former UFC star Anthony Johnson reportedly died of organ failure due to a bout of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and phagocytosis. He was 38 years old.
Johnson’s death was announced Sunday in a statement from Bellator MMA, the last promotion in which the former contender competed for the lightweight title. Yahoo Sports I mentioned the cause of death.
The Young Mixed Artist A Bellator spokesperson told the Associated Press that he had been ill for more than a year. But he was not known to speak out about what he was experiencing.
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Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (L) of the United States fights with Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson of Sweden in a UFC Light Heavyweight Mixed Martial Arts match at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm on January 24, 2015.
(Reuters/Jessica Gao/TT News Agency)
Kamaru Usman told Yahoo Sports that he spoke to Johnson a few months ago but had no details about what was going on with him.
“You know, he was a bit like Chadwick Boseman,” Othman said. Chadwick kept his case secret, and we were all shocked and surprised [when he died in 2020]. Rumble will give you these careless stories, he was on dialysis on his kidneys, but he didn’t really tell you exactly what was going on. He didn’t want to be treated differently. He didn’t want people to see him lose all that weight and go through these situations and treat him differently because of what was going on. He was a great athlete.
“He had a middleweight and heavyweight strength, and he was able to pass that on throughout his career. He was really special and talented, he didn’t have to try so hard. He felt like he was working hard, but there were levels he didn’t go to, maybe he didn’t want to Going to it. It was natural. I really liked it. It made it look easy. He hit a guy and the guy was falling apart. I mean, I worked hard and it took this time and I was going to hit this guy with everything, he would just stand there. Rumble was a different caliber. about the rest of us.”
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Johnson posted a disturbing message in September 2021 that he needed “as many prayers as possible” and was in a fight that wasn’t related to the coronavirus. Johnson then posted in May that he had received information from a doctor that he had made “significant improvements”.
Anthony Johnson enters the ring before the Ligh Heavyweight Title Bout match against Daniel Cormier at KeyBank Center on April 8, 2017 in Buffalo, New York.
(Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
In October, Johnson’s manager told ESPN that “Rumble” “is going through some health issues right now… it’s not doing well.”
Daniel Cormierwith whom Johnson had great competition, was among those who praised “Rumble”.
“Rest, brother,” Cormier wrote on Twitter. “For the man who struck fear into the hearts of so many people, Anthony Johnson was a caring person.” “From a random check-in text while losing. What a person, we’re going to miss the Rumble. Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair. Horrible news.”
Johnson received 11 knockouts during his UFC contract. He fought from 2007 to 2017, losing twice to Cormier in light heavyweight title bouts. He competed in three weight classes during his time in the UFC and became one of the strongest punches the company had ever seen.
Anthony Johnson announced his retirement after losing to Daniel Cormier in a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship match during UFC 210 event at KeyBank Center on April 8, 2017 in Buffalo, New York.
(Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
He retired from the UFC in 2017 and was competing at Bellator in 2021 before his health problems worsened.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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