Melvin Manhoef retires from MMA

By Tim Ngo | September 27, 2008

Following his submission loss to Gegard Mousasi at the Dream Middleweight Grand Prix, Melvin Manhoef has decided to retire from Mixed Martial Arts. Manhoef’s spokesman explained, “training seven days a week and three times a day has taken its toll on his family life.”

Manhoef started his MMA career in Kickboxing where he used his speed, power and athleticism to compile a 34-4 victory with 25 victories by knockout. From there he moved to the sport of Mixed Martial Arts where he defeated the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba, Fabio Silva and Evangelista Santos on his way to a 22-5 record.

His small compact body always reminded MMA fans of Kevin Randleman and his explosiveness was second to none as he demolished Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream.4 to earn a place in the semi-finals of the Grand Prix.