Former UFC star Rumble Johnson has been arrested on a domestic violence count after an incident with his girlfriend.
Former UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson is in hot water again. On Tuesday, TMZ reported that Johnson, who retired in 2017 following a second loss to 205lb champ Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 in Buffalo, had been arrested on domestic violence charges.
The rap follows an argument with the former fighter’s girlfriend which turned physical. According to the report, Johnson “put her in a football hold” and literally picked her up, carrying her to another room. While there were no signs of injury on the accuser, she told police she was in fear of Johnson because of his martial arts training. Based on her statements, police determined a misdemeanor domestic violence charge was warranted.
Per TMZ, Johnson admitted picking his girlfriend up, saying that he did not intend to harm her, but simply did not want to argue anymore.
This is not Johnson’s first run in with the law, in regards to domestic violence. In 2009 he pleaded No Contest to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. In 2015, an altercation with a female at a gym led to Johnson agreeing to counseling, and making a donation to a women’s charity in Florida. Johnson had taken to Facebook following the altercation, admitting to throwing a women’s yoga mat across the gym.
“That’s a athlete’s gym not a yoga studio,” Johnson stated in his post. “So one more time don’t run your mouth and don’t do yoga stretching where people lift weights or I’ll snatch the mat from under you again and throw it again.”
Johnson has most recently been acting as an ambassador for Bare Knuckle FC.
