Tag: and now he’s retired

And Now He’s “Semi-Retired”: Martin Kampmann’s Indecisive Retirement Speech

Remember Martin Kampmann, Potato Chips (that’s what we call our fans now).

Seeing as he hasn’t fought in over a year, we kind of almost forgot he existed.

If you’re struggling to remember, Kampmann hasn’t fought since a 2013 TKO loss to Carlos Condit. Before that, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks at UFC 154 in 2012.

Despite the inactivity and two-fight losing streak, Kampmann isn’t done (yet). He told MMA Fighting the following…

Remember Martin Kampmann, Potato Chips (that’s what we call our readers now).

Seeing as he hasn’t fought in over a year, we kind of almost forgot he existed.

If you’re struggling to remember, Kampmann hasn’t fought since a 2013 TKO loss to Carlos Condit. Before that, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks at UFC 154 in 2012.

Despite the inactivity and two-fight losing streak, Kampmann isn’t done (yet). He told MMA Fighting the following (emphasis added):

I’m still signed with the UFC, but I’m on an indefinite hiatus. I’m semi-retired, you might say. I’m taking a break and focusing on coaching, stuff like that. I’m still signed with the UFC, I still have a contract with the UFC, but I just don’t have any fights lined up and I don’t plan on having any fights lined up in the future, either. I’m focusing on coaching right now. I still love fighting so I’ll never say never, but I can’t see myself fighting anytime in the future right now. I’ve had my share of concussions and it’s not always fun. I took some fights where I shouldn’t have taken them, but I pushed through it and that was a mistake in retrospect. Can’t change that now, but now I’m trying to watch out for my health better than I’ve done in the past.

Someone might want to let Kampmann know the bolded parts of his speech are pretty much the definition of retiring from MMA.

But for real, good for Kampmann. He’s prioritizing his health–which more fighters should do–and he’s got a great coaching gig over at Team Alpha Male. We wish him the best.

And Now He’s Retired (And Likely Blacklisted): Wanderlei Silva Retires and Buries the UFC

Wanderlei Silva has retired after a storied career in mixed martial arts.

It’s just a shame he had to do it after a drug test scandal and before he was set to appear in front of the NSAC.

What made it worse–or better depending on your perspective–is that Silva trashed the UFC in his 13-minute retirement video (which, by the way, he says “isn’t a goodbye,” for whatever that’s worth).

Here are some of his most poignant lines:

Wanderlei Silva has retired after a storied career in mixed martial arts dating back to 1996.

It’s just a shame he had to announce his retirement after a drug test scandal and before he was set to appear in front of the NSAC.

What made it worse–or better depending on your perspective–is that Silva trashed the UFC in his 13-minute retirement video.

Here are some of his most poignant lines (transcribed by MMAjunkie):

Unfortunately, this organization took away my desire to fight. I can’t do this anymore. With a heavy heart, I come here today to declare I am stepping down from the ring. After today, Wanderlei Silva will not fight again. My career is over because I don’t have a stage to perform where the athletes get the proper respect.

Fair enough. Let’s see what else he said:

They told me I had to fight on that date [at UFC 175] and offered me a bunch of money. They would pay me extra to fight on that date. So I asked myself, if they had the money, why didn’t they offer it to me before? They always hold on to the money, so they always underpay the athletes. But they do have the money. I said, ‘Sorry, but I won’t take this money because I won’t be in a condition to perform the way my fans expect of me.’ We had another meeting after that and they kept pressuring me. I said I could only fight at the end of the year. They opened their eyes wide: ‘Only at the end of the year?’ I was not in the physical condition to fight on the July card.

