Coach Henri Hooft Reveals Anthony Johnson Memorabilia at Kill Cliff FC
While Anthony
Johnson never won an
Ultimate Fighting Championship title, he has a special belt
with his name etched forever at his gym.
Johnson (23-6) spent most of his career training at Kill Cliff FC (formerly Sanford MMA) in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Head coach Henri Hooft recently shared a memory of the late UFC multi-division contender. Hooft revealed a belt dedicated to the sparring champion of his gym. While Johnson never won a UFC title, “Rumble” was the undisputed sparring champ at Kill Cliff FC. The belt remains in the gym in memory of Johnson, sometimes reminding his teammates of his unintentional knockout power.
“We have a sparring belt… That belongs to the hardest-hitting guy
in my gym,” Hooft told Home of Fight. “Back in the day everybody
spar with everybody. Nowadays some people are like, ‘Ah, [mocking],
I don’t want to go with this guy because he go hard.’ So this belt
belongs to the guy that never got a real belt in the UFC but was
the most scariest fighter in his weight division. This is Anthony
Johnson’s. He’s not with us anymore, he died too soon. Amazing
person, amazing fighter… So this is him, we keep it here for him,
memories. Sometimes people pick it up and then we talk about
stories where Anthony Johnson knocks out people in the gym and not
on purpose.”
Despite running through most of the UFC light heavyweight division, Johnson never realized his title aspirations. Johnson was denied on both of his attempts by Daniel Cormier via submission, first at UFC 187 in 2015 and then at UFC 210 in 2017. Johnson left the UFC after his second loss against Cormier and only fought once at Bellator in 2021, scoring a knockout over Jose Augusto. The feared knockout artist tragically passed away in November 2022 after a battle with cancer.
Johnson (23-6) spent most of his career training at Kill Cliff FC (formerly Sanford MMA) in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Head coach Henri Hooft recently shared a memory of the late UFC multi-division contender. Hooft revealed a belt dedicated to the sparring champion of his gym. While Johnson never won a UFC title, “Rumble” was the undisputed sparring champ at Kill Cliff FC. The belt remains in the gym in memory of Johnson, sometimes reminding his teammates of his unintentional knockout power.
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Despite running through most of the UFC light heavyweight division, Johnson never realized his title aspirations. Johnson was denied on both of his attempts by Daniel Cormier via submission, first at UFC 187 in 2015 and then at UFC 210 in 2017. Johnson left the UFC after his second loss against Cormier and only fought once at Bellator in 2021, scoring a knockout over Jose Augusto. The feared knockout artist tragically passed away in November 2022 after a battle with cancer.
💔🏆
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 20, 2025
Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson is still the "Sparring champ" at Kill Cliff gym.
Henri Hooft showed his belt:
"This belt belongs to a guy who never got the UFC belt but was the scariest fighter in his weight division."
🎥 @Home_of_Fight & @Jaidencablee pic.twitter.com/vnDglGfatz
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