Anthony “Rumble” Johnson expected to sign with Bellator
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is back. Except he’s no longer fighting with the UFC.
The former two-time UFC title challenger will now take his talents to Bellator. ESPN was first to report the news.
Earlier this year, Johnson announced that he was going to come out of retirement and fight again after being out of the sport for three years. Of course the initial thought was that he’d fight in the UFC, but according to ESPN’s report, Johnson and the UFC mutually parted ways making Johnson a free agent.
This marks the second time that Johnson and UFC have parted ways. Johnson debuted with the UFC in 2007 at welterweight and was cut by the promotion in 2012. He returned to the UFC in 2014, this time as a light heavyweight where he went on to become a hard-hitting knockout specialist who was loved by fans across the world.
Johnson (22-6) is expected to fight in Bellator’s light heavyweight division and he will make his Bellator debut in the first half of 2021.
The 36-year-old last fought at UFC 210 in April of 2017. He lost that fight to then UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier by a second round submission. Johnson retired in the octagon following the fight.
Johnson’s other UFC title opportunity came in May of 2015 at UFC 187. He also lost that fight to Cormier, which was for the vacant light heavyweight title. The title was vacated after Jon Jones was arrested in a hit-and-run incident.
