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It's been over three years now since we last saw Anthony Johnson inside the Octagon. The former title challenger retired following his second defeat to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210.
He's been teasing a return to the Octagon for a while now, but he said that when he returns, it has to be in a fight that makes sense. The general thought was that Anthony Johnson would make a jump to the Heavyweight division rather than continue competing in the Light Heavyweight division.
With that said, it appears that Anthony Johnson's return is underway as his manager Ali Abdelaziz informed Brett Okamoto of ESPN that Rumble is re-entering the USADA testing pool. To add to it, Abdelaziz confirmed that Johnson is set to return to the Light Heavyweight division:
It's going to be interesting to see where Anthony Johnson lines up in the Light Heavyweight division. With Daniel Cormier retired and Jon Jones announcing that he's vacating the Light Heavyweight title, it frees up space for Rumble to try and get the title that he never won.
Where does Anthony Johnson stand in the 205-pound division?
Right now, there are two main contenders for the UFC Light Heavyweight title - Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz. Reyes lost to Jon Jones at UFC 247 but many felt that he had defeated the man who many consider as the greatest of all time.
Jan Blachowicz earned a #1 contender's spot after knocking out Corey Anderson emphatically. In all likeliness, Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz could be set to face off for the vacant Championship.
Anthony Johnson may not be far behind, but there's one man who he can welcome back to the Octagon as well - Thiago Santos. The Brazilian has been out of action for over a year now after losing a narrow decision to Jon Jones.
