Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is on the comeback trail.
Aiming for a return to the Octagon in April, the two-time light heavyweight title challenger wants to make a run as a UFC heavyweight.
The 35-year-old credits the latest UFC heavyweight title fight between now-champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier to be the inspiration behind his desire to return to competition two years after announced his retirement after his second loss to the latter.
“Some people will say it’s for money… I’m back because I want to be back,” Johnson said at the Dominance MMA media day [H/T Sherdog via MMAFighting.com). “‘DC’ and Stipe actually got me motivated to come back. I give them the credit for making me want to fight again.”
“Their last fight was such a good fight, it made me get the itch again to go out there and beat some people up.”
Johnson says his retirement-turned hiatus was largely due to feeling burned out from the sport. So much so, he could barely even be bothered to follow what was going on among his former peers.
“For two years, I didn’t do anything. I didn’t want to have anything to do with mixed martial arts at all,” Johnson said. “I was honestly just burned out, just was done with it. I think I maybe watched three fights. I don’t know any of the new fighters. I’m the old man of the group now.”
While Rumble doesn’t have any particular heavyweight in mind for his comeback, he expects he will make an impact when he returns to the cage.
“I’m trying to make everybody a victim of what I can do. I’m pretty sure it [MMA] still sucks, but I plan on hanging around for a little bit.”
