When Chris Lytle faces Dan Hardy on Sunday, August 14 it will be the last time he sets foot in the Octagon, as Lytle has announced that he will retire following the UFC on Versus 5 fight card.
Both fighters have intimated that they plan to deliver a crowd-pleasing style of a fight when they meet in Sunday’s main event.
NBCSports.com broke the news of Lytle’s retirement. “I’ve been fighting since ’98, fighting forever, a lot of it is just that I’m not doing my responsibilities like I need to at home,” Lytle told NBCSports.com. “I feel like I’m not being the type of dad I want to. I got four kids and lots of times I feel just an immense sense of guilt for not being there in times when I should.”
Since making his professional debut in 1999, Lytle has amassed an overall MMA record of 30-18-5. Of those 18 losses, zero have come by way of knockout and only two were due to stoppages—both of which came via doctor stoppage.
During his long career, Lytle never fought for a UFC championship but his entertaining style made him a crowd favorite.
That style also paid dividends in other ways as he has received a record eight UFC “fight of the night” bonuses for his efforts in the Octagon—a record he shares with Joe Lauzon and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Lytle toyed with the idea of retirement after his last fight, a unanimous decision loss to Brian Ebersole at UFC 127, but ultimately decided the time was not right and agreed to the fight with Hardy.
Lytle has also expressed interest in a possible run for the Indiana state senate in the past but did not address the matter in his talk with NBC Sports.
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