ON MONDAY, one of the most famous and successful Croatian MMA fighters announced the end of his career. Two days after he suffered a defeat by technical knockout in Poland in the first round against the local veteran Michal Kita, Croatian record holder in the number of fights in the UFC Igor Pokrajac announced his retirement.
In his announcement, the 41-year-old from Zagreb explained that after more than 20 years in martial arts, he is no longer at the level at which he used to be, as well as that he had avoided making this decision for a long time. For Index, he stated that he started thinking about retirement after an abdominal wall injury he got from fighting in the UFC.
"For a while now, I've been feeling like I'm not at my best. When I stopped fighting in the UFC, I had an abdominal wall injury, and after I recovered, I wasn't at the same level as I used to be. A lot of factors contributed to that, my age, injuries, other obligations I have... I can no longer fight at the same level, and I don't want to fight bad opponents. In the last match, my opponent was a top fighter. I lost, he was better, and I have no intention of making a circus out of my farewell," the Duke explained and announced what was coming next.
"I have a family accounting business to which I now intend to dedicate my time, but I will still stay in this sport as a commentator, coach, sparring partner... Other than me not fighting anymore, not much will change. I will continue to train in the American Top Team and help younger fighters. Sometimes, being the champion of your gym is the hardest," the Duke explained.
He ended his career with 29 wins, 15 losses, and one "no contest". His biggest victories were achieved in the UFC against Krzysztof Soszynski and Fabio Maldonado. He fought 12 times in the world's strongest MMA organization and achieved four victories and one "no contest". There isn't a fight he considers his favorite, but there is one event he remembers especially fondly.
"Every victory is equally important to me, and every match is equally important because each of them had its own story, its own training, and laughter... I can't say I have a favorite fight. However, I will always remember the fight in the Zagreb Arena. I did my best in front of the local crowd because I wanted everyone to be proud," recalled Pokrajac. The 2016 UFC Fight Night was the only UFC event organized in Croatia, and Pokrajac lost against Jan Blachowicz by a unanimous decision of the judges.
"I don't regret anything, and I wouldn't change a thing because my experiences made me the man I am today."
He never officially fought Mirko Filipovic, but they often sparred, and Cro Cop was actually the one who introduced him to the MMA world.
"I'm grateful to everyone who gave me advice, to my coaches, family ... Nothing can be achieved by one person alone, there are a lot of people involved in a fighter's career, and they all contribute to the fighter's success."
Pokrajac did not want to speculate who could one day break his Croatian record in the number of fights in the UFC. He did say, however, that Croatia has a number of young fighters who stand out.
"The biggest names come from our ATT gym. Ivan Erslan is an established fighter, and there are also Jakov Kosic, Donald Cosic, Patrik Celic, Dani Barbir, Francisco Barrio... There are a lot of fighters who train a lot and sacrifice their free and family time, all those things that normal people take for granted," says the Zagreb fighter.
Of course, Pokrajac is the Croatian record holder in the number of UFC fights only if we don't count Stipe Miocic, an American fighter who comes from Rtina near Zadar. Miocic will fight Daniel Cormier for the third time on August 15 and try to defend the heavyweight title once again.
"I believe Stipe will win. He gave Cormier a fair chance, just as Cormier gave him a fair chance before. I hope the outcome will be the same as last time."
Cormier has already announced that this will be his last fight, and it is rumored that it could also be Stipe's last fight, especially in case of defeat.
"I don't know what they're thinking. Maybe they're in the same situation as I am. Either way, both of them were champions, they achieved a lot, and I have nothing but respect for both."
Speaking of retirement, Conor McGregor, the biggest star of mixed martial arts, has recently announced his retirement for the third time. Pokrajac believes that the Irishman no longer needs to fight if his primary motive is money.
"It is rumored that he made $300 million for the fight with Floyd Mayweather. Hardly anyone can offer him that much money. He has earned enough to never fight again if he doesn't want to. He enjoys other things now, his lucrative whiskey business, for example."
Still, the UFC will go on without him. As a matter of fact, it seems that the UFC is more popular than ever. Thanks to his incredible perseverance, Dana White was the first to resume sports activities in America amid the coronavirus pandemic by organizing several UFC events over the past month. During the summer, he plans to host the fights on the so-called Fight Island near Abu Dhabi.
"White tried to take the UFC to a higher level while other professional sports are paused. This is his chance to gain a new contingent of fans who will watch fights via pay-per-view. It's not about people needing to watch sports, it's about money. Ever since the IMG bought the UFC, they have invested a lot, and they are expecting results. It's a business after all," concludes Igor Pokrajac.