UFC veteran Chris Lytle retired from mixed martial arts competition after a triumphant victory against Dan Hardy at UFC Live 5: Lytle vs. Hardy in August 2011, but his desire to compete at a high level burns on, as he searches for new opportunities and…
UFC veteran Chris Lytle retired from mixed martial arts competition after a triumphant victory against Dan Hardy at UFC Live 5: Lytle vs. Hardy in August 2011, but his desire to compete at a high level burns on, as he searches for new opportunities and challenges.
Lytle, who was an accomplished professional boxer prior to turning to MMA, now wants to fight boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., and he thinks he can beat the celebrated fighter at his own game.
“I think after about three or four rounds he’s going to experience the fact that he has been boxing 30 years, and he’s going to slow down from it,” Lytle told Bleacher Report. “I think as the third of fourth rounds come to an end, I’ll start picking up my pace and really start dominating after that. I don’t see him knocking me out, and I don’t see me getting stopped, so I think it’s going to be a tough night for Roy.”
Before trying out for Season 4 of the UFC’s hit reality television show The Ultimate Fighter, Lytle posted an impressive 13-1-1 record in professional boxing competition. After deciding to try his hand at MMA, however, his boxing career abruptly ended, and he views the bout with Jones Jr. as an opportunity to gain some closure on that chapter of his combat sports career.
“I’ve always wanted to have another boxing match,” Lytle said. “I’m not really willing to get back into MMA; I like the way MMA ended for me. I thought [the Jones Jr. fight] sounded like a great idea, and I was like, ‘Man, I’ve always wanted to have another boxing match, but I just never had the opportunity to do it.'”
While much talk circulated in the past regarding a Jones Jr. fight against other MMA stars like Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, Lytle feels he is the best-equipped fighter to tackle this cross-sport challenge against somebody of Jones Jr.’s stature.
“I can’t think of anybody else who’s affiliated with the UFC or mixed martial arts who really make sense for this,” Lytle said. “I was 13-1-1 in boxing, and I beat a few good prospects. I just had to stop due to MMA.”
Making a potential showdown with Jones Jr. even tastier, Lytle said he can be ready to go in short order. The former UFC welterweight said he still boxes regularly, and he has spent a considerable amount of time recently helping local boxers prepare for their own bouts inside the ring.
With this, Lytle feels he could make the fight with Jones Jr. a reality within a couple of months.
“I know I’m in boxing shape, and I know I could go the distance without having any problems,” Lytle said. “I think I could get a six-to-eight-week camp in and be ready to go.”
Lytle‘s submission victory over Hardy in 2011 served as a storybook conclusion to his MMA career, and now the Indiana native said he sees the fight with Jones Jr. as an opportunity to bookend his boxing career with another dramatic, dreamlike victory.
“I’ve been watching Roy Jones forever, and there was probably a 10-year period where he was the best boxer in the world, in my opinion, bar none—just dominating,” Lytle said. “I’ve always seen Roy as that fighter, and just being able to go in and compete and get a victory over a guy like that…that’d be a dream come true.”
Following Anderson Silva’s devastating leg-break against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, many observers hoped that one of the greatest fighters of all time would decide to retire in order to spend time with his family and count all of the “Anderson Silva money” he’s earned from fighting. Hell, even Silva’s son was hoping he would hang his gloves up. But following successful surgery, Silva has expressed his desire to return to the cage. Hopefully this is not the case. Silva has nothing left to accomplish in the sport, and at 38 years old, he would be facing a steep uphill battle to recover and earn back his belt.
Choosing to walk away from a long, fruitful MMA career is not an easy decision. Most fighters continue to compete long after they should have walked away. Nevertheless, every once in a while, an astute fighter realizes that their best days are behind them, and they decide to leave the sport for greener pastures. The following list is a tribute to five fighters who decided to leave MMA at the right time.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
Georges St-Pierre recently decided to leave the sport of MMA for an undetermined amount of time. The reason why GSP’s decision to vacate his welterweight title is so incredible is because it’s so rare to see athletes leave at the top of their game. We’re used to dominant athletes staying too long, unable to give up the roar of the crowd and the lure of the paycheck. The list of accomplishments on GSP’s resume is long, varied and practically unparalleled in the sport of MMA. His in-cage achievements make him a legitimate candidate for the greatest of all time, with only fighters like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emeliananko even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.
