Rumble Johnson: We can compete with the UFC

Anthony Johnson fought in the UFC at welterweight, middleweight, and light heavyweight, finding his greatest success in the heaviest of the three, where he twice contested for the title. “Rumble” retired in 2017, but at 36, he recently announced he had signed with Bellator MMA. Johnson will make his promotional debut at Bellator 257 on April 16, vs. fellow UFC vet Yoel Romero, 43, in the opening round of the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix.

During a recent appearance on The Spaniard Show podcast, hosted by former opponent Charlie Brenneman, Johnson talked about his new home.

Signing with Bellator it was just a new beginning for me, said Johnson. I had a lot of fun in UFC, I give all of my credit for the most part to the UFC because the world wouldn’t know who Rumble Johnson was or is if it wasn’t for UFC. So I give all of them credit. I wish we all could be getting them fat checks like the NFL players and the NBA players, but it is what it is, I’m a always preach that.

I’m just ready to go and fight. I look forward to the competition that’s out there. I think we can compete with the UFC with what we have. A lot of people think that just because the Bellator promotion isn’t what the UFC promotion is that the fighters aren’t the same calibre, and there’s always levels to everything. Every business, every promotion. But Bellator is no joke.

Look at my guy, my teammate Michael Chandler went over there and destroyed Dan Hooker. Smoked him. But I knew that was coming. I’m like, y’all don’t realize how dangerous Michael Chandler is. And even though he came from a smaller promotion, he’s still an elite fighter. He wasn’t there being the champ and fighting the best of the best for no reason. He went to war with Eddie Alvarez and to me, Eddie Alvarez is for sure the greatest fighter ever in my opinion because he’s been to every organization and won the title. People don’t give that man credit.

I also see that fans are now starting to understand that you don’t have to be just a UFC fighter to be successful and be able to feed your family and be something. So don’t be afraid to go outside of the box if there’s other things out there you want to be able to do in other promotions, go for it. Try it out. And I think Bellator for me was the right move.

The UFC has not had a genuine rival since the heyday of PRIDE FC. UG, do you think it does now?