Women’s strawweight Felice Herrig announced her retirement from fighting on Saturday following her UFC Vegas 56 loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Kowalkiewicz locked on a rear-naked choke late in the second round that forced Herrig to tap out. After the loss, Herrig took her gloves off and placed them on the canvas of the Octagon.
“It’s been an honor being in the UFC for eight years and fighting for 20. The biggest thing for me was I really wanted – I had two ACL surgeries and I really wanted to not go out like that,” Herrig said during her post-fight interview.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I can overcome two knee surgeries and come back and still fight at the highest level. I felt better than ever in training. My mind felt great. I had so much good energy and positive and great people around me. Great coaches. But I knew that if I wasn’t feeling it in the cage that this was going to be my last fight. Not in a bad way, I just feel like there’s something else for me. It’s time to close this chapter in my life, which is really sad because I’ve committed the past 20 years to it, but it’s just time to move on to something else.”
Herrig made her professional debut in February 2009. She competed in Bellator MMA, Invicta FC and appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 20. She fought 10 times inside the UFC octagon amassing a 5-5 record. With the loss to Kowalkiewicz, Herrig ends her career on a four-fight losing streak. Before competing in mixed martial arts, Herrig fought 28 professional kickboxing bouts winning 23 of them.
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Felice Herrig UFC Vegas 56 Octagon Interview
(Video Courtesy of ESPN)
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