Retired: ‘The Judges Do Not Give Back’

Zhalgas Zhumagulov has called it a mixed martial arts (MMA) career after back-to-back controversial losses inside the Octagon. Indeed, the Kazakh fighter suffered his second split decision loss in a row at UFC Vegas 65 last night (Sat., Nov. 19, 2022) to Charles Johnson to kick off the ESPN+-streamed main card.

Check out the scorecards here:

The 34-year-old has been on the wrong side of several controversial decisions throughout his six-fight UFC run, which includes his fight earlier this year with Jeff Molina and his bout against Raulian Paiva in July 2020. But, the heartbreak of losing nasty split decisions seems to have taken its toll on “Zhako.”

And, after his loss on Saturday, he announced his retirement on his Instagram story.

“Everyone saw the fight, what can I say?,” Zhumagulov said (translation via Sherdog.com). “There is nothing to say — this was my last fight. Thanks to everyone who cheered for me. I don’t want to fight anymore. For some time I fight – the judges do not give me back. You plow, plow, do all the reasons – and just like that. Now, I’m not saying this out of emotion – as it is. Thank you to everyone who was rooting for me.”

Even though he addressed his emotions, fighters can be very irrational after losses, and there have been countless examples of fighters announcing their retirements prematurely.

If Zhumagulov does indeed walk away from the sport, he leaves with a 14-8 record (1-5 in UFC). He was the Fight Nights Global Flyweight champion and holds noteworthy wins over Tyson Nam, Tagir Ulanbekov and Ali Bagautinov, among others.

For complete UFC Vegas 65 results and coverage click here.