Then Silva went on a bit of a tangent. He cited the UFC’s treatment of Renan Barao at UFC 177 (read: not paying him a cent) as yet another reason he was upset. He said the UFC over-worked Barao and made him train every day for six months due to the way he was booked. He said they “bashed and mocked” Barao once his body collapsed after all the training. He also took issue with the fact that Dana White and “the media” allegedly called Barao a “kid” (which he’s right to complain about; it annoys the shit out of us too). Here’s some more of his rant:

This makes me angry and makes me look at the sport in a different way. They are taking away my desire to fight. I don’t feel like fighting anymore when I hear these statements. … That’s the minimum a fighter deserves. If you’re not going to give them money, you should at least give them respect. The few fighters who have a name are forced to fight all year long, because they want to make 50 events a year.

Furthermore, he charged the UFC of “wearing down the athletes” and that there was a terrible binary in the UFC: Accept every fight the UFC gives you, even if you’re hurt, or you’re “worthless” to the company. He said the UFC is making “rivers of money” while only giving “crumbs” to the athletes.

So, yeah. He’s definitely on Dana White’s shit-list now.

Silva makes some good points in his rant, but it’s all just a veneer. He ran from a drug test, and now he’s trying to run from any form of punishment. And burying the UFC during the video, while understandable, just seems like a cheap way to retire on some kind of non-existent moral high ground.

“I’m not retiring because of drug test reasons. I’m retiring because the UFC is EVIL!”

It’s unfortunate to see one of the greats go out like that. It’s even more unfortunate that the UFC will likely respond with erasing Silva from MMA history.

Silva retires with a 35-12-1 (1) record. Hopefully his legacy as one of MMA’s most aggressive and exciting fighters (as opposed to merely athletes) will survive the further ugliness that’s sure to come.

But even if it doesn’t, look on the bright side: When all of Silva’s fights are deleted from Fight Pass, you can still watch him wreck people in IVC.

And Now He’s Retired: Jorge Gurgel Calls It Quits After Horrific Accident Claims His Mother’s Life

On August 29th, Silvia Gallo, the mother of UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jorge Gurgel, was hit by a taxi while crossing Madison Avenue and 79th Street in New York City’s Upper East Side. She was killed almost instantly, despite the incredible efforts of several bystanders to save her.

Jorge had spoken to his mother some 40 minutes before the accident. She was running a few final errands before departing the city to begin a year-long stay in Ireland, where she would work as a Pilates instructor. The conversation they had was brief, but nothing short of foreboding, as MMAJunkie reports:

She literally said, ‘If you die tomorrow, everybody’s lives will still go on. You don’t need to take care of everybody. I want you to get rid of all the bad energy in your life. You have to get rid of all the crazy.

It was of those mom speeches.

Jorge’s mom was always his biggest supporter, even if she couldn’t find it in her to attend her son’s fights in person. Recalled Gurgel, “Everywhere we went (she said), ‘This is my son. The fighter I talked about. This is the fighter.’ She was just so proud.”

But at the same time, Silvia was also the strongest proponent urging for his retirement. It was “never his true calling,” she would tell him. After 12 years and nearly 25 professional bouts, Gurgel had done as much as he could as a fighter. But as a coach, there was still plenty of life left in him.

“If you continue to fight, you’re never going to give your students or the future generation a fair chance,” she told him.

And in keeping with his mother’s wish, Jorge Gurgel has decided to retire from mixed martial arts competition.

On August 29th, Silvia Gallo, the mother of UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jorge Gurgel, was hit by a taxi while crossing Madison Avenue and 79th Street in New York City’s Upper East Side. She was killed almost instantly, despite the incredible efforts of several bystanders to save her.

Jorge had spoken to his mother some 40 minutes before the accident. She was running a few final errands before departing the city to begin a year-long stay in Ireland, where she would work as a Pilates instructor. The conversation they had was brief, but nothing short of foreboding, as MMAJunkie reports:

She literally said, ‘If you die tomorrow, everybody’s lives will still go on. You don’t need to take care of everybody. I want you to get rid of all the bad energy in your life. You have to get rid of all the crazy.

It was of those mom speeches.

