Following his loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 210 on Saturday, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson took to the mic – in a shock move – to announce his retirement from the sport of MMA.
“This was my last fight,” said an emotional Johnson, just moments after suffering his second loss to the light heavyweight champion DC. “I didn’t even tell Dana White, I didn’t tell anybody. My coaches knew, my family knew, my friends knew, but I didn’t want any distractions.”
To Johnson’s surprise however, his head coach Henri Hooft was nowhere to be found once the fight had ended. Despite Johnson’s calls for Hooft to join him in the cage, his long time trainer had already left the arena.
So why the quick exit? Like many, it would seem Hooft was shocked at Rumbles decision to grapple with former Olympic wrestler, Cormier, during the bout which ended via rear naked in the second round. While many will question the 33 year olds motives for employing such an odd game plan, it was a tactic that clearly played into the hands of the current champion DC.
Some light was shed on the situation after the fight, when audio from Johnson’s corner was released, showing just how much frustration his team felt throughout the matchup. Check out the full transcript below:
Round 1
Voice: Take your time. Nice. Take your time. Don’t take him down.
Hooft: Don’t wrestle him.
Voice: If you’re going to go, go single.
Hooft: You don’t have to wrestle him, AJ. Just relax.
Voice: Don’t wrestle him.
Hooft: Get out of there. Get out of there.
Grappling coach Neil Melanson: OK, stud. Now, let’s get your hands hot.
Voice: Why is he wrestling him?
Hooft: (Expletive) it, man. Just get off the cage.
Voice: Get out of there.
Voice: Why isn’t he listening?
(Johnson and Cormier are broken up by referee John McCarthy, and Johnson lands kicks.)
Voice: He’s tired already, DC. He doesn’t need to do this.
Voice: Why isn’t he listening?
Hooft: I don’t know why he’s doing that. We have no (expletive) eyes.
Between rounds-
Hooft: Can you tell me why you’re wrestling? Now, you’re not going to wrestle. You take your distance. Stay away, two steps away. Why are you so worried about everything? The kicks and the knees are really good, but no kicks. Where’s your hands?
Voice: You’re doing great. Don’t (expletive) wrestle him.
Hooft: If you stand your distance, it’s an easy game. Why make it difficult?
Round 2
Hooft: Movement. Athletic. Movement. That’s it. Take your distance.
(Johnson reverses against the cage and goes for another takedown)
Hooft: You need distance.
Hooft: I’m not saying nothing.
(Cormier has Johnson on the mat and is setting up a choke)
Hooft: It’s going the same as last time.
(Johnson submits to Cormier via rear-naked choke)
Hooft: Why, why the (expletive) does this happen every (expletive) time, man? Crazy.
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