Felice Herrig retires after UFC Vegas 56 loss – “It’s been an honor to be in the UFC”
Felice Herrig retires citing injuries
At 37-years of age and nearly 20 years of competition, Felice Herrig has announced her retirement from mixed martial arts.
Herrig, also known as “The Lil’ Bulldog” headlined the preliminary portion of today’s UFC Vegas 56 fight card from the UFC Apex.
The rematch against former strawweight title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz was Herrig’s fourth in a row, having her loss professional win come in 2017 against Cortney Casey.
Following the setback, Herrig placed her gloves in the center of the octagon before being interviewed by former fighter Paul Felder.
Congratulations on a great career, @FeliceHerrig 👏 #UFCVegas56 pic.twitter.com/5GXRuYuhoQ
— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2022
The loss to Kowalkiewicz was Herrig’s second in a four-year span, which also included two reconstructive knee surgeries which sidelined the fighter off and off and restricted her training.
“It’s been an honor being in the UFC for eight years and fighting for 20,” Herrig said. “I had two ACL surgeries and I really wanted to not go out like that. I wanted to prove to myself that I could overcome two knee surgeries and come back and still fight at the highest level. I felt better than ever in training. My mind felt great. I had so much good energy, positive and great people around me, great coaches, but I knew like, if I wasn’t feeling it in the cage that it was just gonna be my last fight.”
Herrig said that she is sad to close this chapter in her life, but it is time to move on to something else.
Herrig, a cast member on the Ultimate Fighter Season 20, as one of the first women to be signed to the UFC in 2014.
Her professional MMA record allowed her 14 wins, and 10 losses. Herrig also has years of Muay Thai and Kickboxing under her belt.
