Kurt Pellegrino is a funny guy. I mean, he nicknamed himself Batman and conducts interviews in the shower. The term ‘UFC veteran’ is bandied about too often, however with a 16-6 career, twelve fights in the Octagon and five Fight of the Night or Submission of the Night honours, Kurt is the epitome of a ‘UFC veteran’. In an open and honest blog post over on his website, Kurt announced he was taking a hiatus from his MMA career:
“I have spoken at length with Joe Silva about my decision and have decided not to renew my contract with the UFC. I want to take the time to regroup, refocus, and rethink what it is that I want to do going forward.”
“Most importantly I want to spend more time with my family. My daughter is four years old and I can’t tell you how much of her life I’ve missed dedicating my life to training for fights. I did so willingly and I’ve made a lucrative career with the UFC, but I’m not sure I could ever say any amount of money was worth it. My wife and I just welcomed a baby boy and I can’t bear the thought of missing as much of his ‘firsts’ as I did my daughters.”
As well as spending time with his family, “Batman” also explained that he wants to dedicate more time to teaching and coaching and will no doubt spend a lot more time on his Twitter account too. Good luck to you Kurt. [Source]