Full Contact Fighter Database

Home

>

News

>

Article

Media

Friday, Jan 03, 2014

UFC Veteran Din Thomas Retires From Fighting

Thomas

By FCF Staff

After 15 years of professional fighting, UFC veteran Din Thomas has announced that he’s hanging up the gloves at the age of 37. The American Top Team fighter, who began competing in 1998, announced his decision today via a press release.

In the statement, Thomas cited the recent UFC 168 losses of Anderson Silva and Josh Barnett as further evidence that “that my colleagues from the Golden Age of MMA are now of the “Olden Age” of MMA.” Thomas proceeded to announce that:

Despite the sorrow that this harsh reality brings to me, any relevant fighter from the 90s, or the old-school, genuine fans that supported us, it certainly brings comfort to my decision to officially retire over this monumental weekend. I suppose, misery does love company.

Yet instead of pondering over “what ifs”, “should’ves”, and “could’ves”, I appreciate and celebrate my time spent, devotion given, and influence I had on MMA. Fighting BJ Penn at the Meadowlands at UFC 32 in the UFC’s first show on Pay Per View since it had been banned for years, was an immeasurable experience. Being a part of the first ever sanctioned UFC fight in Las Vegas history against Fabiano Iha at UFC 33 is something that only Mr. Iha and I can claim (Dana White later joked to me that UFC 33 was the event that made him want to kill himself). Being invited to participate on The Ultimate Fighter season 4: The Comeback was life changing and I met some of the greatest guys I’ve ever known. My list goes on…

The well rounded fighter and BJJ black belt also thanked Dan Lambert, Dana White, Joe Silva, Burt Watson and the Fertitta brothers for the role they’ve played in his career and MMA. Thomas also pledged to keep supporting ATT teammate Robbie Lawler, who he stated is “perhaps our last great promising title contender from the Golden Age.”

Thomas (26-9) hadn’t fought since April, 2013, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Georgi Karakhanyan at a Legacy FC event. During his lengthy career, “Dinyero” fought established vets like Caol Uno, Kenny Florian and BJ Penn, and scored wins over the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Matt Serra, Jens Pulver and Clay Guida.

 

Tags:

posted by FCF Staff @ 2:11 pm
Have a comment about this story? Please share with us by filling out the fields below.

Comments are closed.