This past weekend, the MMA community mourned the death of former UFC title challenger and Bellator fighter Anthony Johnson, who died Saturday at the age of 38 after a lengthy illness.
Nicknamed “Rumble,” Johnson (23-6) twice fought for the UFC light heavyweight championship against Daniel Cormier in May 2015 and April 2017, losing both fights by submission. He unexpectedly announced his retirement after the latter matchup, but he wasn’t finished.
Four years later, Johnson returned to MMA with Bellator and in May 2021 earned a knockout victory over Jose Augusto. He was scheduled to fight in the organization’s 205-pound tournament but withdrew due because of his illness that he largely kept private.
One of MMA’s all-time knockout artists, Johnson should appear on any list of greatest fighters to never win a UFC title.
On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia, and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia shared their favorite memories of Johnson’s fights and being around him throughout his career.
You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.