Former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Alex Enlund has announced his retirement from the sport, retiring with a record of 14-3-0-1NC.
Enlund last competed at Absolute Championships Berkut 70 and decided to retire after his reaction to his loss allowed him to reevaluate his life.
“After the fight, I realized that I wasn’t as disappointed as I expected to be,” Enlund said to MMA Fighting. “The previous losses I had kind of broke my heart, I was emotionally distraught back then when I lost. I was too okay about the result of the fight, and this was in a fight that I thought I had won. I don’t think that’s a healthy attitude and it’s something that exaggerated a feeling I have inside of myself - I’m just not the same competitor that I used to be. What I have been through in the last year has changed me.”
The retired fighter was supposed to make his UFC debut in 2016, but what appeared to be a brain tumor showed up on one his medical scans and that canceled his debut. However, further testing showed no brain tumor, but the UFC had already rescinded his contract at that point.
Despite not having a brain tumor, the who situation helped Enlund focus on the important things in his life.
“With everything that’s happened, it’s really made me look at what’s important in my life. When all of the medical stuff was going down it was easy for me to write off fighting during that time,” Enlund explained. “I was meeting neurosurgeons and I always felt the same way. If I had to give up fighting, then that’s what I would do. I was more concerned about my health and being okay. At one stage, I met a doctor who recommended I never compete in contact sports again. I was okay with that. Coming to terms with that probably changed me. It really made me look at what really matters and what’s important for me. For my whole career, I had been turning up to win. Against Kane, for the first time in my life, I was showing up just to be in a fight. There’s a huge difference between those two mindsets.”
It was at Cage Warriors 73 in November of 2014 that Enlund won the featherweight strap, defeating Nad Narimani.
