Former WEC light heavyweight champion and UFC middleweight contender Brian Stann officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Thursday.
Stann made the announcement during an interview with MMAFighting.com. He first discussed ending his professional MMA career several months ago with members of his inner fighting circle.
"Yesterday, news broke that I'm going to be branching out and doing some college football," Stann said. "But a couple of months ago, I made the decision and just wasn't sure when I would announce it -- that I was no longer going to continue fighting.
"So I wanted to use this opportunity to say thank you. The relationships and experiences I've gotten from fans and fellow fighters have honestly made me a much better person. I leave fighting having taken much more from fighting than I ever gave."
A former captain in the United States Marine Corps, the 32-year-old Stann exits mixed martial arts with a career record of 12-6. In his most recent outing, on March 3, he was knocked out in the second round by Wanderlei Silva in an action-packed fight.
Stann will now turn his attention full-time to broadcasting. He currently offers mixed martial arts and boxing commentary on Fox. He is expected to add college football to his list of responsibilities in the fall.
Stann is married and the father of two daughters.