Following Anderson Silva’s devastating leg-break against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, many observers hoped that one of the greatest fighters of all time would decide to retire in order to spend time with his family and count all of the “Anderson Silva money” he’s earned from fighting. Hell, even Silva’s son was hoping he would hang his gloves up. But following successful surgery, Silva has expressed his desire to return to the cage. Hopefully this is not the case. Silva has nothing left to accomplish in the sport, and at 38 years old, he would be facing a steep uphill battle to recover and earn back his belt.
Choosing to walk away from a long, fruitful MMA career is not an easy decision. Most fighters continue to compete long after they should have walked away. Nevertheless, every once in a while, an astute fighter realizes that their best days are behind them, and they decide to leave the sport for greener pastures. The following list is a tribute to five fighters who decided to leave MMA at the right time.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
Georges St-Pierre recently decided to leave the sport of MMA for an undetermined amount of time. The reason why GSP’s decision to vacate his welterweight title is so incredible is because it’s so rare to see athletes leave at the top of their game. We’re used to dominant athletes staying too long, unable to give up the roar of the crowd and the lure of the paycheck. The list of accomplishments on GSP’s resume is long, varied and practically unparalleled in the sport of MMA. His in-cage achievements make him a legitimate candidate for the greatest of all time, with only fighters like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emeliananko even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.
During his career, GSP won the belt off the previous “most dominant Welterweight on the planet” and then went on to face every single 170-pound challenger to his belt. To borrow a phrase from Joe Rogan, St-Pierre faced a “murderer’s row” of contenders including Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, and Johny Hendricks. And it’s not as though he left the sport with a slew of guys who hadn’t yet had the chance to try and beat him. He gave all comers their opportunity and beat them all. Whether you like it or not, he even won his final match. He may have been clearly beaten up, but he won 3 of the 5 rounds and, according to the 10-point must system, that makes him the winner.
The reason why vacating the title is the right move for GSP is because he left the sport on his own terms. The multiple-time Canadian Athlete of the Year has done nearly everything any mainstream athlete ever could to maximize his earnings outside of the court of play. He has appeared on reality TV — as a coach on TUF — has already appeared in two films, and will portray the villain in the new Captain America movie. He also has huge endorsements, is a best-selling author, a fitness guru, and a certified ladies man. That, my friends, is why GSP is not only one of the greatest fighters ever…he is also one of the smartest.
(Lytle slugs it out with fellow recent-retiree Paul Taylor. / Photo via MMAWeekly)
Throughout his long career, Chris “Lights Out” Lytle was a technically proficient fighter but he employed a fan-friendly style of brawling that pleased both fans and the UFC brass alike. Lytle ended his career in the UFC having won five of his last six fights, so when he announced his retirement in 2011 — prior to his main-event fight against Dan Hardy at UFC on Versus 5 — many fans were shocked. That night, Lytle submitted Hardy, something that even then-champion GSP couldn’t do. The performance earned him Fight of the Night and Submission of the night bonuses and he celebrated the moment by bringing his kids into the Octagon. It was an emotional ending to an incredible 54-fight career that saw him earn 10 “Of the Night” bonuses, including an unofficial 11th one for his submission over Matt Brown (the actual bonus went to the Brock Lesnar).
Lytle fought for many of the top MMA promotions around the world including Cage Rage, Pancrase, IFL, WEC, and UFC. Incredibly he was never submitted or knocked out in his entire 54-fight career. When Lytle was cast on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback season, he was already well-known to hardcore fans, but it was the reality show that introduced him to mainstream fans and earned him a reputation as a gritty fighter and all-around good guy. In the final, Lytle lost a decision to Matt Serra, but it was close and one judge even gave him the fight 30-27. Even though he lost that fight, he did manage to beat Serra in a rematch.
