Melvin
Manhoef is hanging up the four ounce gloves following a mixed
martial arts career that began in 1995.
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The Dutch knockout artist announced his decision following a
third-round knockout loss to Yoel Romero
in the Bellator 285 co-main event in Dublin on Friday.
“I want to thank everybody for supporting my career for 28 years –
28 years I’m fighting and I didn’t want to fight a nobody,” Manhoef
said during an in-cage interview. “I want to fight names. I did the
best that I can. And for 28 years I’m doing this, this is what I
love. I appreciate all the support that you gave me. But today I
think we have to hang up the gloves after 28 years of fighting.
Thanks for the support. You make my life great. Thank you,
Ireland.”
The 46-year-old Amsterdam native retires with a record of 32-16-1
with two no contests. In addition to Bellator, “No Mercy” competed
for organizations such as Strikeforce, One Championship, Dream and
K-1. His record includes victories over the likes of Kazushi
Sakuraba, Evangelista
Santos, Mark Hunt,
Denis
Kang and Kazuo
Misaki, to name a few.
“Melvin
Manhoef, you are one of my favorite fighters ever and it has
been an absolute honor to promote you,” Bellator president Scott
Coker wrote on Twitter. “Thank you for all the great memories over
the years.”