Minutes after losing by TKO to UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen indicated his fighting days may be over.
"I'm not going to be one of the guys to hang around. If there's not a road to the title, then this sport isn't for me. I believe that was probably my last opportunity," Sonnen said to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
He didn't specifically say "I'm retiring," but he did talk about the end of the road. This seems like more than the emotional ramblings of a fighter after a bad loss. B.J. Penn threatened retirement several times before it stuck. Nick Diaz has retired and unretired plenty of times.
Retirement wouldn't be out of the question. He's 36 years old and has fought in 40 fights after a long career as an amateur and collegiate wrestler.
If he does decide to retire, don't expect him to play shuffleboard and take up gardening. He already works as a commentator for Fox's broadcasts. During the last season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he proved to be a capable coach. Retirement would not mean Sonnen was done with MMA.
Sonnen talked his way into a title shot with Jones just months after he dropped a title shot to Anderson Silva at middleweight. Deserved or not, Sonnen has had several chances to win the UFC belt, and he hasn't won any of them. Not many fighters get more chances than he has. If the belt is the only thing that's important, why not retire?
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/chael-sonnen-hang-good-ufc-159-loss-jon-051117400.html
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