Former UFC lightweight and welterweight contender James Vick has announced his retirement from the sport of MMA. After his knockout loss to Andre Fialho this weekend under the promotion XMMA, ‘The Texecutioner’ decided to hang up the gloves due to a bilateral orbital fracture.

Vick won his last fight in February 2018 as he defeated Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision. He was 13-1 at that point before suffering a brutal knockout loss against Justin Gaethje. This started the downfall of the promising fighter.

“Thank you to anyone who has been there to support me, teach me or cheer me on along the way. I have made life long relationships in this martial arts journey I will always be so grateful for,” Vick wrote on Instagram.

“It bothers me that my 3 year old son has to see his daddy with his jaw wired shut for 4 to 6 weeks because of all this. He is so little and doesn’t understand. Time to move on and focus more on my family and raising my son to be a great man.Thank you everyone and thank this sport for the memories,” he continued.

Vick suffered a decision loss to Paul Felder after his defeat to Gaethje. Another knockout loss to Dan Hooker prompted him to move to welterweight. He was hoping for a change in fortune in the 170 lbs division. But an upkick knockout loss to Niko Price followed and cemented his release from the UFC.

How did James Vick fare in his career?

After his UFC debut in 2013, Vick won 5 fights in a row. He debuted against Ramsey Nijem in the promotion. Five fights later, Beneil Dariush knocked him out to hand ‘The Texecutioner’ his first career loss. Stoppage wins over Abel Trujillo, Marco Polo Reyes, and Joseph Duffy put him in the top 10 of the UFC lightweight division.

Yet another decision win against Francisco Trinaldo set him up with a clash against former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. His career is an example of how the fight game is and a reminder of how lengthy winning streaks can turn to losing streaks.

What did you make of James Vick’s career? Was he right to go out before sustaining more damage?

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