Jacare Souza has announced his retirement from MMA.

Souza was released from the UFC following his submission loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262. He also broke his arm in the fight. The setback marked his fourth straight loss as prior to the loss to Muniz, he suffered a KO loss to Kevin Holland, a split decision loss to Jan Blachowicz, and a decision loss to Jack Hermansson.

After his release, many wondered if he would sign somewhere else and compete. Now, months later, Souza has made up his mind and he announced he is retiring from MMA.

“I’ve fought a lot, I retired from jiu-jitsu very early, I think I’ve fought a lot of MMA and I don’t intend to fight again. It’s really over,” Souza said to Combate. “I’m retiring from MMA, and I’m returning to the sport that I made history, the sport I really like.”

Although he is retiring from MMA, Souza said he will still train and is open to competing in grappling competitions. However, he is walking away from MMA for good.

“I’m going back to training and, who knows, I’ll go back to competing. I’m challenge-driven, and jiu-jitsu for me is becoming a challenge because it’s very evolved, there’s a lot of new stuff. It’s beautiful to see,” Souza said.

Despite the fact, Jacare Souza never touched UFC gold, he still remains one of the best middleweights ever. The Brazilian who is now 41-years-old is 26-10, and one No Contest holds notable wins over Chris Weidman, Gegard Mousasi, Derek Brunson, Robbie Lawler, and Vitor Belfort among others. Souza is also the former Strikeforce middleweight champ and defended it once. The Brazilian joined the UFC in 2013 and went 9-7. He also headlined four UFC events during his time with the promotion.

What is your favorite memory from Jacare Souza’s MMA career?