MMA star Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has died at just 38 years of age.
The tragic news was announced on social media and confirmed by multiple news sources on Sunday.
Johnson, a two-time UFC title contender, had been battling an undisclosed illness for over a year before ultimately passing away. According to Yahoo Sports, the cause of death was organ failure due to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a type of cancer that begins in your lymphatic system – and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, which is a rare disorder of the immune system.
Serious illness forced Anthony “Rumble” Johnson to withdraw from Bellator’s light heavyweight grand prix
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson last fought for Bellator MMA as he left the UFC and returned from retirement to take on Jose Augusto in the quarterfinal of Bellator’s light heavyweight grand prix in May of 2021. Johnson would go on to win by second-round knockout and advance to the semifinal where he was supposed to take on the reigning champ Vadim Nemkov, a bout that was booked to go down in October of last year.
However, a month prior to the scheduled Nemkov fight, “Rumble” was forced to withdraw from the tournament citing serious illness.
“Really wish I could go into detail about how ill I truly am,” Johnson wrote on Instagram in September of 2021. “Just know I need as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 God willing … Never been this afraid of anything in my life but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family.”
Just a couple of weeks ago, Johnson’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed that the battle against the illness was still ongoing.
“‘Rumble’ is going through some health problems right now,” Abdelaziz told ESPN in a recent interview. “It’s very sad. I want everybody to pray for him. He’s not doing well, he’s very strong spiritually but pray for him. Anthony, be strong, a lot of people love you and he’s going to be okay, but he is not doing well.”
Started off at welterweight, then came back to challenge Daniel Cormier twice for the UFC title at 205
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is best remembered for his two UFC stints. He made his octagon debut as a welterweight in 2007, left the promotion in 2012 and went on a tear in other organizations before returning to the UFC two years later as a light heavyweight which proved to be the right weight class for him.
“Rumble” immediately went in against top-five opposition and it didn’t take long before he was the No. 1 contender at 205.
MMA fans in Sweden will forever remember staying up all night in January of 2015 at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm to watch as he knocked out our hometown hero Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson. Although the brutal finish was a hard pill to swallow for most fans in attendance, Johnson was still embraced by the Swedes because of how gracious he was in victory. “I’m an emotional guy so I feel his pain,” he said as he explained to Joe Rogan that he felt bad seeing Gustafsson cry in front of the massive crowd during his post-fight interview.
The win over Gustafsson earned Johnson a title shot against Daniel Cormier, who was the UFC champion at the time. Despite a strong start, “Rumble” was submitted in the third round in their first title fight in May of 2015. Johnson would later reclaim the position as the division’s No. 1 contender by going on another knockout spree – however, history would repeat itself in his rematch against “DC” in April of 2017 where he would once again be submitted, only this time in the second round.
During the course of his MMA career, Johnson gathered a professional record of 23-6 with 17 knockout victories. He spent the majority of his career fighting at the highest level and went in against the best of the best time and time again.
We are incredibly saddened by the death of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson who was one of the most vicious knockout artists ever in MMA and a a true fan-favourite worldwide. Our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.
Read more: Manager gives worrying update on Anthony Johnson’s health problems: “It’s not going well”
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