'Rumble' Anthony Johnson, a former UFC fighter, passed away at age 38
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, who had a 23-6 overall MMA record and a 13-6 record in the UFC from 2007 to 2017, passed away on Sunday at the age of 38.
Organ failure brought on by non-Hodgkin lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare immune system illness, was the cause of death.
Johnson competed in the UFC at welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight, and was known as one of the most feared punchers in the sport.
He was 3-0 when he debuted in the UFC on June 12, 2007, knocking out Chad Reiner in just 13 seconds in Hollywood, Florida.
He won 17 of his 23 MMA fights by knockout, and despite gaining a tonne of weight throughout his career, he never lost his strength.
In his two attempts to win the UFC light heavyweight championship, he was defeated by rear naked choke both times by Daniel Cormier.
On May 23, 2015, at UFC 187, Johnson was first defeated by Cormier to claim the title that had been stripped from Jon Jones.
On April 8, 2017, Cormier once again prevailed via rear naked choke submission at UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York. That was Johnson's last UFC fight and his last MMA match.
He hooked up with Bellator and had a fight with the company before retiring to start a marijuana business.