Anthony Johnson Leaves the UFC for Greener Pastures
Anthony Johnson shocked the MMA world when he announced his retirement after his loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC210. His retirement was a shock to all considering he is only 33 years old and in the prime of his career. Johnson did not disclose to the fans watching all over the world his reasons for retiring; he only informed them that he had something else in the works. Some people speculated that he was leaving to play professional football, but after a recent stop on “Heated Conversations” with Booker T we finally found out what’s on his agenda.
Weed
Anthony Johnson recently informed former WWE star, Booker T, that he left the UFC for two reasons. The main reason? Weed! Rumble is partnering up with his friend Paul to get into the cannabis business. Not as a street pharmacist, but a medical marijuana supplier. So he’ll be spending a lot more of his time on the look-out for a wholesale cannabinoids supplier, dispensary locations, obtaining licenses, and everything else that he needs to get his business off the ground. This is a very smart business move seeing the growing trend across the nation. More and more states are not only legalizing medical marijuana, they are also decriminalizing recreational use. With Forbes projecting that total sales reach $20.2 billion by 2021, Johnson is getting into the right business. When asked about the business Johnson stated “It’s for medical uses. We got some good things going on. It’s already big. We’re just waiting for that law to pass and whenever it passes, we’re golden. We’re playing our cards right, we’re playing by the book, so that way there’s no issue.”
CTE
The weed business isn’t the only reason that Johnson wants out at age 33. He also cited his health. Johnson doesn’t have any current serious medical injuries, but he definitely watched the movie Concussion. Anthony Johnson stated “You hear about CTE and all this other stuff. Head injuries. You’re harming your body playing football and stuff like that, but this stuff can happen just as fast in mixed martial arts as any other sport, because we’re constantly beating on each other. I love myself; you know what I’m saying? A lot of guys don’t think about that.”
Johnson is a smart man! He made his money in the UFC and he knew when it was the right time for him to get out. I’m sure the rest of the UFC light-heavyweight division is glad to see rumble go especially if they share the same sentiment regarding CTE as Rumble does. Anthony Johnson won 16 of his 28 career fights by TKO of KO. So Rumble, good luck with your business endeavor and I hope you smoke the competition.
Here is a highlight reel of Anthony Johnson’s handy work!