UFC Welterweight Sergey Khandozhko Retires at Age 30

Russian welterweight Sergey Khandozhko has elected to call it a career at 30 years old.

The three-time UFC competitor announced his retirement on social media Tuesday. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 205 on April 23, when he defeated Dwight Grant via second-round technical knockout.

“12 years have been a long way,” Khandozhko wrote on Instagram. “There were some ups and downs, important victories and heartbreaking losses. There were heavy preparations, injuries, exhausting races of 10-15 kilograms. I've missed many holidays and family feasts. I could not celebrate my birthday for 5 years in a row. But I am happy every day of my professional career. And thankful to God that he gave me this opportunity to be a fighter.

“I fulfilled my childhood dream - I got into the best fighting league in the world. Yes, of course it failed to become a champion. Somewhere hard work, talent and discipline were lacking. But I always moved forward and never gave up.”

Khandozhko’s victory over Grant was his first fight since November 2019. The Moscow native went 2-1 during a brief UFC stint and owns a 27-6-1 mark as a professional overall.

“It's time to turn over this page of life,” he wrote. “I hope that with my fights, I managed to bring positive emotions to someone, and if I could inspire someone else to take up sports, I would be happy. I will always miss the fights, and I will always want to get back in the octagon. But I decided to focus my efforts on creating, developing sports and raising young champions. I will share my experience with the youth so that they won't repeat my mistakes and they will know that anything is possible in this life.”

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