The former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) after experiencing a TKO loss to Lyoto Machida last night (Fri., June 14, 2019) in the co-main event of Bellator 222.
Sonnen, who ate two flying knees before finishing in the second round with “The Dragon,” took about 30 seconds to deliver a post-fight speech before he took off his gloves and left them in the Bellator cage.
Sonnen after the TKO loss said that he has got only one thing to say and that is, he enjoyed and had “a lot of fun”. He continued saying that he had a good run. Scott Coker gave him a five-fight deal and that he let him honor all five fights. “And ladies and gentlemen, I’m walking out. I appreciate the memories and goodbye.” – Sonnen
Assuming that Sonnen is not tempted to retire for a potential money grab this will mark the end of the Bad Guy Era. During the early days of his UFC career, Sonnen, 42, created a name for himself. His highly publicized rivalry with iconic UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva remains one of the largest feuds in MMA history and eventually enabled Sonnen to show the trash-talking capacity that made him such a famous draw.