UFC veteran Felipe Arantes has announced his retirement from the sport. Arantes revealed the news on his Instagram profile and this comes after his recent defeat at UFC Singapore against Song Yadong.
The 30-year-old wrote the following statement on Instagram (translated via MMA Junkie)
“No sad story and no whining. I came here to do my job and I did. The result wasn’t as expected, but I feel like a winner for being here and for having gone through everything that I have. Things that people on the outside don’t see, but those who are by my side know. Winning goes way beyond getting your arm raised. Winning is built through the path you paved to get there. You win, you transform and you strengthen yourself in the walk, not in the outcome. Thank you to everyone who followed me along this journey. I’ve made a lot of friends and I built my life through martial arts. It made me the man that I am and it gave me everything I have. Even my family, I built through this. After all, it was through the UFC that I met my wife and, consequently, had my biggest treasure. In my career, I had two moments of serious injury. One was facial paralysis and the other one a motorcycle accident, with broken ligaments and bones.
In both, I was advised about not fighting again. God honored me and I returned. In this fight, I had an injury in my (LCL) and femur, one week before coming to Singapore. Again, my doctors warned me about the possibility I wouldn’t be able to fight. But I didn’t want to give up and I fought. Do you understand that a fighter’s life isn’t easy? I’m not here making excuses, I’m here showing that I never gave up, regardless of what they told me. Isn’t that being a winner? Yes, I feel like a champion. I believe my career was solidified and accomplished because of my coach. He always picked me up, always showed me the right way and always gave me the confidence to get to where I got. I can assure you, without him I wouldn’t be here.
Honestly? I consider myself 100 percent accomplished and I wouldn’t do anything differently. Now, my will to fight isn’t the same, so I decided to stop. I’ve always made it clear that I don’t depend on fighting financially, because, through it, I’ve built things that allow me to have a good life. I’m grateful for being able to hang up my gloves at 30 and for knowing that, one way or another, my name will be in UFC history. I could give you a thousand advices through my beautiful journey, but I’d be writing for days. I’m more of a champion than many who held that belt, I can guarantee that. New paths are being built in my life and I know that, like in the octagon, I will be a champion. I tried to represent my country the best way possible and I feel enormous peace in my heart and a feeling of mission accomplished. Once more, thank you all. You were awesome. God bless you.” He wrote
Arantes appeared in the UFC for 12 fights and holds a professional record of 18-10 to his name. He is retiring on a three-fight losing streak and his last victory came in 2016 against Jerrod Sanders.
Also Read…
SHARE
