A lack of competitive drive and a new venture into fatherhood has
prompted Jared
Gooden to walk away from mixed martial arts.
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The seven-time
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran announced his retirement
in a video on social media.
“I want to take this time to let everybody know my time has come.
I’m walking away from the sport. Thank you to everybody who’s
helped me along my journey,” Gooden said. “To be honest with you
guys, I just don’t have the love or the passion I had for it
anymore, like I did when I was younger. I keep everything pretty
private, but me and this amazing woman brought a beautiful baby
girl into this world, and my focus is on her now. I’m going to hang
up my gloves for now, and I can’t wait to let you guys know what
I’m going to do next in life.”
Thank you So Much to Everyone! 14 Amazing
Years! Time to say Goodbye
All Luv pic.twitter.com/QCoYxjjYku— Jared Gooden (@JGNiteTrain23)
March 31, 2025
A native of Atlanta, the 31-year-old Gooden exits the sport with a
23-10 career mark. He went 2-5 over two separate stints in the UFC,
earning victories against Wellington
Turman and Niklas
Stolze. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 244, where he
suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Chidi
Njokuani this past October. Gooden was a title holder on the
regional scene with National Fighting Championship, and he also
competed for organizations such as
Legacy Fighting Alliance and
Titan Fighting Championship.