Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, former UFC champion, has died. He was 38. TMZ reported that Johnson died over the weekend – following an “undisclosed sickness.”
UFC president, Dana White, confirmed the information on his Instagram. “RIP Anthony “Rumble” Johnson,” White wrote over an image of the combined martial artist on his Instagram Story.
The Bellator MMA promotion firm additionally shared the information through Twitter.
“It’s with nice unhappiness we acknowledge the passing of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson,” the tweet learn over a graphic of Johnson. “The BELLATOR household is devastated by his premature passing and we ship our condolences to his household and pals throughout this tough time.”
Fighter Daniel Cormier, additionally took to Twitter to pay tribute to Johnson, whom he confronted within the ring on quite a few events.
“Relaxation Simple my brother. For a man who struck worry in so many peoples coronary heart Anthony Johnson was a caring individual. From random textual content to test ins throughout loss. What an individual he was, Rumble might be missed. Generally life doesn’t appear truthful. Horrible information #RIP #Rumblesquad @Anthony_Rumble,” he wrote.
All through his profession in MMA, Johnson competed within the welterweight, middleweight and lightweight heavyweight divisions. Throughout his time within the sport, he was identified for his heavy punches — that usually result in knockouts.
Throughout Johnson’s profession, 17 out of his 23 wins had been by knockout or TKO.
Johnson formally retired from the game in 2017. In Might 2021, he got here out of retirement and defeated Jose Augusto by knockout, earlier than retreating out of the highlight.
Johnson additionally launched his personal CBD line, Aggressive Physique Improvement — following his profession in combined martial arts. In September 2021, Johnson took to his Instagram to ask his followers for prayers.
“Actually want I may go into element about how unwell I actually am. Simply know I would like as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 … God keen,” he wrote. “By no means been this afraid of something in my life however I’ve remained robust with the assist of my family and friends.”
Johnson famous within the submit that he was not battling COVID-19. Nevertheless, he mentioned, “that is gonna be a battle and I’m gonna should dig deeper than ever earlier than.”
In Might, Johnson celebrated getting excellent news from his physician. Johnson’s remaining submit was on October 21.
Johnson is survived by his two kids.
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