Off Guard: Anthony Johnson on fighting Jon Jones at 205, following Mike Tyson's footsteps

Anthony Johnson is putting the wheels in motion ahead of a return to the octagon, and he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“Rumble” chatted with MMA Junkie after Dominance MMA media day at the Tyson Ranch and said his next move is to re-enter the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool ahead of a Spring 2020 return.

“I’m thinking around April,” he said. “I’m doing it (re-entering the USADA pool) soon. I just don’t know when.”

Johnson is looking to get back into the octagon as a heavyweight, which opens up a host of mouth-watering possibilities, including a showdown with fellow knockout artist Francis Ngannou. But “Rumble” left the door open for a return to 205 pounds as he hinted at a little unfinished business against Jones, whom he was due to face back at UFC 187 in 2015.

“Yeah, I mean, if I get down to around 230, 235 and I feel comfortable, I’ll go down to light heavyweight,” Johnson said. “But it would only be to fight Jon.”

One thing Johnson isn’t likely to do, however, is transition into the world of professional wrestling. With the news of Cain Velasquez’s switch from MMA to WWE still hanging in the air, Johnson seemed less enthused about a potential career inside the squared circle.

“Yeah and no,” Johnson said. “It’s good money, but it’s so fake. I don’t think I can be that fake. But it’s their career, it’s their job, it’s their passion, it’s what they love to do, so more power to them. It’s just not for me.”

What he is involved in these days is marijuana. Johnson launched his cannabis company, Competitive Body Development, during his time away from the cage and said he was still very much part of it, despite his imminent octagon return.

“I’m still involved,” he grinned, waving a blunt at the camera. “Just a little bit.”

And “Rumble” said he hopes to follow in the footsteps of another noted knockout artist, heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson, who has also made a move into the marijuana industry. Johnson even revealed the pair had chatted about potentially working together in the future.

“The Tyson Ranch is amazing,” Johnson said. “Tyson’s one of my idols – amazing guy – so I wanted to be like him, with knocking people out, and now he’s in the business world dealing with cannabis. I want to follow in his footsteps with that, too.

“It’s all working out really well. My company’s called Competitive Body Development. We’re still getting everything in order, but it’s coming along good. We just talked for a while about some business, so hopefully we can make some things happen together.”