Part of Lytle’s blue-collar appeal can be attributed to the fact that while training and fighting he also worked full-time as a firefighter at the Indianapolis Fire Department. He was also highly involved in the local community, running for the Indiana State Senate in 2012 and establishing a charity for at-risk youth. In late 2013, Lytle indicated that he could be lured back to the UFC — with his wife’s approval no less — for a big paycheck so that his family could finally “get that lake house.” Still training and sparring, Lytle said he’d be willing to come back for a short notice fight against a Nick Diaz-type fighter, as long as it didn’t require a long, arduous and time-consuming training camp. Whether or not a comeback ever happens, Lytle had a storybook ending to his illustrious MMA career. His decision to retire wasn’t about chronic injuries or declining ability; it was about other obligations and wanting to spend more time with his family. It’s a lesson that up-and-coming fighters should take note of.
(Photo via Getty)
Brian “All-American” Stann may have ended his career going 1-3, but this isn’t a list about fighters who ended on a winning streak; it’s about fighters who realized they had nothing left to prove and left the sport for longer-lasting pursuits, which is exactly why Stann deserves to be on this list. Besides, it’s not as though Stann’s final losses were against scrubs; they were against some of the best middleweights to ever enter the Octagon, including Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, and Michael Bisping.
Stann was the type of fighter who struggled against top-10 fighters but easily disposed of the mid-tier fighters. Personable and a favorite of the UFC brass, he certainly could have competed in the UFC for a long time as a gatekeeper for the middleweight division. But Stann was too smart to fall into that life. He has more going on outside of the fight game than most fighters, and he chose to capitalize on his non-fighting skills rather than being resigned to “perennial contender” status. As far as a life outside of fighting, Stann is best known as being a Silver Star U.S. Marine who served in Iraq. Currently, he runs a non-profit, called Hire Heroes, for U.S. military veterans to find work, and acts as a commentator for both the UFC on Fox and Atlantic Coast Conference football games. He has also authored a book about his life in and out of the cage.
Stann is now retired, focusing on broadcasting, his charitable endeavors and family. When he announced his departure from MMA, Stann stated it was because he has three young daughters and he didn’t want to risk brain injury after years of football, MMA and explosions in combat. He left the game with some hardware — he won the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship — and his final bout against Wanderlei Silva was one of the most thrilling UFC fights of all time. Silva called their two-round war, at the UFC’s return to Japan in March 2013, one of the best fights of his career, which is incredible considering the wars that Silva has been in. Stann may not have ended his career on a win but that fight cemented his legacy as a warrior who will be fondly remembered by fight fans.
On the next page: The first “Face of WMMA,” the “Engineer of Pain,” and five honorable mentions…
(The first of Riley’s epic pair of HOOKnSHOOT bouts with Yves Edwards. The second is after the jump.)
16 years, 44 (sanctioned) fights and at least three broken jaws. Ladies and gentlemen of the Potato Nation, Aaron Riley has seen it all.
A nine-fight UFC veteran, Riley announced his retirement from the sport via Twitter yesterday after coming up short against Justin Salas on the Facebook portion of the UFC on FOX 8 undercard.
Riley’s loss to Salas was the first time the seasoned veteran had made a UFC appearance since UFC 135 in September of 2011, where he suffered a broken jaw in the first round of his fight with TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson.
Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Riley built his name under the HOOKnSHOOT banner, fighting alongside (and often with) such future UFC staples as Chris Lytle and Yves Edwards. And not unlike Lytle, Riley would quickly earn a reputation as one of the sports toughest and oft underappreciated brawlers.
(The first of Riley’s epic pair of HOOKnSHOOT bouts with Yves Edwards. The second is after the jump.)
16 years, 44 (sanctioned) fights and at least three broken jaws. Ladies and gentlemen of the Potato Nation, Aaron Riley has seen it all.
A nine-fight UFC veteran, Riley announced his retirement from the sport via Twitter yesterday after coming up short against Justin Salas on the Facebook portion of the UFC on FOX 8 undercard.
Riley’s loss to Salas was the first time the seasoned veteran had made a UFC appearance since UFC 135 in September of 2011, where he suffered a broken jaw in the first round of his fight with TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson.
Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Riley built his name under the HOOKnSHOOT banner, fighting alongside (and often with) such future UFC staples as Chris Lytle and Yves Edwards. And not unlike Lytle, Riley would quickly earn a reputation as one of the sports toughest and oft underappreciated brawlers.
Riley’s first and second stints in the UFC would be short ones, however. In his promotional debut, Riley would be outgunned by fellow slugger Robbie Lawler en route to a unanimous decision loss at UFC 37. After scoring an impressive head kick KO of Michihiro Omigawa at PRIDE – Bushido 7, Riley would earn a trip back to the octagon…where he would have his jaw broken by Spencer Fisher at Fight Night 3.
It would be two years before we would see Aaron Riley in the UFC again. When he did return at UFC 91, however, he would partake in one of the greatest fights of the decade against Jorge Gurgel. It was a fight featuring such a ridiculous volume of strikes that at one point in the second round, the Fightmetric staff allegedly threw their hands in the air and said, “Fuck it, who wants a beer?”
Riley would emerge victorious from that Fight-of-the-Night earning bout and would compete six more times under the UFC banner, scoring wins over Shane Nelson and Joe Brammer.
Again, the comparison to Chris Lytle is inevitable. Both were highly entertaining brawlers who, while never coming within eyesight of a title shot, put the fans entertainment before their records, their careers and more importantly, themselves. Pay your respects to a true pioneer in the comments section, then do yourself a favor and watch his pair of fights with Yves Edwards. Then find us a video of his fight with Lytle, because we heard that shit was insane.
(“All right, boys, break it up.” Photo via Getty Images.)
Josh Burkman’s incredible and somewhat controversial (MAZZAGATTI!!) walk-off submission of the nearly-unsubmittable Jon Fitch at WSOF 3 (video here) may be old news by this point, but it’s been keeping us up nights here at CagePotato ever since. Not because of how shocking or unpredictable it was, but because we couldn’t honestly recall the last time we saw a fighter act as judge, jury, executioner and medieval corpse disposer during his own fight.
The walk-off knockout, while equally entertaining and respectable, is a lot easier to come by based on its definition alone. The walk-off submission, however, is an entirely different beast, so let’s take a look back at eight classic examples of this phenomenon (in no particular order) to honor those who were actually able to pull it off. Enjoy.
Ah yes, the very first walk-off submission in UFC History. In every sense of the word.
(“All right, boys, break it up.” Photo via Getty Images.)
Josh Burkman’s incredible and somewhat controversial (MAZZAGATTI!!) walk-off submission of the nearly-unsubmittable Jon Fitch at WSOF 3 (video here) may be old news by this point, but it’s been keeping us up nights here at CagePotato ever since. Not because of how shocking or unpredictable it was, but because we couldn’t honestly recall the last time we saw a fighter act as judge, jury, executioner and medieval corpse disposer during his own fight.
The walk-off knockout, while equally entertaining and respectable, is a lot easier to come by based on its definition alone. The walk-off submission, however, is an entirely different beast, so let’s take a look back at eight classic examples of this phenomenon (in no particular order) to honor those who were actually able to pull it off. Enjoy.
Ah yes, the very first walk-off submission in UFC History. In every sense of the word.
To recount the story of the very first UFC event would be a disservice to as learned an audience as you Taters, but suffice it to say, it was a clusterfuck. Sumo wrestlers getting their teeth kicked out by savateurs 1/3rd their size, future professional wrestlers breaking street fighters legs with whatever the hell “submissions” were supposed to be…it was a mess. But at the center of the chaos was a man with a modest goal: Proving that he was the best fighter (with the best fighting style) on the entire goddamned planet. That man was Royce Gracie, and his first step toward immortality came in the form of a guy wearing one boxing glove and some sick Nikes.
You know how the story goes, Gracie took Jimmerson down and mounted him almost immediately. Completely out of his element and likely believing that the man on top of him was about to rape his bellybutton, Jimmerson tapped. The tap was so baffling that neither Gracie nor the ref truly knew what had happened, but after a moment to clarify that yes, Jimmerson was getting far too old for this shit, Royce stood up and walked away, his first UFC victory secured. To this day, the referee involved has no idea what the f*ck went down that night.
