It’s been nearly two years since James
Krause last set foot in the Octagon, and according to him, that
was his last time competing as a professional mixed martial
artist.
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The 36-year-old Glory MMA & Fitness leader officially announced his
retirement on Monday during an appearance on „The MMA Hour.“
Krause was last in action at UFC Night 180, when he earned a
unanimous decision victory against Claudio
Silva on Oct. 17, 2020. Krause has been a prominent figure as a
coach in recent years, including cornering Brandon
Moreno in his interim flyweight title win over Kai Kara
France at UFC 277 this past weekend.
“I’ve said this so many times, and this is the No. 1 problem with
the sport and the fighters — this has to come to an end at some
point. It has to. And professional athletics as a whole has to come
to an end,” Krause said. “Football players, they don’t play until
they’re 50. This has to come to an end, and unfortunately, we don’t
get to pick it. Most of the time our body gets to pick it. I am
fortunate enough to be able to call my shot now, and I can say it
now — s—-t man, you’re never going to see me fight again.
“I am done with this sport. I’m at peace with it. I have no desire
to fight again. I really don’t,” he added. “My desires and my
fulfillment have now shifted toward coaching. Moments like Brandon
Moreno and the rest of my team, I get fulfillment out of those.
So you can call this my official retirement or whatever, but I do
not plan on ever fighting in the UFC ever again.”
Krause exits the sport with a 28-8 record that was compiled over
the course of a career that began in 2007. He appeared on two
seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” and also competed for Bellator
MMA, World Extreme Cagefighting, Titan FC and Resurrection Fighting
Alliance before ending his professional tenure with a 13-bout stint
in the UFC. Krause was victorious in seven of his last eight
outings within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
“I wanted three things out of this whenever I called it quits,”
Krause said. “I said I wanted to be financially free. I’ve done
that. To be honest with you, I would probably lose money if I
fought. I wanted to go out on my own terms. I didn’t want somebody
to be like, ‘Hey James, you lost three in a row.’ And I wanted to
retire in the UFC. Those were my three goals, and I wanted to go
out on a win — a win in the UFC. Right now, all of those three
things are accomplished.
“If I would fight again, it would put it at risk for no reason. I
don’t need the money. I don’t need the validation.”