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SBG Ireland Fighter, Bellator Talent Luka Jelcic Retires from MMA at Age 29



Luka Jelcic has decided to hang up his gloves at the age of 29.

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The SBG Ireland-trained Croatian was scheduled to lock horns against Italy’s Luca Vitali at Bellator 211, but he was forced to pulled out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons. The former Final Fight Championship lightweight titlist communicated his decision to retire in a post on his Instagram profile. Undisclosed health problems in recent years have denied Jelcic the ability to train and fight at his best.

“Time to call it a day,” Jelcic wrote. “I’ve worked hard and done more then I ever imagined I would. The truth isn’t what I want it to be but it is what it is and the only thing I can do is to accept it. The reason I started fighting again was because of you Ivana, none of this would be possible without you and you are the sole reason for everything I’ve achieved, we’ve achieved. You were unbelievable every step of the way. Thank you. My family, friends, coaches, teammates, sponsors and everyone that supported me, thank you.”

Jelcic ends his career after 13 fights, with a record of 10 wins and 3 defeats. In his last fight, Jelcic succumbed to first-round punches from Brandon Girtz at Bellator 190 in December 2017. The loss snapped Jelcic’s four-fight winning streak and left the SBG Ireland representative with a sour taste in his mouth, since many observers admitted the finish of the Girtz fight was controversial. At least one of the shots in the climactic barrage appeared to connect to the back of Jelcic’s head.

“The Hitman” declared in a previous interview with Sherdog that he “paid the price big-time” for that controversial finish, especially regarding his health status.

View this post on Instagram

Time to call it a day. I’ve worked hard and done more then I ever imagined I would. The truth isn’t what I want it to be but it is what it is and the only thing I can do is to accept it. The reason I started fighting again was because of you Ivana, none of this would be possible without you and you are the sole reason for everything I’ve achieved, we’ve achieved. You were unbelievable every step of the way. Thank you. My family, friends, coaches, teammates, sponsors and everyone that supported me, thank you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀Vrijeme da i ovom dode kraj. Radio sam naporno i napravio više nego što sam ikad zamislio da budem. Istina nije ono što želim da bude ali je takva kakva je i jedino što mogu je prihvatiti ju. Razlog zašto sam se počeo opet boriti je zbog tebe Ivana, ništa od ovoga nebi bilo moguće bez tebe i ti si sam razlog za sve što sam ostvario, smo ostvarili. Bila si nevjerojatna svaki korak ovog puta. Hvala ti. Mojoj obitelji, prijateljima, trenerima, timskim kolegama, sponzorima i svima koji su me podržavali, hvala vam.

A post shared by Luka Jelcic (@lukajelcicmma) on

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