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Anthony Johnson is planning on returning to the Octagon as unexpectedly as he had left.
Three years after walking away from the sport following a disheartening submission defeat to Daniel Cormier, Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson now feels he is ready to come back again, and he is not picking and choosing his opponents.
Anthony Johnson is ready to fight everybody
In an interview with CBS Sports earlier in March detailing his UFC return plan, 'Rumble' told Brian Campbell that he was calling every single heavyweight in the division out.
Anthony Johnson shared a clip of that on his Instagram account recently, sending a message out to all his opponents ahead of his potential return.
"Everybody, everybody. I'm not going to call out one person. Everybody, I'm trying to bury everybody."
Anthony Johnson was initially scheduled to comeback in 2019, but that did not happen. When he finally does return, he will apparently be fighting in two divisions - both heavyweight and light heavyweight.
As to why he retired, Anthony Johnson said that he was simply tired, exhausted, and burned out.
'Rumble' on fighting for the title
When Anthony Johnson was still in UFC, Jon Jones was the Light Heavyweight Champion. The two were set to face in 2015 at UFC 187, but that did not happen because Jones was stripped off the belt.
Johnson fought Cormier for the vacant belt and got submitted in Round 3, the rematch of which 2 years later sent Johnson into retirement.
When asked if he still wants to go after Jon Jones as well as the title, Anthony Johnson said that both are in his plans. But he does not expect for everything to happen for him immediately.
"It's definitely still in me to go out there and fight Jon, but I just have to let everything run its course. I don't plan on coming in and getting an instant title shot. There are a lot of good fighters out there ahead of me. I plan on doing what every other fighter did and has done, just like I did in the beginning of my career. You fight three or five fights to get to the title and if that's what I have to do, it's what I will do."
There are talks of him facing Francis Ngannou upon his return, which would be a dream contest for the fans. Ngannou has expressed his willingness for the matchup as well.
Anthony Johnson praised Francis Ngannou in the interview, calling him 'deadly' and 'a beast'.
"Like I said, everybody can get it. But Francis is a beast. He came to my gym and walked in and I saw him standing over there with his shirt off and I seen how big he was. I was like, 'What? This is the man they want me to fight?' Size doesn't matter to me and I'll fight anybody, but he's a specimen and he's a freak. Look at him — the way he talks, moves and his body; the way he swings -- everything about Francis is deadly."
