UFC vet Kurt Pellegrino announces MMA hiatus, potential retirement

Kurt Pellegrino's days as a professional fighter may be over, he recently announced.

The veteran UFC lightweight, who had climbed into title contention with a recent four-fight win streak and 8-2 run, is taking a hiatus from active MMA competition.

Pellegrino said the disappointment of a recent two-fight losing skid, as well as outside interests, have prompted him not to seek a UFC contract renewal.

"At this time I am choosing to take some time off and step away from the sport as a fighter," he wrote today on kurtpellegrino.com. "Over my most recent fights, I have come to the realization that at this point I no longer can [or] want to make fighting my first priority."

Pellegrino had posted consecutive wins over Thiago Tavares, Rob Emerson, Josh Neer and Fabricio Camoes (with one "Submission of the Night" and one "Fight of the Night" bonus) before recent decision losses to George Sotiropoulos and Gleison Tibau.

Pellegrino, a fan favorite who interacts daily with the MMA community on Twitter, now wants to focus on teaching (his Kurt Pellegrino MMA academy now has nearly 300 students), his family (he and his wife recently welcomed a second child to the family), and improving his own skills. He event suggested he may compete in some grappling tournaments and take a pro-boxing bout.

"There are also a few business opportunities for me personally that I would like to pursue, but was unable to do so because of training and fighting," he wrote. "I just want to take this time to focus on some other things in my life and see if I get the itch to fight again."

Pellegrino, 32, is a onetime WEC fighter who competed primarily on the East Coast before making a UFC debut in 2008. His record currently stands at 16-6, which includes a 7-5 mark in the UFC. The Braziian jiu-jitsu black belt fought on two UFC cards in his home state of New Jersey.

"It is bittersweet to possibly end my career on a loss and something I will have to deal with on my own, but overall it has been a rewarding 11 years for me, and I want the end to be on my terms and no one else's," he wrote. "It's hard to make a decision like this, but I feel it's best for me to step away for now, and time will tell what the future will bring for me. I don't want to retire, but I need to find myself and find my love for this sport again."