Middle GA native, MMA fighter Anthony Johnson dead after battle with cancer, illness

Prominent MMA fighter and Dublin native Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson died Sunday. He was 38 years old.

The fighter passed away from a combination of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a rare immune disorder called HLH, according to Yahoo! Sports. Bellator MMA acknowledged his death on social media Sunday.

“He was always a great kid,” UFC president Dana White said to Yahoo! Sports about Johnson. “He was always in fun fights and he had that one-punch KO power that not many people ever had. He was a good human being. I send my condolences to his family.”

Johnson hailed from Dublin and was raised by his grandparents in the rural Georgia area, developing a strong, tough-love relationship with his grandfather, he told ESPN in 2015. The grandparents adopted him after his mother injured him at a young age.

He graduated from West Laurens High and attended college on a wrestling scholarship before his pro career.

Fellow fighters and friends described him as a quiet type, according to a profile by ESPN.

“A.J. is the kind of cat you’re never going to know his moves. He’s very private. He’s the kind of guy you see one minute, and the next, he’s gone,” Johnson’s teammate Rashad Evans said in the profile. “He doesn’t even say bye. He just dips and you’re like, ‘Oh. A.J. [is] gone.’”

His privacy may have contributed to the shock from his death, as the fighter didn’t publicly announce his illness.

Johnson was a highly ranked light heavyweight contender during his time in the UFC. He joined in 2014 and made an impact immediately, knocking out his opponent in just 13 seconds in his UFC debut.

Johnson still had a successful fighting career, finishing with a 23-6 record. While his UFC career ended in 2017, he came out of retirement to join Bellator in 2021 and won his final fight in a knockout.