loss, but it was denied due to a 'lack of remedy'.

Johnson fought Kevin Burns again in a rematch at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.

Johnson won the match by knocking Burns out via head kick.

The knockout was awarded "Knockout of The Night" and a $25,000 bonus.

Johnson fought Luigi Fioravanti at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens on February 7, 2009.

He won via technical knockout in the first round.

Johnson was scheduled to fight Matt Brown at the TUF 9 Finale, but had to pull out after suffering a knee injury.

Johnson instead fought Japanese judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 104.

Johnson weighed in at 176 pounds, five pounds over the welterweight non-title bout limit of 171, and was forced to forfeit 20% of his fight purse.

Johnson knocked out Yoshida 41 seconds into the first round, but was not eligible for the Knockout of the Night bonus due to missing weight.

Since he had taken very little damage during his fight with Yoshida, Johnson made a quick turnaround and faced Josh Koscheck on November 21, 2009, at UFC 106.

Both Johnson and Koscheck were awarded Fight of the Night honors for the contest, which saw Koscheck win via rear naked choke.

Johnson was expected to face John Howard on March 21, 2010, at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones, but had to pull out due to suffering a knee injury in training.

Because of the knee injury, Johnson considered a move to the middleweight division of the UFC.

Johnson indicated on the June 4, 2010, episode of Inside MMA that he must typically lose 55 pounds to make 170.

Despite this, Johnson said that although he may take a fight at 185, he does not plan to remain there and intends to stay at 170.

He also had a small acting role as a fighter in a large international mixed martial arts tournament called Sparta in the 2011 film Warrior.

Johnson returned to the octagon in early 2011.

He was the number 1 ranked light heavyweight contender in official UFC rankings, and was ranked number 2 in the world by Sherdog and ESPN, before his retirement in April 2017.

Johnson later came out of retirement in May 2021 and won his last fight by knockout.

Anthony Kewoa Johnson was born in Dublin, Georgia.

He was raised by his grandparents who formally adopted him at age 2.

Early in life, his heroes were his grandfather and the football player Walter Payton.

He went to West Laurens High School and then attended Lassen College in Susanville, California on a wrestling scholarship, and became a junior college national wrestling champion.

After college, he worked as a bouncer and entered mixed martial arts at age 20, after a friend suggested it due to his wrestling background.

Johnson made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 10, knocking out Chad Reiner just thirteen seconds into the first round.

He had taken the fight on less than a week's notice, replacing an injured Steve Bruno, who had torn his rotator cuff.

He was also seen in a previous video for The Ultimate Fighter trying out for season six, however for undisclosed reasons he was not on the show.

In his next bout, he faced Rich Clementi at UFC 76.

He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round two.

After his first professional loss, Johnson then faced Tom Speer at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon.

He won the fight via knockout early in round one.