Otherwise known as the walk-off submission that did not get Jon Jones some fans, Bones’ guillotine of Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 was a work of cold-blooded perfection. Having arguably lost the first round of his UFC career, Jones caught Lyoto coming in with a beautifully timed left hand late in the second. The light heavyweight kingpin then snatched up the choke and pressed Machida against the fence, utilizing the almighty power of the fulcrum to put the Brazilian out on his feet.
It was a finish made all the more impressive when you consider that “The Dragon” is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt himself who had never been submitted in his previous 19 contests. Yet Jones was able to choke him unconscious with what appeared to be minimal effort, then drop him to the canvas like a bag of piss-stained bed sheets. Not bad for a guy who claims that Jiu-Jitsu is his “weakness.”
Otherwise known as the most Diazian submission in the history of the brothers Diaz.
After securing the TUF 5 plaque by successfully disabling Manny Gamburyan‘s shoulder with a set of nunchucks backstage at the season finale (you didn’t know about that?), the younger Diaz passed his first two post-TUF tests with flying colors, successively submitting Junior Assuncao and Alvin Robinson. Diaz would meet his first true test, however, when he was booked against Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino at Fight Night 13.
As is often the case with a Diaz fight, birthday party, or family trip to Old Country Buffet, there was a preexisting beef that needed to be squashed here. You see, Pellegrino used to be a member of Team Renzo Gracie. Then he wasn’t. Therefore, traitor. It was a rivalry that, uh, rivaled such rivilous rivalries as Duke vs. UNC, Anthony vs. Roth, Zimmer vs. Martinez…you get the point. It was also a fight that Pellegrino was utterly dominating with top control and some vicious ground and pound in the first round. The fact that he was making “bitch ass lady sounds” whilst doing so did not take away from this fact.
But there’s an old 209 adage that, loosely translated, states, “It’s damn near impossible to finish a Stocktonian.” Or perhaps it goes, “It’s damn near impossible for a Stocktonian to finish High School.” In either case, a bloodied and bruised Diaz rallied in the second, and brilliantly countered a Pellegrino takedown by pushing off the fence and positioning his legs to set up a triangle choke in mid-air. And when a Diaz knows he has your number, the taunting begins. Although not necessarily a “walk-off” submission, the fact that Diaz was able to prematurely celebrate with both Stockton standby taunts (the muscle flex and the Heybuddy) is arguably just as badass.
See also: Diaz vs. Guillard
Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota – K1 Dynamite!! Power of Courage 2009
Otherwise known as the “talk-off, walk-off” submission.
Speaking of two guys who absolutely hated each other, DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki was rather public about his beef with Sengoku champion Mizuto Hirota in the weeks leading up to their battle at Power of Courage 2009. He called the fight a “disgrace” to his family, pretended to not know who Hirota was, dressed like a schoolgirl; pretty standard stuff, really. Hirota returned fire by mocking Aoki’s fighting style, saying some particularly nasty things about his family, and calling him a “repulsive” person. So when these two clashed heads on New Year’s Eve, we expected that at least one of them would be kicking off 2010 in a hospital bed. As is usually the case, we were spot on.
Hirota never stood a chance, truth be told. Aoki secured a takedown within the opening seconds of the round, worked his way to mount, secured a police-style hammerlock and started cranking. To his credit, Aoki gave Hirota every chance in the world to tap, even warning Hirota what was coming at one point. As the man himself put it:
He was very disrespectful to me before the fight. When I had his arm, he had a chance to tap and he chose not to. I’m not going to give up the submission just because my opponent is too arrogant to not tap. So I broke his arm.
That’s right, a “talk-off” submission. Hirota refused to tap and Aoki obliged with a snap. Taking a page right out of the Diaz playbook, Aoki then proceeded to flip off his injured opponent and the attending audience before disappearing backstage. So technically, this was a “talk-off, flip-off, walk-off” submission.
