Anthony Kewoa Johnson^[5] (March 6, 1984 – November 13, 2022) was an Americanmixed martial artist. He spent most of his career competing for theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was a multiple time title challenger, before ending his career with a single fight withBellator MMA. He fought in thewelterweight,middleweight,light heavyweight andheavyweight divisions. Johnson had a small acting role as a fighter in a large international mixed martial arts tournament called Sparta in the 2011 filmWarrior.^[6]

Anthony Johnson
Born	Anthony Kewoa Johnson (1984-03-06)March 6, 1984 Dublin, Georgia, U.S.
Died	November 13, 2022(2022-11-13) (aged 38) Laurens County, Georgia, U.S.
Other names	Rumble
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Division	Heavyweight (2013) Light heavyweight (2014–2017, 2021) Middleweight (2012) Welterweight (2006–2011)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S.
Team	Blackzilians (2011–2017)[2] Combat Club (2017–2022)[3]
Wrestling	NJCAAWrestling[4]
Years active	2006–2017; 2021
Mixed martial arts record
Total	29
Wins	23
By knockout	17
By decision	6
Losses	6
By knockout	1
By submission	5
Other information
Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog
Medal record Collegiate Wrestling RepresentingLassen CC NJCAA Championships 2004 Rochester 174 lb

He was the number 1 ranked light heavyweight contender in official UFC rankings,^[7] and was ranked number 2 in the world bySherdog andESPN, before his retirement in April 2017. Johnson later came out of retirement in May 2021 and won his last fight by knockout.^[8]

Anthony Kewoa Johnson was born inDublin,Georgia. He was raised by his grandparents who formally adopted him at age 2.^[9][10] Early in life, his heroes were his grandfather and the football playerWalter Payton. He went toWest Laurens High School inLaurens County, Georgia, and then attendedLassen College inSusanville, California, on a wrestling scholarship,^[11] and became a junior college national wrestling champion. After college, he worked as abouncer and entered mixed martial arts at age 20, after a friend suggested it due to his wrestling background.^[12]

Johnson made hisUFC debut atUFC Fight Night 10, knocking out Chad Reiner thirteen seconds into the first round. He had taken the fight on less than a week's notice, replacing an injuredSteve Bruno, who had torn hisrotator cuff. He was also seen in a previous video forThe Ultimate Fighter trying out forseason six, however for undisclosed reasons he was not on the show.

In his next bout, he facedRich Clementi atUFC 76. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round two.

After his first professional loss, Johnson then facedTom Speer atUFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon.^[13] He won the fight via knockout early in round one.

Johnson's next fight was againstKevin Burns, atUFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin aired live onSpike TV on July 19, 2008. Johnson was repeatedly poked in the eyes throughout the bout, with Burns receiving multiple warnings. In round three, Johnson would again be poked in the eye, resulting in a cracked retina that rendered him unable to continue. However, referee Steve Mazzagatti controversially declared Burns the winner via technical knockout.^[14] Johnson appealed the loss, but it was denied due to a 'lack of remedy'.^[15][16]

Johnson foughtKevin Burns again in a rematch atThe Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.^[17] Johnson won the match by knocking Burns out via head kick.^[18] The knockout was awarded "Knockout of The Night" and a $25,000 bonus.^[19]

Johnson foughtLuigi Fioravanti atUFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens on February 7, 2009. He won via technical knockout in the first round.^[20]

Johnson was scheduled to fightMatt Brown at theTUF 9 Finale, but had to pull out after suffering a knee injury. Johnson instead fought JapanesejudokaYoshiyuki Yoshida atUFC 104. Johnson weighed in at 176 pounds, five pounds over the welterweight non-title bout limit of 171, and was forced to forfeit 20% of his fight purse. Johnson knocked out Yoshida 41 seconds into the first round, but was not eligible for the Knockout of the Night bonus due to missing weight.^[21]

After his fight with Yoshida, Johnson made a quick turnaround and facedJosh Koscheck on November 21, 2009, atUFC 106.^[22] Both Johnson and Koscheck were awardedFight of the Night honors for the contest, which saw Koscheck win viarear naked choke.

