Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, a former UFC light-heavyweight title contender, died at the age of 38 after fighting a prolonged illness.

The former fighter withdrew from the Bellator light-heavyweight title match scheduled for September 2021 because of a health concern.

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Over the previous year, the health issue remained, and his manager Ali Abdelaziz had just last month requested supporters to “pray” for the boxer.

The UFC star’s struggle with the illness was declared on Saturday night.

“Rumble, he’s going through some health problems right now. It’s very sad,” Abdelaziz said during an interview in October. “I think, I want everybody to pray for him. Pray for Anthony. It’s not going well. He’s very strong, spiritually. But pray for him.”

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Rumble opened up about it and explained his ailment to fans on social media, but he never identified the illness.

“Really wish I could go into detail about how ill I truly am. Just know I need as many prayers as I can get and I’ll see you in 2022 God willing. Never been this afraid of anything in my life but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family,” the post read. 

Johnson twice competed for the light-heavyweight title in the UFC, but both times he was defeated by the legendary Daniel Cormier.

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After Jon Jones was removed from the fight in 2015 at UFC 187, they fought once more in April 2017 at UFC 210, both times with Cormier winning by submission.

In his prime, he defeated opponents like Jimi Manuwa and Alexander Gustafsson in addition to world champions Glover Texeira, Ryan Bader, and others. In May 2021, he competed in a light-heavyweight Grand Prix match against Jose Augusto Azevedo, which he won by knockout in the second round.