James Wilks, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 (US Vs UK) has announced his retirement from the sport.
“A few of you have been asking when my next fight is. Unfortunately, I have had to retire due to injury. Now coaching @lightningmma,” Wlks wrote on his Twitter account yesterday.
The 34 year-old fought four times in the UFC, going 2-2 with his most impressive win coming against Demarques Johnson in the TUF 9 welterweight final where he comprehensively outgrappled him before securing a rear-naked choke submission to become the season’s ‘Ultimate Fighter’.
Wilks hasn’t fought since October of 2010 when he lost to Claude Patrick at UFC 120 in his native England. He was scheduled to fight Amir Sadollah last year, but had to pull out due to a knee injury.
Update: It’s now emerged that the exact reason Wilks is retiring isn’t due to that knee injury, but a recurring neck injury. Apparently doctor’s told him he risked paralysis if he continued fighting due to an old fracture in his neck which the UK fighter claims he didn’t even realize he had until a doctor showed it to him an x-ray of it.