On the “next page” of our tribute: An absolutely brutal IFL gem, a legend’s final triumph, and a future legend’s most shocking loss…
Recently, Chris Lytle’s name has been popping up among MMA fans. The 20-time UFC veteran was unsuccessful in a bid for the Indiana state senate, although he recently put on the promoter hat with Midwest Fighting Series.With the popular welterweight get…
Recently, Chris Lytle‘s name has been popping up among MMA fans. The 20-time UFC veteran was unsuccessful in a bid for the Indiana state senate, although he recently put on the promoter hat with Midwest Fighting Series.
With the popular welterweight getting closer to the sport that made him famous, fans have been chattering about potential return bouts for Lytle.
Bleacher Report’s Duane Finley recently interviewed the Indiana star and asked what it would take to get him back in the cage.
I’ve always told people who have asked me if I’d come back, it would only happen if somebody like Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn or Carlos Condit, guys I’d love to fight, if their opponents got hurt last minute, I’d step in.
But it couldn’t be three weeks out from the fight. It would have to be the last week where there was no training. Oh no training? I’m in. Then Dana can call me up. Hey, can you fight tomorrow? I’m there.
If those circumstances were there in a [catchweight] fight against Lauzon, then I’d do it. I’d be like ‘C’mon Joe, let’s do it and it would be fun’. I like Joe a lot. I’ll be the guy who only fights when they need something tomorrow. If that were the case, I’d have to change my nickname from Lights Out to Last Minute Lytle. You need something last minute? I’m your man.
Considering that Lytle is one of the most entertaining fighters to ever step foot inside the Ocatagon, there is little question whether fans would be opposed to seeing the popular welterweight return.
However, is there any upside in having “Lights Out” risk his flawless final appearance?
In 2011, Lytle met fellow slugger Dan Hardy in a mostly standup affair that went deep into the final round. Surprisingly, Hardy shot in for a takedown, which Lytle quickly made him pay for by locking in a fight-ending guillotine choke. The performance earned Lytle $130,000 in bonus money, Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night Honors as well as the all-time record for most Fight Night bonuses.
For Lytle to come back now feels similar to the professional wrestling return of Ric Flair. Despite being sent out of the industry with one of the greatest matches in history at Wrestlemania XXIV, “the Nature Boy” spent some time at home before realizing that retirement didn’t suit him.
Fans like myself felt cheated once Flair returned. Not because we didn’t want to see him lace up his boots once again, but because we were so emotionally invested in his incredible sendoff that we felt cheated by his return.
Not only was his phenomenal final moment spoiled, but there wasn’t any clear upside to Flair’s return. There wasn’t another world title or industry-changing moment that awaited him. It was simply another paycheck to keep the legendary Four Horsemen member on our television screen.
Would UFC fans feel cheated if Lytle returned to the Octagon? Probably not. MMA stars like Nick Diaz, BJ Penn and Mirko Cro Cop have all announced their retirement in the past, but they returned to fight another day.
Ultimately, it comes down to what Lytle has to lose versus what he has to gain.
Could Lytle ruin his legacy? Absolutely. Part of the mystique of the firefighter lies in the fact that he was never knocked out or submitted, regardless of the quality of his opponents. What would happen if Chris took a fight on short notice and got crushed by a flying knee in the bout’s opening seconds?
Is there anything that Lytle could do with one more appearance that could somehow top his grand finale? I don’t feel like there is, and for that reason, I hope that Lytle sticks by his retirement and allows fans to remain nostalgic when thinking about his skills.
It is a rare occurrence in mixed martial arts to see a fighter walk away on his own terms. Far too many times in the past, things have gone in the complete opposite direction. Competitors who were once iron-chinned warriors, left crumpled on the canvas…
It is a rare occurrence in mixed martial arts to see a fighter walk away on his own terms. Far too many times in the past, things have gone in the complete opposite direction. Competitors who were once iron-chinned warriors, left crumpled on the canvas, caught in a strange paradox where the spirit still lives for the fight but the body can no longer hold up.
Just like that, a fighter people couldn’t wait to see step into the cage is the person the same people hope to never see compete again.
