News RIP Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (Confirmed / Updated)

RIP Rumble, his fights were always a good watch, never knowing if he'd knock someone into orbit or not. 38 is way too young.
 
First fight of his I saw was the first Kevin Burns fight. One of the most frustrating fights ever. It was so satisfying seeing him kick his head off in the rematch. These things are always shocking to read, but Anthony Johnson is about the last person I thought I'd see an RIP thread on.
 
First fight I saw of his was Tommy spears.. poor Tommy got crushed.

Rest in peace anthony until the messiah returns.
 
I've always liked Rumble, this was unexpected for me and a big shame. I wonder if he knew his clock was ticking with the illness and he decided one last run in Bellator before he couldn't do it anymore.
 
Rumble was one of my favorite fighters to watch, and not just because of his ko's. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy, and that just contrasted well with his killer nature in the cage. Such sad news for all mma fans. Feel like the world lost a really good person. Prayers to his family and friends. You'll never be forgotten in mma circles. There is zero doubt in saying that!
 
Really sad news, RIP Rumble. I remember just not too long ago how stoked everyone was when he came out of retirement and signed with Bellator, and how even more stoked everyone was when they announced the fight with Romero. That would have been a classic, we never got to see it because Romero failed medicals. Then they both ended up fighting different opponents later on. Imagine how insane this fight would have been if it actually happened.

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WTF. I loved Rumble. One of my favourite fighter ever. Fuck the last 6 years for fuck sake. RIP Anthony, you were awesome man.
 
Really did have some of the best power I've ever seen. His fight with Tommy Speers lmao! My first exposure to him

I still play as him quite a bit in the video game. He was an extremely fun fighter. And I am so grateful he gave us another KO in 2021. Given his health I'm really surprised he made it :(

Way too young
 
amilster said:
Johnson died on November 13, 2022 from Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.[87]

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Johnson_(fighter)
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Just horrible to read that and think about what he had to go through since he has been fighting this. It's just so sad.

Rumble was a force to be reckon with. His run before he fought DC was epic. He really turned it around after that Vitor Belfort fight and leaving the UFC. Even though he came in overweight and lost I am still glad we got to see that Vitor fight. What an interesting style match up that was.

In his last fight in Bellator he won but something didnt look right. He was just off. In his prime he would of got that guy out of there quickly. Very sad he has been dealing with this. At 38 years old he had so much life left to live and was just getting started.


RIP Rumble
 
PhiladelphiaEagle said:
You want to know who Anthony was?

Anthony ran a pitbull rescue for a bit. Made sure they got proper homes. He also had ones for pit pups.

He’d have up and coming/ammy fighters who came to train at the Blackzilians stay at his place and the branch out when BZ folded. Never charged a dime. Got offended when people asked to. Paid for more than a few fighters to have medicals.

Donated to Toys for Tots yearly. Not a few things either. When they wanted to do media coverage, he told them that if they did, he’d deny it all and to please not. He wasn’t doing it for that.

When Glenn Robinson died, it was Rumble who went to Glenn’s kids and said anything you need.

When I almost died in 2016, he flew to Arizona. I was in the hospital for 13 days through Christmas and New Year. He stayed for the entire fucking time. Made sure my son and daughter were ok, and I was. He and his girl cooked Christmas dinner for my wife and kids brought some over for me and sat in the waiting room through two surgeries. Gave my kids some gifts they cherish forever. I got a pair of gloves from one of his fights as a gift. They hold more meaning tonight.

His second fight for Titan, he got paid good money. Comparable to what he was making in the UFC. My son was due a week later. He told them send his entire fight and win purse to us for my son to get shit we need. I told him he was nuts and to keep it.

THAT’S the Anthony I want you all to remember. Not the last year of his life and “how.” Or why he didn’t reveal and update. He didn’t want to upset everyone.
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Thanks for sharing this. RIP Rumble
 
So sad, I really wanted to see him come back and beat up some people in Bellator. One of the top 20 MMA moments to me is when him and Jon had a face-off and they pranked Dana like they were going to start scraping. Dana thought shit got real and legit looked like he was going to have a heart-attack. Imagine being the one who had to try to get between and stop those 2 from going at it. He seemed like a pretty nice guy when he wasn't almost sending people to the hospital with his punches.

 
Not sure why he didn’t want to say what he was ill from but that’s horrible. Witnessed my Stepdad live with a pancreatic cancer death sentence and it was an absolute nightmare. I feel for his family. Just the absolute worst to feel helpless in that situation. Feels horrible to be relieved by the death of someone cuz you watched them whither away and in so much pain. I guess living out your years will also be like that in a way but it was one of the hardest things to witness in my life. That and dementia/Alzheimer’s. Dude was an absolute beast and entertained like no other.
 
RIP. I made my fair share of apple crumble jokes, but this man was one of my favorite fighters to watch. Sucks he's gone so early, I wish his family the best.
 
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