Eddie Wineland announces retirement following UFC on ESPN 37 defeat

“I didn’t get an opportunity to leave my gloves in the cage but as Jim Morrison once sang. ‘this is the end,’” Wineland wrote. “The road I’ve traveled over the past almost 20 years has seen many highs and lows, it’s been a fun ride but this train has reached its final destination!

“I am forever grateful and extremely thankful for the opportunities given by the UFC, Dana White and Sean Shelby, everything you guys and the company have done for and given to me I am forever grateful! Thank you and thank you to the fans who’ve always stood in my corner, officially retired. Thank you for the memories, time to turn the page, and on to the next chapter in life!”

Wineland exits the sport with a 24-16-1 mark that was compiled over the course of a career that began in 2003. He captured WEC gold with a knockout of Antonio Banuelos in 2006 and would go on to face some of the sport’s biggest names at 135 pounds, including Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez  , Renan Barao, John Dodson and Sean O’Malley, among others. He challenged for the UFC interim bantamweight crown at UFC 165, falling to Barao via second-round TKO. Wineland earned notable victories against the likes of Takeya Mizugaki, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen, Yves Jabuoin and Frankie Saenz during his professional tenure. Wineland fell on hard times in recent years, losing five of his last six bouts — including three straight via KO or TKO.