“Rumble” is returning to UFC Fight Pass, but not as an MMA fighter. And, though he is competing against a Jones, it’s not Jon. Rather, the former two-time UFC title challenger is set to meet Australian grappling sensation Craig Jones at Submission Underground 9.
The match is set to headline the July 7 installment of Chael Sonnen’s grappling event, which takes place at Roseland Theater in Portland, Ore., and streams on UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET (via Twitter):
View: https://twitter.com/ChaelSonnen/status/1134543961157062657?s=19
Johnson (22-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC) hasn’t taken part in combat sports competition since April 2017, when he abruptly announced his MMA retirement following a loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210.
The subject of an eventual comeback has come up a few times, but Johnson told MMA Junkie in April, while fulfilling an ambassador role for Bare Knuckle FC, that he hadn’t had the itch to return and in fact hadn’t trained MMA since the Cormier fight.
UFC veteran Anthony Johnson to meet Craig Jones at Submission Underground 9