“The Hitman” has officially hung up the gloves.

On Wednesday afternoon, former UFC welterweight standout Martin Kampmann announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts. The 33-year-old made it a official during an interview with UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi.

“I’ve known for a while,” Kampmann told UFC.com “I just haven’t really made it official. I’m not sure why.”

This announcement comes more than years after Kampmann’s last appearance inside the Octagon, where fans saw him suffer a fourth round TKO to Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 27. While he did earn a Fight of the Night bonus for his performance, this setback also marked Kampmann’s second straight knockout loss.

During this time Kampann spent time serving as the head coach of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento before stepping down from the position last August.

Hailing from Aarhus, Denmark, Kampann made his MMA debut back in 2003, where fans witnessed him walk away with a first round TKO over Gert Mannaerts. Little did they know, this was a sign of big things to come.

The Dutchman would go on to earn victories in eight of his next nine fights, all of which ended in stoppage, culminating in him being crowned the Cage Warriors middleweight championship. He would defend it one time before getting the call from the UFC to replace an injured Kalib Starnes against Crafton Wallace at UFC Fight Night 6 in August 2006.

Kampann would go on to earn yet another first round submission. He would rattle off three more wins before suffering a first round TKO former title contender Nate Marquardt.

Following this loss, Kampann made the move down to 170-pounds where he would put together a UFC record of 7-5, including wins over Condit, Rick Story, Jake Ellenberger and Thiago Alves.

He closes out his career with five UFC post-fight bonuses and 15 career stoppage wins.

About The Author

News Manager

José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.