“Hybrid” suddenly announced during the week of the fight that he was going to hang up his gloves after the fights Michael’s Church. Unfortunately, Chiesa was also retired that night and received almost all of the attention on the show, largely ignoring Price’s farewell.
Now UFC matchmakers are giving Price another chance to go out properly.
“They were like, ‘Would you like a decent retirement?’ And I said, “Yeah, that sounds like fun.” I’m taking on another fight,” Price said recently Home of the struggle.
“Sean Shelby told me he wanted to call me because when I said I wanted to retire in Seattle, I surprised him too,” Price continued. “It was crazy. I said the only way I would accept another fight is if the UFC came to me and said, ‘Here’s a fight. Do you want that?” That’s exactly what they said, word for word, and God spoke to me.
Of course, MMA retirements are rarely permanent. If Price wins on Saturday, could another tempting offer convince him to stay?
Probably not – unless the UFC comes up with something special.
“Yeah, no, I feel pretty successful in my career,” Price said. “I’ll end it with this one. When a golden nugget pops up, you can’t push the nugget back. It’s that simple.”
So he will definitely retire.
Price (16-11) enters his official retirement fight on a four-game losing streak, having suffered first-round losses in his last two games. He is also 2-6 in his previous eight fights.
Price didn’t get the bye he deserved in Seattle.
This weekend he gets his last chance to write a better ending.
One last rodeo for “The Hybrid”.
Click to view the completed UFC Vegas 122 fight card here.