Former Bellator fighter at the second-largest MMA event in the United States, two-time UFC heavyweight title challenger, and KO "artist" Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, has died. He was only 38 years old.
Many high-profile figures in the MMA world posted on social media to begin spreading the word about Johnson's death. His agent, Ali Abdelaziz, did not immediately reply to confirm the news.
After the overwhelming news about Johnson's death on social media, sources have confirmed the news today. Johnson allegedly died of organ failure due to non-Hodgkin lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare immune system disorder.
Johnson's most impressive impressions were the 2007-2012 and 2014-2017 races. His first upgrade saw his prospect as a welterweight fighter with unparalleled knockout ability, hence the nickname "Weight Loss Brother", while his second upgrade was as a light heavyweight fighter.
During his time in the UFC, Johnson had a 13-5 record, with all but two of them won by knockouts. It was during Johnson's second UFC bout that he defeated Glover Teixeira, Ryan Bader, Alexander Gustafsson, Phil Davis, Andrei Arlovski, and Dan Hardy, one of the most famous fighters in UFC history Dan Hardy, and won the challenge to the two-time light heavyweight title.
Johnson, nicknamed "Rumble" in the octagon, fought the UFC Light Heavyweight Title with "Black Ball" Daniel Cormier twice in May 2015 and April 2017, both of which were defeated by "Black Ball" submissions. He announced his retirement after losing to Dankomir in the 2017 UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight, but returned in 2021 and made one appearance for the Bellator, defeating Jose Augusto in the second round of knockout. In October 2021, Johnson had intended to face Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov in a major bout, but he was forced to withdraw from that match due to an undisclosed illness.
In January, Bellator president Scott Cook confirmed to the media that Johnson was dealing with health issues and that the timing of his comeback was unclear. "With less clarity about his medical condition, the first thing he had to worry about was his health," Cook said. "He has to heal and get fit because there's a lot more to do in life than just playing. I want him to live a long and healthy life, that's the most important thing. ”
Johnson's professional MMA record is 23-6, with 17 of those wins coming from KO/TKO.