Johnson was expected to faceJohn Howard on March 21, 2010, atUFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones,^[23] but had to pull out due to suffering a knee injury in training.^[24]

After his knee injury, Johnson considered a move to themiddleweight division of the UFC.^[25]Johnson indicated on the June 4, 2010, episode ofInside MMA that he typically had to lose 55 pounds to make 170. Despite this, Johnson said that although he might have taken a fight at 185, he did not plan to remain there and intended to stay at 170.

Johnson returned to the octagon in early 2011. He facedDan Hardy on March 26, 2011, atUFC Fight Night 24.^[26] Johnson used superior wrestling and controlled Hardy to a unanimous decision victory, dropping him with a left head kick in the first round.

Johnson was expected to faceNate Marquardt in what would have been his first main event on June 26, 2011, atUFC on Versus 4 but was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced byRick Story.^[27]

Johnson went on to faceCharlie Brenneman atUFC on Versus 6. He won the fight via first-round KO, earningKnockout of the Night honors.^[28]

For his next fight, Johnson attempted to move up to middleweight to faceVitor Belfort on January 14, 2012, atUFC 142.^[29] Leading up to the UFC 142 weigh-ins, doctors advised Johnson to terminate his weight cut and rehydrate. Johnson came in at 197 lb, 11 pounds over the middleweight division limit. The fight remained scheduled under the stipulation that Johnson would not weigh over 205 lb on fight day and would forfeit 20% of his purse to Belfort. On fight day, Johnson officially weighed in at 204.2 lb, and Belfort won via first round submission.^[30] Following the loss, Johnson was released from the promotion for disciplinary reasons due to missing weight yet again.^[31]

After being released from the UFC, Johnson fought fellow UFC veteranDavid Branch atTitan Fighting Championships 22.^[32] On the day of the weigh ins for the fight, Johnson once again missed making the 186 lb limit for the middleweight division, as he weighed in at 194.2 lb, 8.2 lb overweight. Branch was notified the morning of the weigh in that Johnson was not going to make weight, so as a result he weighed in at 189 lb. The bout was then agreed upon as a catchweight bout at 195 lb. This marked the fourth time in Johnson's professional career that he had weighed in over the assigned weight limit. Johnson won the fight via unanimous decision (30–27 on all cards).

Johnson made his light heavyweight debut atTitan Fighting Championships 24 against formerKing of the Cage Super Heavyweight Champion Esteves Jones, Johnson won via TKO in just 51 seconds of the second round.^[33]

Johnson foughtJake Rosholt at Xtreme Fight Night 9.^[34] Johnson won the fight by TKO due to a head kick in the second round.

Johnson facedBellator veteran D.J. Linderman atWSOF 1 on November 3, 2012.^[35] He won the fight via KO in the first round.

Johnson fought at heavyweight againstAndrei Arlovski on March 23, 2013, atWSOF 2,^[36] and won via unanimous decision.

Johnson was scheduled to faceStrikeforce vetMike Kyle on September 14, 2013, atWSOF 5. However Johnson was forced out of the bout due to an injury.^[37]

Johnson vs. Mike Kyle eventually took place on January 18, 2014, atWSOF 8 in Hollywood, Florida.^[38] Johnson won the fight via knockout in the first round.^[39][40]

On February 4, 2014, it was announced that Johnson signed a four-fight deal to return to the UFC and would remain a light heavyweight, and he would face top contenderPhil Davis on April 27 atUFC 172.^[41][42] Despite being a nearly 3-to-1 underdog, Johnson was successful in his return, defeating Davis via unanimous decision after defending all of Davis' takedown attempts and dominating all three rounds on the feet.^[43]

