Ray Borg has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following his unceremonious release from Bellator on Friday.
The one-time UFC title challenger released a statement, confirming that he would be hanging up the gloves after once again failing to make weight for a high-profile bout with Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 295. Taking to Facebook, Borg issued an apology to those that he affected by his unprofessional action.
“Things did not go as planned this weekend and I will not be fighting,” Borg wrote. “I made promise to myself that if another incident like this ever happened I would retire. So going forward I am officially out of the game and hanging it up. I just want to formally apologize to those I have let down and thank those that have been by my side throughout these crazy years. I am on a different journey in life now and I appreciate and love you all for always being Team Borg.”
Things did not go as planned this weekend and I will not be fighting. I made promise to myself that if another incident…
Posted by Ray Borg on Friday, April 21, 2023
Bellator CEO Scott Coker Confirms Ray Borg Has Been Cut From the Promotion
This is far from the first time that Ray Borg has missed weight, or in this case, failed to weigh in at all. With 21 career fights under his belt, ‘The Tazmexican Devil’ has seen 17 previously scheduled bouts canceled. An especially aggravated Scott Coker, the CEO of Bellator MMA, issued a statement while speaking to MMA Junkie, confirming that Borg and Keoni Diggs had been handed their walking papers after failing to even attempt a weigh-in ahead of their Bellator 295 bouts.
“When it’s time to fight, this is a professional fight league,” Coker said. “This is not an amateur tournament. I think it’s time to say goodbye to both of them, and we’re going to move on and let them fight somewhere else, and good luck.”
Coker continued saying, “You’ve got to make weight. That’s part of the deal. … We did everything we said we’re going to do. I feel bad for Horiguchi. I feel bad for his family who flew in from Japan.”
Shortly after being released from the promotion, Ray Borg was also dropped from his talent agency, Dominance MMA.
Effective immediately, Dominance MMA will no longer represent Ray Borg after his fight with Kyoji Horiguchi was cancelled ahead of #Bellator295. Statement below: pic.twitter.com/UKtmLMJg3T
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) April 21, 2023
This is not the first time that Borg has retired following a fight cancellation. In August 2020, the New Mexico native announced that he would be walking away from the sport after receiving his release from the UFC. A week later, Borg walked back his comments claiming that the “depression and stress” from his release got the best of him.
Do you think this latest retirement will stick or is Borg once again giving fans a kneejerk reaction to his latest setback?
