Months after retiring from competitive BJJ, former Strikeforce and UFC fighter Roger Gracie is also retiring from MMA.
“I decided to stop because I didn’t think MMA was motivating me enough to keep dedicating myself 100 percent to an athlete’s life,” Gracie told MMA Fighting. “I enjoyed it, it was a huge pleasure to do these 10 MMA fights, but I have no other ambitions. I just turned 36. I never wanted to compete longer than 38, and there’s not much else left to conquer in MMA, something that would change my career.”
“I decided to stop because I didn’t think MMA was motivating me enough to keep dedicating myself 100 percent to an athlete’s life.”
Gracie continued:
I just ended my career at a high level. I would have more to lose than to gain if I kept fighting MMA. If I had the same passion in MMA like I had in jiu-jitsu I would continue, but the only motivation that would keep me in MMA was money, and I’m against doing something focusing only on money. I don’t think I’d even give my 100 percent in this case, so I decided to retire and focus on other things in my life.
However, though he is no longer motivated by MMA, he is still happy with his career in the world’s toughest sport and proud to have followed his family’s path.
I’m super happy with my career. I’ve fought 10 fights, faced several great opponents, big names, and was able to put on excellent fights. It was a cool experience to fight MMA. It’s completely different from the jiu-jitsu I competed my entire life. It was a special feeling to follow the Gracie family’s path. I saw my cousins and uncles fighting MMA since I was a kid, and I knew that the Gracie path was to fight jiu-jitsu and MMA.
Gracie retires with an 8-2 record. Six of those 8 wins came by way of submission.
We here at the Jiu-Jitsu Times would like to congratulate Roger Gracie on a spectacular career in both MMA and competitive BJJ.
Check out one of the highlights of Roger’s MMA career: his first-round submission win over Trevor Prangley at Strikeforce: Diaz vs Cyborg back in 2011.