Johnson next facedAntônio Rogério Nogueira in the co-main event on July 26, 2014, atUFC on Fox 12.^[44][45] He won the fight via KO at just 44 seconds into the first round.^[46] The win also earned Johnson his firstPerformance of the Night bonus award.^[47]

On September 19, 2014, news surfaced about Johnson being suspected of domestic violence against the mother of his two children.^[48] Soon after, Johnson claimed to be innocent.^[49] Due to the suspicion, UFC released a statement that Johnson was being indefinitely suspended until the case was investigated.^[50] On November 6, 2014, the UFC lifted Johnson's suspension after the civil case was dismissed, clearing him to fight.^[51]

Johnson foughtAlexander Gustafsson on January 24, 2015, atUFC on Fox 14 with the promise that the winner would earn a title shot againstJon Jones.^[52] Johnson won the one-sided bout via TKO in the first round, becoming the first to stop Gustafsson due to strikes.^[53] The win also earned Johnson his secondPerformance of the Night bonus award.^[54]

Johnson was expected to face Jon Jones on May 23, 2015, atUFC 187.^[55] However, on April 28, it was announced that Jones had been stripped of the UFC Light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely due to a felony hit-and-run charge. Johnson facedDaniel Cormier for the vacantUFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Early in the first round, Johnson became the first man to knock down Cormier, but failed to get the finish. Cormier eventually won the fight via rear naked-choke submission in round three.^[56]

Johnson was expected to faceJan Błachowicz on September 5, 2015, atUFC 191.^[57] However, Johnson was pulled from the bout on July 30 in favor of a fight withJimi Manuwa at the event instead.^[58] After dominating the first round with his wrestling, Johnson won via knockout early in the second round.^[59][60]

Johnson next facedRyan Bader on January 30, 2016, atUFC on Fox 18.^[61] Bader went for a takedown almost immediately, which Johnson defended. Bader then threatened akimura off his back, but Johnson again defended it before moving to mount and winning via knockout.^[62] The win also earned Johnson his fourthPerformance of the Night bonus award.^[63]

Johnson was expected to faceGlover Teixeira on July 23, 2016, atUFC on Fox 20, but was pulled from the card due to undisclosed reasons.^[64] The bout was rescheduled and eventually took place atUFC 202.^[65] Johnson defeated Teixeira by knockout 13 seconds into the first round and was awarded his fifth Performance of the Night bonus.^[66][67]

A rematch with championDaniel Cormier was expected to take place on December 10, 2016, atUFC 206.^[68] However, Cormier pulled out of the fight on November 25 citing an injury and as a result, Johnson was removed from the card.^[69] The pairing was rescheduled again and eventually took place on April 8, 2017, atUFC 210.^[70] Johnson decided to use his wrestling as his main offense, a decision which frustrated his corner, and led to him becoming fatigued and losing the fight via rear naked choke submission in the second round. After the fight, Johnson announced his retirement from the UFC and combat sports effective immediately.^[71][72]

In 2017, Johnson switched to Combat Sports, an open gym club, and CSMMA afterBlackzilians ceased operations across the Florida area.^[73]

In August 2019, 2 years after initially announcing his retirement, Johnson confirmed that he would be re-entering theUSADA testing pool. Despite initial claims about moving up toheavyweight, Johnson eventually decided to stay in the light heavyweight division.^[74] In October 2019, Johnson confirmed he was in talks with the UFC brass to come back as part of the heavyweight division and would like to return in April 2020.^[75] However, he eventually entered the testing pool in late August 2020, and would have been eligible to compete in February 2021.^[76]

On December 9, 2020, it was announced that Johnson had parted ways with the UFC and had signed a multi-fight contract withBellator MMA.^[77]

On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Johnson would be participating in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament. He was scheduled to faceYoel Romero in the quarterfinal round atBellator 257 on April 16^[78] but on March 26, it was announced that the bout would be moved toBellator 258 on May 7.^[79] On April 29, it was announced that Yoel had failed his pre-fight medical exam and the bout was scrapped and Romero was removed from the tournament.^[80] The next day, it was announced that Jose Augusto would replace Yoel in the bout and the Grand Prix.^[81] After surviving being dropped in the first round, Johnson won via knockout in the second round.^[8]

