Former UFC title challenger
Anthony Johnson is again in the headlines after posting a lengthy Facebook rant about a woman he allegedly confronted in a gym.
According to Johnson’s post, screen captured by USA TODAY Sports partner
The Big Lead, he said he threw the woman’s yoga mat when she confronted him for lifting weights close to where she was stretching.
“If you get in my way or any other (athlete’s) way again I’ll throw your yoga mat across the gym AGAIN,” he wrote in the post, now deleted. “Don’t ever run your mouth at me again you won’t win that battle I will. You need more than stretching to help that beat up body.”
Johnson, who was submitted by Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight belt at May’s UFC 187, removed his Facebook post and replaced it with another message, writing, “I’ll always speak my mind and how I feel I’m not afraid of the consequences.”
“When ppl do dumb sh-t it annoys me,” he later wrote in a
Twitter post. “I only told the short version. I skip the part when she was talking sh-t.”
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Johnson, 31, has repeatedly found himself in hot water after allegations of domestic abuse. In 2010, he pleaded
no contest to domestic violence and two other misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to three years’ probation after he allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s house and dragged her up a flight of stairs. He claimed he acted in self-defense.
The UFC suspended Johnson in 2014 and opened an investigation into his behavior after the mother of his child obtained an order of protection and alleged threats and abuse. The investigation concluded after the woman withdrew her order and a judge dismissed a civil case.
One month prior to his return to the UFC in April 2014, MMAjunkie reported that an
ex-girlfriend of Johnson’s declined to pursue charges after an incident at a martial arts studio where she worked. Although she declined to press charges, she said she wanted her report to remain public record.
Johnson (19-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) is set to fight Jimi Manuwa (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Sept. 5 at UFC 191, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
