Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson: I’ll only come out of retirement to fight Jon Jones at heavyweight

There’s only one way to bring former UFC light heavyweight contender and heavy hitting knockout artist Anthony Johnson out of retirement: offer him a fight versus Jon Jones - at heavyweight.

Speaking on the Into The Weeds podcast on Monday (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting), ‘Rumble’, who’s been retired for almost two years, said ‘Bones’ is the only fighter that could lure him back into the cage.

“The only way I’d come out of retirement is if Jon Jones goes to heavyweight, and then that’s when I’ll come out of retirement and fight Jon,” Johnson said. “I mean, that’s the only guy I want to fight, because after him, I can officially say I did my job, my mission is complete. Although I didn’t win a title, I fought the best of the best. I can go to sleep at night.”

If Johnson does come back, however, the multiple-time light heavyweight title challenger might be a little rusty. According to the Floridan, he hasn’t trained a single day since his retirement in 2017, opting instead to focus solely on his CBD business.

“I haven’t trained since my last fight,” he said. “I’ve been so focused on the cannabis and CBD, MMA just, I had to make everything else take a back seat, you know what I mean? I had to give it my undivided attention.”

Johnson last fought at UFC 210, where he lost in the championship rematch with Daniel Cormier via second-round submission. And despite failing to capture the light heavyweight title on two separate occasions, and being retired since 2017, Johnson is still considered one of the most dangerous fighters in the world.

Chris Rini and Chris Rini