In the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, Johnson was scheduled to face the championVadim Nemkov, with theBellator Light Heavyweight Championship on the line, on October 16, 2021, atBellator 268.^[82] On September 18, it was announced that Anthony Johnson was forced to pull out of the bout and the tournament due to an unspecified illness. Johnson was hopeful to return to action in 2022.^[83]

After martial arts competition, Johnson launched aCBD oil company, Competitive Body Development. In early 2019, Johnson was appointed as the head of fighter relations forBare Knuckle Fighting Championship.^[84]

Johnson was suffering from a form of cancer known asnon-Hodgkin's lymphoma andhemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, an auto-immune disease. He died of organ failure on November 13, 2022.^[85]

In 2010, Johnson was convicted of a 2009domesticbattery charge after pleadingno contest. He was sentenced to serve three years of probation. He was also charged with making criminal threats and property damage for allegedly breaking the victim's cell phone, but those charges were dropped.^[86]

In March 2014, Johnson was accused of domestic abuse in Arkansas towards his ex-girlfriend and mother of his children. A police report that was revealed to the public in September 2014 included statements from Johnson's ex in which she alleged Johnson came to her work, physically approached her, grabbed her shirt behind the neck and lifted her up from the chair on which she was sitting. She continued by saying that Johnson then grabbed her right arm and forcefully pulled on it several times to pull her closer to him, and that he verbally abused her in front of several coworkers. The police report also stated that the girlfriend had visible bruising on her arm and scratches near her collarbone. Police said that Johnson's girlfriend was crying and shaking while giving her side of what happened. No charges were filed.^[48][86]

Johnson was arrested on May 5, 2019, inBoca Raton, Florida after an incident with his girlfriend. Johnson's girlfriend alleged that during an argument, Johnson became angry, picked her up, and carried her into another room. Stating that she was fearful for her safety, Johnson's girlfriend then called 911. Police officers arrived and placed Johnson under arrest and took him to thePalm Beach County jail, where he was booked on charges of domestic battery (by law, any act of non-consensual touching could be considered battery). Johnson was released hours later onrecognizance, meaning he signed a court order promising to show up for future court dates.^[87] At his arraignment on May 15, Johnson pleaded not guilty.^[88] The case was ultimately dismissed, with the charges against Johnson being dropped when he reached a joint agreement with the prosecutors by agreeing to attend an anger management course. In addition, he was required to attend biweekly drug testing due to testing positive for marijuana, thus neglecting his bail conditions.^[89]

On May 11, 2021, Johnson was arrested inFairfield County, Connecticut and charged withidentity theft after allegedly using a stolen credit card to pay for a flight fromNewark, New Jersey toFort Lauderdale, Florida in November 2019. Johnson was released on $500 bond.^[90]

• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • Junior College National Champion 174 lb –out ofLassen Community College (2004)^[4]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time)vs.Josh Koscheck
  • Knockout of the Night (Two times)vs.Kevin Burns andCharlie Brenneman
  • Performance of the Night (Five times)vs.Antônio Rogério Nogueira,Alexander Gustafsson,Jimi Manuwa,Ryan Bader andGlover Teixeira
  • Tied (Anderson Silva,Thiago Santos,Dustin Poirier &Max Holloway) for fourthmost knockouts in UFC history (11)^[91]
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2008:Ranked #3 Knockout of the Yearvs.Kevin Burns^[92]
    • 2011:Ranked #10 Knockout of the Yearvs.Charlie Brenneman(Tied withWanderlei Silva)^[93]
    • 2016:Ranked #2 Knockout of the Yearvs.Glover Teixeira^[94]

• List of male mixed martial artists

• Professional MMA record for Anthony Johnson fromSherdog
• Anthony Johnson atUFC