Jared Gooden has announced the end of his fighting career.
The experienced fighter, with 34 professional bouts under his belt, shared this news on social media on Monday. This marks the conclusion of his 10-year journey in mixed martial arts, which included two periods in the UFC. Gooden, aged 31, made the decision to retire after his recent fight against Mahamed Aly at a Shogun Fights event in Hanover, Maryland, last Saturday, where he suffered a defeat.
In his retirement announcement, Gooden stated, “I want to use this moment to inform everyone that my time in the sport has come to an end. I am retiring from fighting. I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my career and helped me reach this point in my life. To be honest, I no longer possess the same level of passion and love for the sport that I once had when I was younger.”
Gooden also mentioned that his future plans involve focusing on raising his daughter and exploring new opportunities and projects outside of fighting.
“I am hanging up my gloves for now, and I am excited to share with you all what I will be pursuing next in life,” Gooden added.
During his two stints in the UFC, known as “Nite Train,” Gooden achieved two victories out of seven fights within the promotion. He first entered the UFC in 2020, facing Alan Jouban at UFC 255 and losing. Subsequently, he won one of his next three fights, highlighted by a first-round knockout victory over Niklas Stolze.
Gooden left the UFC in 2021 but made a comeback to the organization in 2023. However, in his second run, he only secured one win in three appearances, a second-round submission against Wellington Turman, before returning to compete in regional MMA events.
He retires with a professional MMA record of 23 wins and 11 losses.
