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What's the story?
42-fight veteran Mike Pyle announced on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that he will be retiring from the sport after his UFC 222 fight against Zak Ottow this weekend.
In case you didn't know...
The former WEC Welterweight Champion has been a part of the UFC since 2009 and has amassed 42 career fights in total with 18 of them being contested inside the UFC Octagon.
Having fought for promotions such as Strikeforce, EliteXC, Los Angeles anaconda and M1 Global, Pyle has been part of the fight game since 1999. Incidentally, the Brazillian Jui Jitsu Black belt fought none other than Quintin 'Rampage' Jackson in his first fight back in 1999.
The interesting part of the fight is that Rampage came nearly 25lbs overweight for the Middleweight title bout at around 200lbs and was deemed incapable of winning the title even before the bout began. That didn't dither the two from putting on a brawl in which Rampage won via unanimous decision.
Pyle's first fight for the UFC was at UFC 98 on May 23rd, 2009 and nearly 10 years later, the American will hang up his gloves at the very top.
The heart of the matter
"The juice is no longer worth the squeeze", Pyle said while explaining the reasons behind his retirement.
Quotes courtesy of MMAFighting.com:
“I’m looking forward to fight this weekend and that will be my very last fight ever. I’m gonna retire. It’s been a long road and that’s it. I want to hang the gloves up and move on. I’m excited to make that move, I’m ready to retire. I’m 43 this year, it’s time. It’s not difficult at all, to be honest with you. It’s more like a relief. It’s time to move on.”
Pyle said that he is under no pressure in his final outing against Zak Ottow and said that the paychecks are just aren't big enough to for him to stay on. He is happy that he gets to go out there and be himself and be identified as a fighter more than anything else.
He admitted that it was his fault that he couldn't make the most of the opportunities provided to earn more in the promotion
“I didn’t build myself and I didn’t make that money. So, it’s time.”
What's next?
Pyle stated that he will resume his duties as a stunt double in Hollywood and is currently working as a stunt double for the lead in Amazon special, 'The Tick'.
Author's take
With a record of 27-13-1 spanning across big-ticket promotions and wins against Josh Neer, Rick Story and, Jon Fitch, Pyle should be satisfied with what he has accomplished in a well-traveled career.
We at Sportskeeda wish the 43-year-old veteran all the very best in his future endeavors and hope he goes out in style.
