It's been almost 10 years since Anthony Johnson made his professional MMA debut. The 31-year-old, who has beaten the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Phil Davis and Andrei Arlovski is thinking about retiring before the fight game takes a toll on his body.
"Rumble" last fought at UFC 191 where he knocked out Jimi Manuwa to cement himself as the #2 ranked light heavyweight in the world. Prior to that, Johnson came up short against Daniel Cormier in a LHW championship tilt at UFC 187. The Blackzilian, who came close to KO'ig "DC" on multiple occasions, was submitted in the third round.
Johnson spoke to MMA Junkie Radio about his plans for retirement.
"I plan on retiring within the next, like, three years. I want to live life without being worried about getting punched and getting up every day and losing weight and all of that craziness. I love the sport and respect the sport, but I want to be able to sit back and have a family and enjoy life besides getting up every morning, having some other guy guy all up on top of me."
Before hanging up the gloves, the former welterweight contender - who reinvented himself as a light heavyweight in 2012- has plenty of time left to make another run at the title. Johnson is slated to take on Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 18 to determine the next #1 205 lbs. contender.