It’s easy to look at Felice Herrig’s retirement and think she’s like countless other mixed martial artists to call it a career only to return soon after, but that’s not the case.
“When I retired from MMA, it was clearly MMA for me,” Herrig told MMA Junkie. “Also, you know, with the UFC, you’ve got to make sure you’re out of their contract. Now I can do what I want.”
And so one month after she retired following a submission loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Fight Night 207, it was announced that Herrig signed a contract with Bare Knuckle FC.
Herrig, 37, began her combat sports career as a kickboxer – where she was 23-5 as a professional – well before she got her start in MMA in 2009. She admits now that she only got into MMA because she was drawn by the rise of the sport in the years that followed the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Eventually, Herrig got her big break when she competed on Season 20 of “TUF” in 2014, which was the first to feature an all-female cast competing for the inaugural UFC strawweight championship.
MMA, though, was never quite her thing.
“I never loved MMA,” Herrig said. “I’ve always loved boxing.”
That was even more apparent to Herrig as she was forced to overcome two knee surgeries that kept her out of action for all of 2019 and 2021. Herrig closed out her MMA run by fighting just four times since 2018 and losing all four fights.
Herrig knew her rematch with Kowalkiewicz on June 4 would be her last fight in MMA regardless of the outcome. The years trying to return from knee surgeries took a mental toll on her, and she was over having to worry about the non-striking aspects of MMA and going to different gyms for training. It helped that she’d also be fighting out her UFC contract, which would make her a free agent.
“I was just kind of tired of always trying to figure it out all over again,” Herrig said. “And every time I’d go to boxing, it was the best day of the week. …
“I finally get to do what I actually love, which is striking. Boxing.”
Bare-knuckle wasn’t specifically on Herrig’s radar, but she knew it was a possibility.
“I didn’t want to do it if I couldn’t box, as well,” Herrig said.
Herrig added that her BKFC contract states she will be free to compete in regular boxing, as well, and she mentioned working with Triller. While Herrig said that money isn’t her driving force, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have lucrative options beyond just the UFC, which is no longer the end-all for many MMA fighters.
“Now there are a lot of other opportunities to make money and to be successful not just in MMA and not just in the UFC,” Herrig said. “I figured bare-knuckle would probably be on the horizon because that’s probably where I would make the most money, but again I also like that I’m not just stuck to bare-knuckle. I can also box, and that makes me happy just being able to do both.”
With MMA now in her rear view, Herrig can look back and feel good about her career in the cage.
“Until my knee surgeries, I was in the top 10 my entire MMA career,” Herrig said. “And I fought great girls, and I beat great girls. For that, I’ve gone back and realized that I do have a lot to be proud of. I was the first in a lot of things.”
Felice Herrig ‘never loved MMA,’ reinvigorated by love for boxing after BKFC signing
