Similar to Miesha Tate a week ago, Manny Gamburyan announced his retirement from MMA after his TKO loss to Johnny Eduardo at the UFC Fight Night event from Sao Paulo Saturday night.
“No one knew. You can ask my cornerman, he didn’t even know. No one knows about this. I decided right when I got up. I looked at the audience and I’m like, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I just can’t do it anymore.’ I feel like it’s coming short.”
Gamburyan also cited the pain and rigor of training camp as a contributor to his decision. “My body is just too hurt to go through training camps again and fight again,” he said. “Fighting is my favorite thing in the word, besides my little Angelina and my wife, but it gets hard.”
Gamburyan finishes with a 15-10 career MMA record.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: I’ll never question a fighter’s decision to retire if their heart just isn’t in it. MMA is a dangerous sport and it’s not something anyone should be doing half-heartedly. This is something to keep in mind next month when Gamburyan’s friend Ronda Rousey gets in the cage for the first time in 13 months and already is talking about life after MMA. If Rousey isn’t fully invested in her fight with Amanda Nunes, it’s going to be a tough night for her.
Coming off two losses in a row, Gamburyan may have found himself on the chopping block, so that may have contributed to his decision to retire as well. He’s 35 years old and had a nice career he can be proud of so better he retire now than continue and risk serious injury.
MONDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Luke Rockhold told Submission Radio that he is eyeing a March return. He also said he would rather fight Jacare Souza than Gegard Mousasi because he wouldn’t want to risk Jacare leapfrogging him for a title shot.
-Michael “Venom” Page blamed Fernando Gonzalez’s unwillingness to fight and a lack of timing for his very boring performance in their fight at Bellator 165 Saturday. Page won the fight by split decision and is hoping for a Welterweight Championship fight with newly crowned champion Douglas Lima in the near future.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: SUNDAY NEWS DIGEST 11/20: Thirty-six fights on three continents on Saturday capped by Fedor announcement (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
(MMATorch’s Daily News Digest features the top story of the day with added analysis, plus smaller tidbits in the News Notes section. Mike Hiscoe, who writes the News Digest Sundays through Thursdays, has a background in film criticism and previously wrote for the DVD Town and Movie Metropolis websites. His passion for Mixed Martial Arts goes back to 2005, but it was in the promotion for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie that he really got hooked.”This is my house, I build it,” is still among the all-time great UFC promos. You can follow Mike on social media under the tag @mikehiscoe. He now provides his experienced writing and perspective on live MMA events for MMATorch.)
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