Kyle Noke Retires from MMA after UFC Fight Night 101 Loss

Earlier this month, we saw women’s MMA trailblazer Miesha Tate hang up the gloves after a loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205. Not long thereafter, WEC and UFC veteran Manny Gamburyan did the same after a TKO loss to the dangerous Johnny Eduardo. Last night another experienced fighter rode off into the MMA sunset on the heels of a loss. That fighter was Australia’s Kyle Noke. He announced his retirement after a lopsided decision loss to Omari Akhmedov on the main card of UFC Fight Night 101 in Melbourne, Australia.

Noke first announced his retirement in a post-fight Tweet.

Thank you to the @ufc and all the fans. It's time to hang up the gloves. Ive had a blessed life doing what I love. I Wouldn't change a thing

— Kyle Noke (@KyleNoke) November 27, 2016

“Thank you to the [UFC] and all the fans,” he said. “It’s time to hang up the gloves. I’ve had a blessed life doing what I love. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Noke later followed up on his retirement announcement at the post-fight press conference.

“I did have it inside my head before the fight, which is probably not the best thing going into the fight,” Noke said when asked if he’d been considering retirement before the contest. “But, the fight proved to me that I am not as fast as I used to be, not as good. I had a great time in the sport. It’s just time to move on to something else now.”

At 36 years old, Noke retires on the heels of a three fight losing streak, having come up short against Akhmedov, Keita Nakamura and Alex Morono. Over the course of his career, which has occurred in both the middleweight and welterweight divisions, Noke has scored wins over notable opposition such as Peter Sobotta, Jonavin Webb, Charlie Brenneman, and Chris Camozzi. In addition to being a competitor on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, he also represented Australia as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Nations. He will retire with 33 fights on his record, 12 of which occurred in the UFC’s Octagon.

Do you think Noke made the right call by retiring? Sound off, PENN Nation!