“I don’t want to be an old, busted-up guy giving people a watered-down version of myself for a paycheck.” That was Nick Newell in October 2015. That was him explaining his decision to retire from MMA at 29, despite a solid career record of 13-1 and the peculiar kind of fame that comes with being a one-handed professional fighter. The way he told it then, he had too many injuries, too much physical damage, and he couldn’t even train properly anymore, much less perform to his own satisfaction on fight night. So he retired. He focused on running his gym – Fighting Arts Academy in West Haven, Conn.
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