Self love

In a revealing interview with former WWE star Booker T, ex-UFC standout Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson revealed the real reason he is walking away from MMA,

My health. You hear about CTE and all this other stuff. Head injuries. You’re harming your body playing football... 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... A lot of guys don't think about that…. I’m not about that life. I’m not a fighter. Fighting was just natural to me. I was just so athletic, I caught on to everything real quick. I was never meant to fight. I was meant to do something else, something greater.”

What’s next?

Johnson also revealed what he will be doing next.

We’re opening up a facility, you know what I mean… it’s for medical uses, if you know what I mean. We’re getting it in that way. 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.

Reading between the lines it looks like Rumble will be involved in some sort of medical marijuana facility. Johnson also suggested he would be making more money from the venture than from fighting with the obvious advantage of not causing himself bodily harm.

Eye opening

Johnson’s revelations are eye-opening.

I wonder how many sportsman (and women) do what they do simply because they are good at it. Not because they are passionate about it.

Such a mindset is taboo to most hardcore fans, many of whom structure much of their life around their love a sport. As the ex-Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said famously about football,

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.

The idea that some of the sport stars they idolise merely see what they do as a job is anathema to many fans. However I suspect the view Johnson expressed is shared by many other athletes. Johnson fought simply because he was good at it. He took a logically decision to move on before he ended up ‘getting his clock cleaned’ by ‘young, bigger strong’ fighters. Good on him.

Pain relief

It might surprise some to hear about Johnson moving from UFC into the medical marijuana business.

It doesn’t surprise me.

Many fighters use marijuana. I listened to an interview with Kelvin Gastelum. Gastelum was recently suspended for 3 months after testing positive for marijuana. He explained he took marijuana as a pain relief. He has a medical use exemption however had prohibited amounts in his blood close to a fight. He explained the pain he goes through, training and beating his body up day-in, day-out in preparation for a fight.

I find it ironic that mma fighters can physically abuse themselves as much as they want for our entertainment. However are frowned upon when they ‘abuse’ their bodies to relieve the pain.

Astute

I think Johnson has made an astute move. I believe it is only a matter of time before marijuana is removed from the banned list of substances in mma and many other sports. It is believed that the NFL are in talks about allowing it’s use. Johnson also has well documented connections with the LA Rams. When that time comes, Johnson and his new ‘facility’ could be in prime position to snap up some high profile clientele.

Looks like Johnson has not only left the UFC with his faculties intact… but he is making good use of them!

Watch Johnson's interview: