Niko Price’s retirement didn’t go as planned in every sense.
Price (16-11 MMA, 8-11 UFC) made his last MMA walkout this past Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 271 in Seattle. He stepped in on short notice to fight Michael Chiesa, who is from Washington, and was also entering the last fight of his career. Price, like any retiring fighter, wanted to close out his career on a high, but unfortunately, he was quickly submitted by Chiesa in the first round. The loss wasn’t the only thing that didn’t go Price’s way.
After the fight, Price took off his gloves and laid them on the canvas – a tradition most fighters follow in their final bout. Yet, despite letting the UFC beforehand that he was retiring and making it known in the cage after the fight, he was passed over for an interview. The post-fight production focused on Chiesa, and was the only fighter to get time on the microphone.
“I had to stand there and watch his whole thing, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to get mic time.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, cool.’ Then I’m like, ‘Why am I not getting mic time?’” Price recalled speaking to Inside Fighting. “Then, I was like, ‘Whatever, don’t worry, but can I leave? I don’t want to stay here no more.’ Then I told my coach because they didn’t even send me off at all. They went to my gloves, and then they took a picture of him with my gloves. I was like, ‘Nooo, I wanted to do that picture with my gloves.’ He has his gloves on in the picture.”
It was an awkward moment. Many online criticized the UFC production team and Daniel Cormier for not acknowledging Price’s retirement.
Although Price didn’t get his ideal send-off, he’s happy with his decision to walk away from MMA. It was something he planned on doing, even before accepting the fight with Chiesa.
“It was mentioned probably like 10 days before the fight, ‘Would this be a possibility?’” Price said. “I said, ‘I have to talk to my team.’ At first I was like, ‘No,’ but then me and my wife started talking, and I was like, ‘I’m getting old, man. Everything hurts. I want to spend time with my kids and stop being so selfish and spending so much time with myself.’ She goes, ‘I don’t really want you to do it anymore and it’s getting really hard on my daughters.’ I mean, it’s hard on me too, man. Even though it was on seven days’ notice, still, losing sucks.”
Price debuted for the UFC in December 2016. He did so by pulling a big upset over then prospect Brandon Thatch at UFC 207. Price went on to fight in the UFC for a decade, compiling a record of 8-11. During his best stretch, which came early in his UFC run, Price was 4-1 with one victory getting overturned to a no contest due to a positive marijuana test. The Floridaman shared the cage with many notable names, including Robbie Lawler, Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque, and Geoff Neal.
Moving forward, Price, 36, plans to focus on his fishing business, along with other things.
“Well, we already have the bait mobile, so I’m going to put a lot of time into that, the mobile bait,” Price explained. “So if you’re going fishing in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, call us up; we’ll bring you some shiners. Yeah, we’re pushing that. I have a couple of other things I’m pushing with my cousins. They own a couple of businesses, so I’m going to jump in with them and do some things. I’m definitely going to be coaching and teaching the stuff I’ve done.”