Jorge’s mom was always his biggest supporter, even if she couldn’t find it in her to attend her son’s fights in person. Recalled Gurgel, “Everywhere we went (she said), ‘This is my son. The fighter I talked about. This is the fighter.’ She was just so proud.”

But at the same time, Silvia was also the strongest proponent urging for his retirement. It was “never his true calling,” she would tell him. After 12 years and nearly 25 professional bouts, Gurgel had done as much as he could as a fighter. But as a coach, there was still plenty of life left in him.

“If you continue to fight, you’re never going to give your students or the future generation a fair chance,” she told him.

And in keeping with his mother’s wish, Jorge Gurgel has decided to retire from mixed martial arts competition.

It was always ironic that Gurgel, a man who has long been renowned for his coaching skills, never could quite follow a gameplan when he was the one donning the 4 oz gloves. A third degree black belt, Gurgel opted to stand and trade haymakers with his opponents more often than not as a fighter, a highly determining factor in his just above .500 record. (His back-and-forth technical slugfest with Aaron Riley at UFC 91 sticks out in my mind most. God, what a fight that was.)

“I may not have always followed the game plans.” said Gurgel. “If I had, I would have been more successful. But did I fight with all my heart? Yes. I’m a warrior. I’m an old-school warrior.

“I always left it all in the cage. Every time I stepped in the cage was my proudest moment – knowing that I stepped in the cage every single time 100 percent prepared and gave it my all.”

It would be hard to argue with him on that. Gurgel retires with a professional record of 14-10, but will continue to coach and serve his community moving forward. He will honor his mother’s life in the most positive way possible, because it’s what his mother would have wanted.

She was all about positivity. She had the biggest smile in the world. She hated people that played ‘poor me, poor me.’ She was all about owning your s–t. Get the hell up. Get your s–t done. Don’t find excuses. She did not believe in excuses.

Best of luck to you, Jorge, wherever the road takes you.

–J. Jones

(By the Way, Jens Pulver Retired This Weekend Too)

(Props: Karyn Bryant/MMA Heat)

When BJ Penn announced his retirement last night after getting smashed by Frankie Edgar at the TUF 19 Finale, it signaled the end of an era; yet another UFC legend from the last decade had finally accepted that he couldn’t hack it anymore. But while Penn got to make his final statement on national television to the cheers of an adoring Las Vegas crowd, one of the Prodigy’s greatest rivals made a much quieter exit from the sport.

In an interview with Karyn Bryant published yesterday, Jens Pulver — the UFC’s first-ever 155-pound champion — announced that he was officially retired. Pulver was in town for the UFC Fan Expo, working the FightMatch booth, and had this to say about his competitive status:

“I (competed at) 135 for a bit, and I hear everybody saying ‘time to retire’, this and that, and I refused to announce it or say it, but I think I’ve said it like three times today — I’m done. I mean, I’m done. And I think most people are like, ‘Well, you were done like five years ago’.”

It’s the kind of self-deprecating line that we’ve come to expect from the always humble Pulver, but there’s some sad truth to it. Pulver’s career peak came way back in 2001-2002, when he won the UFC’s inaugural “bantamweight” title with a decision win over Caol Uno at UFC 30, then defended it twice against Dennis Hallman and BJ Penn. Since then, his career has been in a long, steady decline, punctuated by just enough bright moments to keep him going.


(Props: Karyn Bryant/MMA Heat)

When BJ Penn announced his retirement last night after getting smashed by Frankie Edgar at the TUF 19 Finale, it signaled the end of an era; yet another UFC legend from the last decade had finally accepted that he couldn’t hack it anymore. But while Penn got to make his final statement on national television to the cheers of an adoring Las Vegas crowd, one of the Prodigy’s greatest rivals made a much quieter exit from the sport.

