Anthony “Rumble” Johnson’s UFC career began at welterweight and later produced two light heavyweight championship challenges. This guide follows the comeback that connected those phases, with the results and dates needed to distinguish his major knockouts from his title fights.
From wrestling to a 13-second UFC debut
Johnson grew up in Dublin, Georgia, and won a junior college national wrestling championship at Lassen College. UFC’s obituary records that he began his professional MMA career in 2006 and won three bouts before his first UFC opportunity. Source: UFC’s Johnson obituary.
That debut was a knockout of Chad Reiner on 12 June 2007, lasting 13 seconds. It began a UFC run spent mainly at welterweight. Johnson’s later account describes a difficult transition: he was released after missing the middleweight limit for his January 2012 bout against Vitor Belfort. Source: UFC’s January 2015 interview.
During the rebuilding period, Johnson trained with the Blackzilians in Florida and worked with striking coach Henri Hooft. Their interviews describe a move towards light heavyweight and a focus on fundamental striking. Source: Johnson and Hooft’s UFC interviews.
2014: the comeback began with a decision
Johnson returned to the UFC at light heavyweight against Phil Davis at UFC 172 on 26 April 2014. He won by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30–27. UFC’s report describes Davis repeatedly seeking takedowns and Johnson defending them while landing strikes. Source: UFC 172 report.
The Davis fight is useful context for a career often reduced to knockout clips. Johnson sustained his approach across three rounds and won on the scorecards. It shows why assessing his comeback requires more than listing finishing times.
2015: Gustafsson, then the first title fight
At the January 2015 UFC Fight Night in Stockholm, Johnson stopped Alexander Gustafsson at 2:15 of round one. UFC records a TKO after a knockdown and follow-up strikes. Its report carries a 24 January date, although the main event took place early Sunday morning in Stockholm. Source: UFC’s Stockholm report.
Johnson’s next UFC title contest was against Daniel Cormier at UFC 187 on 23 May 2015. Nevada’s official results record Cormier winning the vacant light heavyweight championship by rear-naked-choke submission at 2:39 of round three. Source: Nevada Athletic Commission results, page 1.
2016: the Teixeira knockout belongs to UFC 202
Johnson knocked out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds at UFC 202 on 20 August 2016. UFC’s report identifies a right uppercut as the decisive strike. This was a different event from the Gustafsson fight and came after Johnson’s first Cormier title challenge. Source: UFC 202 report.
Two famous results share the same duration: the Reiner debut and the Teixeira knockout both lasted 13 seconds. The date and opponent are therefore essential when identifying a clip or discussing a career milestone.
2017: the second Cormier title fight
The rematch took place at UFC 210 on 8 April 2017 in Buffalo. Cormier retained the light heavyweight championship by rear-naked choke at 3:37 of round two. Johnson announced his retirement after the bout. Source: UFC 210 report.
Our reading of the comeback is that the Davis decision, the rapid finishes and the championship defeats should be considered together. Johnson could win across three rounds as well as finish quickly, but Cormier’s submissions settled both title opportunities.
2021–22: a Bellator return and his death
Johnson returned to MMA in May 2021, knocking out José Augusto in Bellator. Augusto described the finish in his post-fight interview with MMA Fighting; the promotion also preserves the matchup in its official Johnson–Augusto video archive.
Johnson died in November 2022, aged 38. UFC’s obituary describes a long illness and gives his final professional record as 23 wins and six losses. Source: UFC’s November 2022 obituary.