Another MMA fighter has announced his retirement, and this time it's UFC star Tom Duquesnoy. The bantamweight fighter revealed the news through his social media, though the France native never details why he’s decided to hang up the gloves, he makes it clear that he’ll still be involved with MMA through teaching.
Duquesno first started out in mixed martial arts in the BAMMA promotion, which is based in the United Kingdom; He’s a former BAMMA World Featherweight and Bantamweight champion. The 25-year-old then made his transition to the UFC back in 2017 and successfully defeated Patrick Williams in his debut bout in April of that same year.
Duquesnoy would go on to have two more fights under the UFC banner, suffering one loss and a win. His last bout was against Terrion Ware on March 17, 2018, which was a split decision victory for the bantamweight fighter. Tom ends his professional MMA career with a record of 16 wins, 2 losses, and 1 no contest.
Check out the full post below, which was translated by
fightful.com:
“MMA has been for me the school of life with travels and meetings around the world, and most importantly, the opportunity to discover me as a person. Today I decide to take another direction that attracts me a lot more and that take me a big part of my energy. Which means that I will no longer devote myself to high level training. I respect the sport too well to practice it halfway and that's why I'm at a crossroads where it is essential for me to focus on what I am passionate about most.”
“It is also the result of a long introspection that was not obvious since it was my childhood dream to fight at the UFC, I who watched the fighting since the age of twelve and who had everything taken advantage of these last ten years to make this dream come true. This decision is good for me and comes from the heart. So I'm telling you about my official retirement as a professional MMA fighter. This is a new chapter of dedicated life as you know, teaching MMA techniques but ESPECIALLY, the spiritual aspect of mixed martial arts and the inner quest. And it is on this path that you are all WELCOME and I invite you to follow the rest of my story. A continuation where we will be brought to meet us more than ever. I take this opportunity to THANK everyone from the bottom of the HEART, and they are many, to have brought their light on my path, to have made this trip so dense in teaching and human values. Thank you all”
Chers amis, Le MMA a été pour moi l’école de la vie avec des voyages et des rencontres à travers le monde, et surtout, l’opportunité de me découvrir en tant que personne. Aujourd’hui je décide de prendre une autre direction qui m’attire beaucoup plus et qui me prends une part importante de mon énergie. Ce qui fait que je ne vais plus me consacrer aux entrainements de haut niveau. Je ne respecte que trop bien ce sport pour le pratiquer à moitié et c’est pour cela que je suis à une croisée des chemins où il est essentiel pour moi de me concentrer sur ce qui me passionne le plus. C’est aussi le fruit d’une longue introspection qui n’a pas été évidente puisque c’était mon rêve d’enfant de combattre à l’UFC, moi qui regardais les combats depuis l’âge de douze ans et qui avais tout mis à profit ces dix dernières années afin que ce rêve se concrétise. Cette décision est la bonne pour moi et vient du fond du coeur. Je vous fais donc part de ma retraite officielle en tant que combattant professionnel de MMA. C’est un nouveau chapitre de vie consacré comme vous le savez, à l’enseignement des techniques de MMA mais SURTOUT, à l’aspect spirituel des arts martiaux mixtes et la quête intérieure. Et c’est sur ce chemin que vous êtes tous les BIENVENUS et je vous invite à suivre la suite de mon histoire. Une suite où nous serons amener à nous rencontrer plus que jamais. J’en profite pour REMERCIER du fond du COEUR toutes les personnes, et elles sont nombreuses, à avoir apporté leur lumière sur mon chemin, à avoir rendu ce voyage si dense en enseignements et en valeurs humaines. Merci à toutes et à tous 💙
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