In an interview with Karyn Bryant published yesterday, Jens Pulver — the UFC’s first-ever 155-pound champion — announced that he was officially retired. Pulver was in town for the UFC Fan Expo, working the FightMatch booth, and had this to say about his competitive status:

“I (competed at) 135 for a bit, and I hear everybody saying ‘time to retire’, this and that, and I refused to announce it or say it, but I think I’ve said it like three times today — I’m done. I mean, I’m done. And I think most people are like, ‘Well, you were done like five years ago’.”

It’s the kind of self-deprecating line that we’ve come to expect from the always humble Pulver, but there’s some sad truth to it. Pulver’s career peak came way back in 2001-2002, when he won the UFC’s inaugural “bantamweight” title with a decision win over Caol Uno at UFC 30, then defended it twice against Dennis Hallman and BJ Penn. Since then, his career has been in a long, steady decline, punctuated by just enough bright moments to keep him going.

After leaving the UFC after the first Penn fight due to a contract dispute, Pulver bounced around various promotions for a while, and ran up a 2-2 record competing in PRIDE. He returned to the UFC in 2006, where he suffered a shocking knockout loss against an unheralded youngster named Joe Lauzon, and was choked out by BJ Penn in their rematch at the TUF 5 Finale.

Pulver dropped to 145 pounds to join the WEC’s featherweight division in 2007, and submitted Cub Swanson in just 35 seconds during his promotional debut. It seemed that a change in weight class was the perfect remedy to rescue Pulver’s career. Unfortunately, Lil’ Evil would go on to lose his next five fights in the promotion, taking bad beatings against the likes of Urijah Faber (twice), Leonard Garcia, and Josh Grispi.

Following his WEC stint, Pulver went nomad again, showing up in XFO, Titan FC, RFA, and ONE FC. He dropped to bantamweight, and then to flyweight, steadily alternating between wins and losses. In 2013, Pulver suffered back-to-back losses against Masakatsu Ueda (in ONE FC) and Sami Aziz (in Superior Challenge). Pulver has kept busy since his last defeat, training fighters and working a commentary gig for Cage Warriors — but he hasn’t competed since last November, and doesn’t plan on strapping on the gloves again.

As Neil Young sang, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” In MMA terms, I guess that means it’s better to retire after a high-profile ass kicking on cable TV (like Penn) than sort of float around the fringes of the sport for a while and reveal your retirement on a YouTube video eight months after your last loss, when most fans have already stopped wondering when your next fight will be (like Pulver).

The end of the road is never a fun place to be. Then again, look at Pulver’s smile while he talks to Bryant — the smile that’s always been his greatest physical trademark. Jens Pulver is in a good place. He’s got things to look forward to. He’s comfortable with the fact that his time is up, and can even say those words out loud now. It was never an easy journey for him, but he survived it. You’d be smiling too.

And Now He’s Retired (Again): Matt Hamill Hangs ‘Em Up Citing “Nagging Injury”


(via Matt’s FaceBook page.)

Sad but foreseeable news today, as TUF 3 alum, UFC star, and inspirational figure Matt Hamill has called it quits on his MMA career for a second and hopefully final time.

The announcement comes after Hamill was forced out of his World Series of Fighting debut at WSOF 11 with a knee injury, and was made via his Facebook page:

First and foremost, I would like to thank my most loyal fans for standing by me throughout my 10 year career with MMA… All good things must come to an end and I am saddened that the time has come for me to hang up my gloves permanently due to a nagging injury that has never healed and has worsened with time. The memories have been good…. 


(via Matt’s FaceBook page.)

Sad but foreseeable news today, as TUF 3 alum, UFC star, and inspirational figure Matt Hamill has called it quits on his MMA career for a second and hopefully final time.

The announcement comes after Hamill was forced out of his World Series of Fighting debut at WSOF 11 with a knee injury, and was made via his Facebook page:

First and foremost, I would like to thank my most loyal fans for standing by me throughout my 10 year career with MMA… All good things must come to an end and I am saddened that the time has come for me to hang up my gloves permanently due to a nagging injury that has never healed and has worsened with time. The memories have been good…. 

