UFC/Bellator MMA Veteran Michael McDonald Retires

Michael McDonald was on the crisp of potentially getting a shot at the Bellator MMA Bantamweight Title, but that will not happen now because the fighter has announced his retirement from professional MMA.

It was through Instagram that McDonald revealed the news:

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My friends and family, I am excited to announce the start of a new chapter for me and my wife Rachel. Today I am officially retiring from MMA fighting and I plan on never competing in martial arts competitions again. I had a wonderful career and a wonderful staff, and even greater- a wonderful wife and a wonderful God to thank for all the great moments. I am now going to be doing my woodworking full time from here on for many many years to come. I have been a professional cabinet and furniture maker for 7 years now along side my fighting. I have my own custom cabinetry and furniture shop and i am just as passionate about woodworking as i am about martial Arts. I put the same hard work and striving for perfection into my woodworking craft as you have all seen in my fighting career. Here is a brief write up of my retirement and the reasons why from my friend Brett Okomoto from ESPN. http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/24817357/bellator-bantamweight-michael-mcdonald-retires-mma

A post shared by Michael McDonald (@maydaymcdonald) on Sep 27, 2018 at 9:13pm PDT

McDonald would also issue the following statement to ESPN on his decision to retire:

“Most people, when they quit, it’s because they can’t hang. They’ve been beaten out of the sport and their family is sitting them down and asking them to please stop. For me, it’s not a matter of skill or being able to perform, but I’m at a point where the cost is greater than the reward.”

A now retired McDonald earned a record of 19-4-0 during his professional MMA career, earning notable wins over Cole Escovedo, Chris Cariaso, Alex Soto, Miguel Torres, Brad Pickett and Eduardo Dantas. McDonald had challenged for the UFC Bantamweight Title, losing to then champion Renan Barao at UFC On Fuel TV 7.