“No more looking around… When I’m ready, you’ll know,” Cheyanne Vlismas kept fight fans hanging about her return to the Octagon on Millions Press Interview, back in April. However, her life outside the cage wasn’t really conducive to her making a comeback. Following her loss against Cory McKenna in 2022, she went on a hiatus leaving things in a shroud of mystery. Then out of nowhere—retirement. The reason? Motherhood.

Vlismas debuted in the UFC in 2021 against Montserrat Conejo Ruiz after winning a contract of Dana White Contender Series 30. Unfortunately, her promotional debut ended in a loss via unanimous decision. However, her performance was affected by factors beyond her control. Weeks before her debut, she got seriously injured and required surgery. Yet, she went back to the training camp and showed up for the fight. However, her next two fights against Gloria de Paula and Mallory Martin highly impressed fans, Her first-round spinning back kick KO against de Paula got her the $50K performance bonus. But her last fight against Cory McKenna was where things went spiraling. 

Finally, after being out of action for 3 years, ‘The Warrior Princess’ announced her retirement with a record of 7-3 (2-2 in the UFC). Taking to Instagram, she shared a video highlighting some of the best moments of her career. Struggling with a divorce and raising two children proved immensely challenging for the Florida-born strawweight fighter. Ultimately, she had to choose between motherhood and her MMA career. And she chose the former. 

In the caption of the retirement post on IG, Cheyanne Vlismas wrote, “As of today I am officially retired. This decision comes with a lot of heart break. But this is something that I need to do. After having my second child, my time is very limited. I am unable to give 100% into my training without giving less of myself to my babies. This decision comes as I am choosing to be the parent that I wish I always had growing up. As hard as this decision is because I love fighting so much with all my heart. My kids will always be put first. I know I am young and I could make a comeback but my decision came down to could I leave my kids for 2 months for a training camp? I simply cannot do so.”

The 30-year-old ex-UFC contender didn’t forget the ones who contributed to her success as a fighter. She continued, “Thank you to all my coaches @dennisdavismma @sugarraysefo @richiequan @eric_xcmma @xcmma teammates throughout the years that were always there for me. Most importantly my family and thank you too @mickmaynard2 and the UFC. This was a dream. I didn’t get to fulfill all my dreams, but I made it to the highest level and now I’m gonna choose to give my all into being a mother. And lastly, thank you to all my fans. 🙏🏼 I hope one day my kids will know their mother give her all into being the best I can be for them because this is not an easy goodbye for me. 🙏🏼❤️”

After competing at LFA, IFC, and Dana White‘s Contender Series, she went on a four-fight UFC run, amassing a 2-2 promotional record. Nevertheless, Vlismas has now found the clarity needed to navigate her personal and professional life. However, back when she was still unclear about it all, ‘The Warrior Princess’ didn’t back down on choosing to fight. 

Cheyanne Vlismas weighs in on the troubles of her last bout

During a conversation with MMA Fighting back in 2022, Cheyanne Vlismas revealed her inclination towards competing again. She said, “If it was [up to] me, I would love to fight, but I am told I cannot.” She only has two KO wins in her 10 fight career, with three decision losses—two of which were in the UFC. Competing in the world’s premier MMA promotion and balancing motherhood can spell a certain doom for most fighters’ careers. Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, and even Amanda Nunes became mothers only after they were retired or semi-retired. 

‘The Warrior Princess’ stated, “I was actually not even supposed to fight in my last fight. I was asked not to by some high-up people. They told me, ‘Please do not take this fight.’ Even my family didn’t want me to fight, one, for being sick, and two, for other reasons I can’t speak about. No one wanted me to fight at all, so the fact I got to finish off 2021 with a fight, and winning, and proving to people just that little [more] like I did it, more for myself, it was a good feeling.”

Now, ‘The Warrior Princess’ can devote all of her time to taking care of her children. As a mother of two, she seldom misses an opportunity to share beautiful moments with her kids. Her Instagram post garnered quite a few reactions from her former opponents, including McKenna, and her teammates. And all of them had the same thing to say—they were honored to be a part of Vlismas’ journey and wished her the best.