Retired UFC Champion Escapes Jail Time, Could Make MMA Return

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson retired in 2017 but was not spared from personal issues. He was facing domestic violence charges and arrested back in May. His girlfriend claimed that the mixed martial artist roughed her up during an argument.

However, Johnson debated otherwise. In a report from TMZ, the 35-year-old claimed that he did pick up the woman but only to carry her to a different room because he was tired of arguing. Rumble insisted that he never tried to hurt her. But a report from Mercury News narrates otherwise.

"Johnson pushed her around, picked her up by her armpits and slammed her to the ground. He then put her in a headlock and dragged her up a flight of stairs," the report claimed.

In an updated development, TMZ Sports reported that the camp of Johnson reached an agreement with prosecutors this month to enter a pretrial diversion program. The former UFC fighter will also be required to undergo anger management. Once these are satisfied, the case will be dismissed. He has until Oct. 21 to complete the course, although he is reportedly requesting an extension.

Once Johnson is able to fulfill these requisites, it will be interesting if he will return to the cage. There have been rumblings of a potential return in 2020. Johnson confirmed that he would be re-entering the USADA testing pool, clearly an indication that he does have plans of making a return to the mixed martial arts scene.

Before his retirement in 2017, Johnson held a 22-6 record. He has victories over popular MMA fighters like lover Teixeira, Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson. His last UFC fight was against Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 210. He lost via submission to D.C. in the second round.

Prior to that Johnson was one of the feared opponents in the cage. Johnson is best known for his brutal knockouts and owned the most sub-minute KO wins in UFC history with 5. Two years since his last match, it will be interesting if Rumble still has the same KO power to show against the top fighters in the light heavyweight division. Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones are interesting targets although the 6-foot-2 fighter may need to work his way to fight either if he is indeed returning to the UFC scene.