UFC light heavyweight Anthony Rumble Johnson is now closer to his much anticipated UFC comeback as he completes his first USADA drug test.
Anthony last fought in April 2017 against Daniel Cormier and lost to the now-retired double champ via submission in the second round. Prior to this, Anthony has had some phenomenon victories over fighters like Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. He competes with Francis Ngannou for the hardest puncher in the history of MMA, and has scary knockouts in his resume. After announcing retirement, Anthony got himself into the medical marijuana business, and was also the ambassador of Bare Knuckle FC.
However, in August, the fighter announced plans of making a comeback as he misses the sport. “Honestly, I miss the sport,” Johnson said. “I miss the sport. I miss competing. I know at one point, I was against guys coming back from retirement. You just see them get mopped up. B.J. Penn came back, got mopped up. I’ve seen everyone that came back out of retirement get mopped up. I just don’t want to be one of those guys to get mopped up, but I still feel good. I have no injuries.”
As per the latest list released by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the light heavyweight is back in the testing pool and could be cleared after a six-month period. This means we can expect to see him back in the octagon sometime early next year. While there were talks of him returning at the heavyweight division, news has now come out that he will likely compete at 205 pounds.
The first opponent for Anthony Johnson?
With Anthony coming back to the Light heavyweight division, the division has now lost it’s two most exciting fighters. Daniel Cormier has retired, and Jon Jones has announced his move to the Heavyweight division. Anthony’s entry into the division comes at a time when the division most needs it, and it will be interesting to see who he competes with for his comeback fight.
Currently, Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will be fighting for the vacated belt. Other potential fighters in the top of the division include Thiago Santos, Glover Teixeira, and Aleksandar Rakic. A matchup against any of these fighters makes sense for Anthony, and it will be interesting to see how well he flares in his much-awaited comeback.
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