Allen Crowder has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.
The former UFC heavyweight went 1-2 inside the Octagon.
Recent reports on social media suggested he was released by the promotion, yet he makes it clear he was not released and that he actually decided to walk away from the sport.
“Retiring, or quitting fighting whichever one you prefer. I am only 30 years old right now, my last three fights ended in concussions,” Allen Crowder told BJPENN.com. “My business is going really well, and, the money is not where I had hoped it would be when I made it to the UFC so I made the decision for my health to stop now.”
Part of the reason why he decided to retire from the sport was due to his health.
Crowder revealed he is dealing with memory loss. He knew he needed to stop fighting so he could be able to watch his daughter grow up.
“I just turned 30 this year and I’ve had some memory problems, and it wasn’t worth it and I want to watch my little girl grow up. [The memory loss] has been happening more and more lately. I’m talking to the doctor about it now and just find out what is happening. It is just little stuff like I’ll be making coffee and I put theanine in it to avoid the crash,” he explained. “So, I’ll put my cup in the Keurig and I’ll look for the theanine. I’ll then stress out to my wife because I can’t find it. It will be beside the cup, which is now off the Keurig and I can’t remember taking the theanine out of the cupboard or taking the cup off the Keurig. This is not good.”
Crowder says he was barely making any money from his fights after taxes and paying his coaches and teammates. Given that he owns his own gym, he is dedicating his entire focus to that and to teaching little kids the martial arts.
“It is very unlikely, as I’m happy doing what I am doing now,” Crowder said of fighting again. “Most fighters, all they have is fighting but I have all these options so there is no reason to put my health on the line. I’m enjoying life.
“I am pretty okay with never fighting again. I don’t have the urge or desire. I’m still training and my goal is to get my black belt in jiu-jitsu. I’m still doing boxing, but right now I am comfortable doing what I am doing,” he continued. “The amount of time I can spend with my family is awesome as I don’t have to get ready for a fight. Not stressing about fighting either is great.”
Allen Crowder says the memory loss played a huge factor in his decision to hang up the gloves, but he also worried things could get worse if he continued fighting.
“Earlier on I could take punches and was fine. But, that last fight I got caught with a jab and my body shut down. From that moment I realized my body can’t take it anymore. Maybe I took too many shots to the head. From then on, I didn’t want to put my body through that. Then maybe something worse happens down the road,” he concluded.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/21/2019.