As you recall, Hamill initially retired following his second round TKO loss to a young up-and-comer named Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133, citing the same nagging injuries that apparently still plague him to this day. Perhaps seeking a triumphant win to go out on, Hamill unretired a little over a year later, as MMA fighters are wont to do. Although “The Hammer” was able to score a unanimous decision victory over Roger Hollett in a largely forgettable contest at UFC 152, his subsequent decision loss to Thiago Silva at Fight Night 27 wrote home the notion that the game had sadly passed him by.

His recent woes aside, there’s no denying the impact Hamill had on the UFC, its fans, and the deaf community during his MMA career, which saw him score wins over Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Mark Munoz, Jon Jones (technically), and Michael Bisping (not technically but c’mon). Having had the brief opportunity to train with Hamill prior to his fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 88, I can personally attest to the quality of his character and would like to wish him the best of luck wherever the road takes him.

Show Hamill some love one final time in the comments section.

–J. Jones

And Now He’s Retired: Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos Calls It Quits After Quick TKO Loss to Melvin Manhoef in Rematch

(Santos vs. Manhoef II via João Baptista.)

With an MMA career spanning back 17 years (!) and some 35 (sanctioned) fights, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos has practically done it all. He’s fought under the Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Jungle Fight, Sengoku, and PRIDE banners. He’s competed in Pancrase, fought in a handful of the legendary Vale Tudo matches, and was one of the founding members of Chute Box, the notoriously brutal Brazilian camp of lore. On his resume you will find such recognizable names as Jose Landi-Jons, Mauricio Rua, Nick Diaz, Melvin Manhoef, Yuki Kondo…we could go on.

A fierce striker with an entertainment over all else approach to the sport, “Cyborg” has and always will represent the “old age” of MMA. He was a “fighter’s fighter” if you will, which makes his decision to step away from the sport on his own accord all the more impressive (looking at you, Big Nog). Speaking with Portal do Vale Tudo on Wednesday, Santos stated that his decision to retire was at least partially influenced by the unfavorable treatment he felt he was receiving from the Gringo Fight promotion, where he was last defeated by Melvin Manhoef in their rematch at Gringo Super Fight 10. However, at just 4-6 in his past 10 fights, it’s hard to disagree with Santos’ decision.

We hope retirement treats you well, Cyborg. Lord knows you’ve earned it.
(*raises chalice* *nods*)

Join us after the jump to once again relive Santos’ 2006 Cage Rage war with Manhoef, then pay your respects to a true legend of the game in the comments section.


(Santos vs. Manhoef II via João Baptista.)

With an MMA career spanning back 17 years (!) and some 35 (sanctioned) fights, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos has practically done it all. He’s fought under the Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Jungle Fight, Sengoku, and PRIDE banners. He’s competed in Pancrase, fought in a handful of the legendary Vale Tudo matches, and was one of the founding members of Chute Box, the notoriously brutal Brazilian camp of lore. On his resume you will find such recognizable names as Jose Landi-Jons, Mauricio Rua, Nick Diaz, Melvin Manhoef, Yuki Kondo…we could go on.

A fierce striker with an entertainment over all else approach to the sport, “Cyborg” has and always will represent the “old age” of MMA. He was a “fighter’s fighter” if you will, which makes his decision to step away from the sport on his own accord all the more impressive (looking at you, Big Nog). Speaking with Portal do Vale Tudo on Wednesday, Santos stated that his decision to retire was at least partially influenced by the unfavorable treatment he felt he was receiving from the Gringo Fight promotion, where he was last defeated by Melvin Manhoef in their rematch at Gringo Super Fight 10. However, at just 4-6 in his past 10 fights, it’s hard to disagree with Santos’ decision.

We hope retirement treats you well, Cyborg. Lord knows you’ve earned it.
(*raises chalice* *nods*)

Join us after the jump to once again relive Santos’ 2006 Cage Rage war with Manhoef, then pay your respects to a true legend of the game in the comments section.

–J. Jones