Anthony Johnson apologizes, agrees to go to counseling after gym incident

Anthony Johnson has agreed to attend counseling and make a donation to a women's charity following an incident with a woman at his gym.

Johnson was involved in an altercation with a woman he claimed was stretching too close to him while he was weight training. After a verbal spat, he said he tossed her yoga mat across the gym. The former UFC light heavyweight title challenger then called the woman "ugly" and compared her looks to a "bag of dry dog food" in a Facebook post.

The UFC released the following statement regarding the incident:

Following a thorough investigation by a third-party law firm, UFC is extremely disappointed with Anthony Johnson's recent actions, as the organization does not tolerate behavior of this nature from any athletes under contract with the UFC. Johnson personally apologized to the woman he verbally offended at a Florida gym last week and for the insensitive comments he made on social media afterwards. The woman accepted Johnson's apology and indicated a desire to put this unfortunate matter behind them. In order to ensure these situations do not happen in the future, Johnson has agreed to participate in counseling and UFC will support him through this process. Johnson has also agreed to make a donation to a Florida-based women's charity.

Johnson will face Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191: JOHNSON vs. DODSON 2 on Saturday, September 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

As indicated in the press release, Johnson will go ahead with his bout against Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191 in September.

"I'm focused on the fight," Johnson told Fox Sports' Damon Martin on Tuesday. "I don't let nothing really distract me. I'm a calm guy, people don't seem to realize that. In the gym, I go in the gym I go in and train hard and I leave. I don't go in and bother people. I don't even stand around and talk to my teammates, within five or 10 minutes, I'm gone. I'm just ready to leave because I put in all this hard work, I want to get home and chill."

Johnson, the subject of multiple domestic violence allegations, was briefly suspended by the UFC in 2014 while authorities investigated an incident between him and the mother of his child. The case was eventually dropped.