Chris Lytle refused to travel that route.
After making a career out of trading leather at all costs and becoming one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, the Indianapolis native knew it was time to call it quits. It wasn’t an easy decision to make by any means, but when the 38-year-old weighed his career in the sport against the life he had beyond the lights, Lytle knew without question where his full attention belonged.
Once that decision was made, the full-time fireman poured every ounce of his attention and energy into one final curtain call. The fight came against British slugger Dan Hardy in the main event of UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Leading up to the fight, both men showed a tremendous amount of respect and agreed to settle business on the feet. For three rounds that is exactly how the action played out until Lytle caught Hardy in a guillotine choke to end the fight late in the third round.
To cap it all off in proper fashion, Lytle was also awarded “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors, which brought his fight night bonus total to 10, and became the perfect platform for Lytle to make his exit.
“It was hard to get away, but for me, the last fight against Hardy was about as good as it gets,” Lytle told Bleacher Report. “It never was a factor of me wanting to quit the sport. But I started to realize more and more that I was neglecting a lot of my family duties.
“Being out with surgeries and spending more time at home, these became clear to me. I wasn’t around my kids like I wanted to be and I felt guilty about it.
“I started training for the Dan Hardy fight and I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I should not be training and should be spending my time with my family. You can’t fight in this sport like that. I sat down with my wife and we talked.
“I decided it was going to be my last fight and after that decision I allowed myself to dedicate every second of my life to that fight because I knew it was going to be my last. After I that fight and the way it ended, it couldn’t have been better. I got to go out there and bang it out for three rounds and submit him at the end. It was a perfect ending to my career.
“I knew going in that I had put everything I possibly could into the sport. I was never going to move my family and me staying here, working a full-time job while I was training, I did everything I could to be successful. I knew I was going to be satisfied when I left the sport but the way it ended was just perfect.
“I definitely look back at my time in the sport and I’m satisfied. If I had gotten knocked out in my last four or five fights I’m sure it would have been different. If those things happen I’m sure you think the way it ended sucks and you won’t have good memories of it coming to a close. That’s not what I have here and I’m very happy how it all played out.
“Now I’m looking to start the next thing. Too many keep fighting, thinking it is a good thing for them and that is when things get bad. They hang around too long and that wasn’t going to happen with me. I wanted to go out on my terms, not when the UFC told me to leave.”
The Future of Indy MMA
For the majority of his career, Lytle was one of a handful of fighters competing out of Indianapolis. While other areas around the country were experiencing the MMA boom and gyms began popping up out of nowhere, Indiana’s capital city remained quietly in the shadows.
Lytle saw great potential in his training partners and other fighters from the area. He knew his name would help put the city on the map in mixed martial arts, but the next wave of fighters coming up like UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione and TUF alum Shamar Bailey, have what it takes to push Indianapolis MMA to the next level.
“It’s fantastic,” Lytle said. “I never wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. You get better when you have better people around you. The more people trained together, every one got better, and more of our people started making it to the UFC level. It’s definitely good to see how much it is progressing and rewarding to see something you helped start take off like it has.
“I was just the first fighter to get out there and put our name on the map and then it blossomed from there. When you get people training together who all want the same things, you are going to see some success. I’m glad for what for what everybody is doing. Even though I’m not out there doing it as much any more, it still makes me very happy.”
The Next Chapter
On the night of this interview, I came out to support Lytle‘s latest endeavor as the head of an upstart promotion called Midwest Fighting Series. With his time competing in the sport behind him, Lytle has turned his efforts towards further helping the mixed martial arts scene in Indianapolis blossom.
When I walk through the doors I catch a glimpse of Lytle in full-on promoter mode. It’s a great crowd and the man himself is looking presidential: shaking hands, taking pictures, and operating with the general politeness and ease Lytle has always carried himself with.
As a long-time Indiana resident, it makes me proud to see fans turn out and great to know Lytle did his part to help bring the show to them.
Many promoters get into the sport looking for the cash grab, but this just isn’t the way Lytle does business. For him, what matters most is presenting young fighters with an opportunity to develop the right way and he believes it is something that has been missing for years.
