“I got kids that count on me” - Jamie Pickett announces retirement following UFC Vegas 87 loss, fears getting “too messed up from fighting”

UFC middleweight contender Jamie Pickett called it a career after coming up short against Eryk Anders at the recent UFC Vegas 87 event.

Pickett gave his best against Anders and appeared to have won the first round on the scorecards. However, Anders took over in rounds two and three, winning the fight via unanimous decision.

This was the fifth consecutive loss of Pickett's MMA career, and his decision to retire was announced before the fight. Elaborating further on the decision during the post-fight press conference, the 35-year-old said:

"I'm not a person to make excuses or land on a crutch. I've never done that in my whole life. I took the hard way around with everything I have done. I'm a hard worker and I do what I have to do."

Pickett added:

"I got kids that count on me. I want to be a positive role model in their lives. I want to help them, guide them through life, navigate through the world. I can't do it if I am messed up from fighting. I have talked to doctors about things and my body is just not holding up."

The UFC Vegas 87 fight against Anders was the last on Pickett's UFC contract. the 35-year-old reinforced his stance on retirement, saying that he would not sign another contract even if the UFC offered it to him.

Catch Pickett's emotional statement below:

Pickett, a North Carolina native, earned the UFC contract with an impressive second-round TKO win over Jhonoven Pati in 'Dana White's Contender Series'.

After suffering back-to-back losses in his first two UFC appearances, Pickett amassed a two-fight winning streak with wins over Laureano Staropoli and Joseph Holmes.

However, he could not build on the momentum and lost all five of his subsequent UFC fights. Pickett retired from competition with a 13-11 record as a professional MMA fighter. Sportskeeda MMA wishes him all the best for future endeavors.