Two time USADA drug test failure and UFC veteran Ricardo Abreu has announced his retirement as a professional MMA fighter, he retires with a record of 5-1-0. Abreu spoke with MMA Fighting about his decision to retire.
“This retirement is to prove that this is my focus,” Abreu said. “Feeling better, living with my family and friends, enjoying life, having energy to play with my kids, that's what matters to me. Unfortunately, I can’t get a medical license from the UFC to get treatment, so this happened. But now I have time to take care of myself and be happy. Life is good.”
Abreu has also been battling depression over the last year, something he has started to get some help dealing with.
“I already had a three-year old son and my wife was pregnant, and I had no idea if we would have money the next month,” Abreu said. “I was afraid, and that fear dominated me. I was already a little depressed, and that depression only got bigger. I was afraid of everything. I had no courage for nothing, no energy. I thought nothing would work. I started to go down. I decided to visit a psychologist after some time and he said I had depression. He said it wasn’t severe, but it wasn’t light either. It was horrible. The idea of taking medication, I thought it was something for weak people, crazy people."
Abreu last competed at UFC Fight Night 68 in June 2015, where he suffered a split decision defeat to Jake Collier.