“Even though I retired, I have still been involved in the sport,” Lytle said. “I’ve still been training people. The guys who helped me get ready for my fights, I like to help them get ready for theirs. One thing I learned in the boxing realm, if you don’t have a place to put on fights, to help take care of you and develop you as a fighter, you are going to be going into other people’s backyards.
“You are going to have to go into other people’s promotions where you are the guy who is not supposed to win. You might be able to eke out a few wins, but it is much easier to develop a good fighter if you have somewhere to develop your skills in the right way.
“I don’t want the guys from Indianapolis being brought over to Cincinnati to get beat up on. I want them to fight right here and be brought along the right way. Then when they are ready to take the next step they can get out there and get after it.
“This promotion is more or less me trying to do my part for the next generation of fighters coming out of Indianapolis. We have a great venue here and I’m not giving these guys easy fights. I’m giving them fights that make sense. We may have guys who will be 5-5 but it will be because they fought 10 tough guys.
“Being brought along the right way makes a world of difference in this sport now. I want to put guys in there who have the same amount of experience and that is all we are trying to do.”
Over the course of my career covering MMA, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Lytle on numerous occasions. Anyone who has ever done so understands it is never much of an actual interview as it is sitting and talking to a man who loves being a part of the sport.
At one point in our conversation, we talked about a recent interview I had done with middleweight prospect Chris Camozzi. In the interview, the Colorado native described Lytle‘s style and love for the scrap, as something he greatly admired.
For the surging 185-pound fighter, wins and losses didn’t matter. Only showing up to fight your heart out and it is the only thing Lytle ever knew how to do.
“That is the biggest compliment I can get,” he said. “I want more people to fight like that because I believe that is the way the sport should be. What is going to destroy the sport is point fighting. It happens all the time in boxing where guys land a few jabs and go on the defensive. I don’t want to watch that.
“I want to see two guys go in there and try to take each other out. That was my mentality and the way I believe the sport should be. When people recognize, appreciate, and model that, there isn’t a bigger compliment in the world.”
While Lytle insisted our interview could carry on a bit longer, it wasn’t difficult to see how much the night’s event required him elsewhere. The crowd wanted to see him. The fans wanted pictures and the fighter/politician/promoter is never one to disappoint. That being said, I knew I had to launch one final “Hail Mary” towards the end zone, simply hoping he’d go up and get it.
Since his retirement in August 2011, Lytle has been asked countless times if he would ever be willing to return to the UFC. He’s always left the door slightly ajar, because even if it’s only open a crack, it is still technically open. Knowing the space was there to get something through, I played fantasy matchmaker.
With Lytle having 10 fight night bonuses and lightweight Joe Lauzon recently claiming his 12th, I put together a hypothetical catch weight match-up between the two ruckus-loving veterans, with the winner having the fight night bonus named in their honor. I wanted to see if this would be enough to get his interest, but in proper Lytle fashion, he went about it on his terms.
“I like it,” Lytle laughed. “You’re an ideas guy and that is a good one. Here is the only thing: I’m not willing to train very much. I’ve always told people who have asked me if I’d come back, it would only happen if somebody like Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn or Carlos Condit, guys I’d love to fight, if their opponents got hurt last minute, I’d step in.
“But it couldn’t be three weeks out from the fight. It would have to be the last week where there was no training. Oh no training? I’m in. Then Dana can call me up. Hey can you fight tomorrow? I’m there.
“If those circumstances were there in a fight against Lauzon, then I’d do it. I’d be like ‘C’mon Joe, let’s do it and it would be fun’. I like Joe a lot. I’ll be the guy who only fights when they need something tomorrow. If that were the case I’d have to change my nickname from Lights Out to Last Minute Lytle. You need something last minute? I’m your man.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
UFC veteran Chris Lytle retired from mixed martial arts competition after a triumphant victory against Dan Hardy at UFC Live 5: Lytle vs. Hardy in August 2011, but his desire to compete at a high level burns on, as he searches for new opportunities and challenges.
