UFC welterweight Jason Witt has decided to bring his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career to a close and has announced his retirement from the sport.

A six-fight octagon veteran, Witt took to social media on Sunday night to announce his retirement from mixed martial arts competition.

“It’s taken me a week to decide how to put this into words because nothing seemed to sum up what it means to me…but here it goes.

“I am officially RETIRED from Mixed Martial Arts,” Witt stated on Instagram.

The decision of the 35-year-old arrives after his 28-fight pro run where he went 19-9. Inside the UFC octagon where he fought on six occasions, his record stands at 2-4. Witt, also known as “The Gorilla” was very active on the regional scene — including bouts under the Bellator, LFA, and Titan FC banners — to earn his opportunity to compete for the UFC.

Coming from a professional kickboxing background, he made his MMA debut in the Missouri regionals in 2009 which ended in a loss to Tyler Johnson. Going professional in 2013, he won his first match on April 26 in Shamrock Fighting Championships

After arriving to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Witt made his welterweight debut on less than a week’s notice in June 2020. Appearing at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Hooker, he replaced Ramiz Brahimaj and suffered a loss at the hands of Takashi Sato, losing via TKO in Round 1 of the fight.

He went on to pick up his first victory in the octagon with a submission win over Cole Williams four months later. After getting stopped in the first round by Matthew Semelsberger at UFC Vegas 21 in March 2021, Witt earned his first UFC bonus in a Fight of the Night majority decision win over Bryan Barberena at UFC Vegas 33 in July 2021.

“For the past 15+ years I dedicated myself and my life to MMA,” Witt said. 

“Through literal blood, sweat and tears it taught me how to be disciplined, how to overcome adversity, and how to be humble and respectful. It forced me to grow up to become the man I needed to be to reach my goal to fight in the UFC. It allowed me to travel all over the world, introduced me to all kinds of people, and help make memories that I will cherish forever,” he further added.

His last two fights in the UFC ended in stoppage losses to Phil Rowe, and more recently to Josh Quinlan at UFC San Diego.