“My Prayers Go Out to His Family”: Shaquille O’Neal Joins Combat World in Mourning UFC Star’s Demise

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal joined others in mourning the passing of former UFC star, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson. The UFC world is shaken by the news as the UFC world lost one of the most lethal KO fighters. The Los Angeles Lakers legend shared the post on his social media, keeping one of the greats of the MMA world in his prayers. The sad news has devastated fans around the world.

The loss was shocking for many as people were not particularly aware of Johnson’s illness, which is still undisclosed.

Shaquille O’Neal shares prayers for the lost UFC legend

Shaquille O’Neal shared the devastating news of the UFC legend’s demise on Instagram, and others followed. Anthony Johnson was not keeping well for over a year, due to an undisclosed illness. His Instagram posts last year shared chilling words where he wrote his fear of the disease and requests for prayers. The legendary fighter terminated his contract with UFC in 2020 and joined Bellator MMA. 

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Johnson had a fight lined up for October 2021, which he had to pull out suddenly due to his illness. The fighter fought bravely for a year before he died on Sunday, aged 38. The UFC world came together to share their prayers for the fallen warrior, and so did the Lakers legend. 

The Bellator MMA team shared their prayers for the family and loved ones. Hoping everyone would recover from this terrible tragedy. Last month, Johnson’s manager publicly stated the seriousness of the illness and urged fans and the MMA community to pray for him. 

Dwight Howard, the former Lakers star could not believe the news as he commented on the post. Daniel Cormier, the UFC legend mourned by reminding everyone that one of the hardest strikers had the softest soul. Michael Chiesa, the UFC fighter also found it hard to believe the loss of the legend.

Johnson was arguably one of the fiercest strikers in the octagon, with a record of 22-6-0. But his fun side wasn’t hidden, as fans recalled Rumble and Jon Jones playing a prank on Dana White.

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According to some reports, Johnson could have been suffering from a form of cancer, that rapidly took the life of the UFC star. If it is true, he would be the second UFC star that the world has lost to cancer recently. Norifumi Yamamoto died in 2018, losing the battle to stomach cancer.