Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson remembered as the scariest fighter without a UFC belt

Although Anthony Johnson never captured a UFC title, his fierce power made him a significant threat to even the most elite fighters.

More than three years after his untimely passing, Johnson's coach Henry Hooft - who heads the Florida-based Kill Cliff FC - remembered 'Rumble' as one of the scariest fighters to never hold a UFC belt during an interview with Home of Fight. While showcasing a ceremonial 'KCFC Sparring Champ' title which belonged to Johnson in the gym, Hooft shared his fond memories of Johnson:

"Back in the day, everybody sparred with everybody. Nowdays, sometimes, people are like, 'Ah, I don't want to go with this guy because he goes too hard.' This belt belongs to the guy that never got the real belt in the UFC but also was the most scariest fighter..."

He added:

"So this is Anthony Johnson. He's not with us anymore, in fact, too soon. Amazing person, amazing fighter. I remember him putting his on."

Check out Henry Hooft's comments below [0:01]:

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Henry Hooft shares more stories about Annthony Johnson's sparring

Kill Cliff FC, which is connected to Erstwhile Blackzillians and Stanford MMA through a lineage of evolution and rebranding, has been a has been a training ground for some of the most elite MMA fighters.

In the aforementioned interview with Home of Fight, Coach Henry Hooft stated that many fighters jokingly tried to claim the 'Sparring Champ' title of the gym. However, none have demonstrated the same intensity in the training room as Anthony Johnson. Hooft sharied more stories about Johnson's sparring, stating:

"Everybody was joking, Michael Johnson, Kamaru, everybody was like, 'Thank you all for this sh**.' But never, nobody ever stepped up. So this is him [Anthony Johnson] and we keep it here for him. Sometimes people pick it up and talk about stories where Anthony Johnson knocked out people in the gym and not on purpose. Just, 'Oh sh**. He's on the floor, I've gone so fast.' Nowdays people spar a little different, but back in the day, it was just a murderous row here, you know." [1:00]

Although he never became a UFC champion, Johnson was a two-time title challenger and holds wins over some of the most elite light heavyweights of all time, including Glover Teixeira, Alexander Gustafsson and Phil Davis, among others.

He passed away on November 13, 2022, at 38, due to organ failure caused by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare disorder of the immune system.