Anthony Johnson has come forward to shed more insight into why he and the UFC have parted ways.
In what was among the most shocking news of December and indeed all of 2020 was Anthony Johnson and the UFC mutually parting ways prior to Johnson’s UFC return. Johnson had been discussing his return to the Octagon for much of 2020 and even re-entered the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing program to confirm his impending return, only for Johnson and the UFC to reverse course all the way off the UFC radar.
The separation between Johnson and the UFC was mutual, with Dana White being mum on the specifics and advising reporters to ask Johnson for more details, as it was Johnson’s business to tell. This is precisely what Nolan King of MMA Junkie did, and Johnson began by reaffirming Dana White’s claim that the decision was mutual and made without animosity on either side.
“This had already happened about a month before it came out. I was keeping my mouth closed,” Johnson said. “There was no animosity, nothing bad when the UFC and I split. It was honestly a mutual thing. There was no bad blood, no negativity, no anything. It was best for both of us.”
The most details Anthony Johnson would reveal on the reasonings behind his decision is that the main factor was more freedom from a business standpoint and perhaps even in the general sense, with the former UFC title challenger believing that the UFC’s rules were a little too stringent.
“Business-wise, it’s just smart for me,” Johnson said. “I’m going into a different field outside of MMA. It gives me a little bit more leeway to do a little bit more. Honestly, with the UFC like that, you probably can’t really do a lot of things that you’d want to do because they’re such a strict company. When you have rules, you have to follow them, man. I’m not trying to break any rules, so why not just do our thing, show each other love and respect, and it is what it is?”
Anthony Johnson admits that it was hard to walk away from the UFC, but he believes that the result of leaving opponents unconscious and jaws dropped at home will remain unchanged, even if the promotion has.
What are your thoughts on Anthony Johnson’s explanation for why he parted ways with the UFC?
