Outside Source
A mixed martial arts OG had his final fight on Saturday night.
Longtime veteran Mike Pyle rounded out his career in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas on Saturday night at UFC 222.
The feel-good version of the story ended there, though, as Zak Ottow defeated him via TKO at 2:34 of the opening round at T-Mobile Arena.
“I loved it. I f*ckin’ loved it,” Pyle, holding back tears, said of his career in his postfight interview. “I loved every bit of it. This camp was the best. I was so emotional.”
Ottow pushed the pace from the outset, landing strikes and keeping Pyle backpedaling. The beginning of the end came when Ottow dropped Pyle with a right hand. The referee gave Pyle plenty of leeway to get better position before waving the bout off.
Ottow (16-5), who had all three of his previous UFC fights go to split decisions, was glad to get a finish as he improved his UFC record to 2-2.
“It does feel good to get back to my barbaric ways from when I was coming up on my regional level, these split decisions were getting real frustrating.”
The 42-year-old Pyle finishes his career with a record of 27-14-1. The Tennessee native’s career dates back to a June 1999 card in Memphis in which he lost a decision to Quinton Jackson in both fighters’ pro debuts. Pyle held the WEC welterweight belt and had 10 career UFC victories.
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
