Chael Sonnen announced his retirement from MMA following his loss to Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222 in New York on Friday night.
Sonnen lost via second-round TKO after being knocked down by a flying knee and becoming unable to defend himself. He was interviewed after his fight and announced his retirement.
“I’ve got one thing to say. I had a hell of a lot of fun. I had a good run. Scott Coker gave me a 5-fight deal. He let me honor all five fights, and ladies and gentlemen, I’m walking out. I appreciate the memories, and goodbye,” Sonnen said.
Sonnen laid down his gloves in the ring, which is a tradition for fighters upon retirement after a fight.
The ride is over. @ChaelSonnen announces that he is retiring. pic.twitter.com/kNMQEIdIKq
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 15, 2019
The 42-year-old ends his career 31-17-1.
Beyond his trash talk, he is perhaps best known as a fighter for his two-fight series with Anderson Silva. Their first fight in 2010 went five rounds before Sonnen tapped and earned Fight of the Year honors. It came at a time when Silva was at his peak and considered invincible.
Sonnen beat the likes of Shogun Rua, Yushin Okami, Michael Bisping, Nate Marquardt, Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson during his career.
