Italian middleweight Alessio
Di Chirico is calling it a career.
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Di Chirico announced his retirement via social media on the heels
of a third-round knockout loss to Roman
Kopylov at
UFC Fight Night 209 at Accor Arena in Paris this past Saturday.
The 32-year-old known as “Manzo” has lost five of his last six
appearances within the Las Vegas-based promotion.
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“I can’t think of how much I have made all
the people who love me suffer, and even all those who simply
believe in me,” he wrote (text translated from Italian via Google
Translate). “I feel that the time has come to hang up the gloves. I
know it’s a tipping point, I know I’ll miss it like crazy in a few
years. But now there are more reasons that tell me to stop than to
continue. Thank you very much for being close to me in this last
battle.”
Di Chirico added that he plans to remain involved in combat sports
even as he exits MMA as an active competitor. The Gloria Fight
Center representative compiled a 13-7 record over the course of a
professional tenure that began in 2011. He started 9-0 on the
regional circuit before going 4-7 in UFC competition, earning wins
over Joaquin
Buckley, Julian
Marquez, Oluwale
Bamgbose and Garreth
McLellan.