REGARDLESS OF THE outcome, this weekend’s meeting with Ian McCall will mark Neil Seery’s final outing as a professional fighter.
The veteran Dubliner insists that he won’t reverse his decision to retire, even if he does manage to pick up the biggest win of a career that began over 11 years ago.
In his seventh bout under the UFC banner, the 37-year-old will take on Ian McCall — who’s ranked fifth in the flyweight division — at UFC Fight Night 99 at Belfast’s SSE Arena on Saturday night.
Andy Ryan, Seery’s head coach, has said that an upset victory may make it more difficult for his fighter to walk away. Seery is currently priced at 27/10, with McCall available at 2/7 [Ladbrokes]. However, Seery is adamant that the result won’t matter.
“Definitely not. I’m going out feeling good. That’s it,” Seery told The42 at this afternoon’s UFC Fight Night 99 media event in Belfast.
“Andy keeps saying it to me, winding me up, messing with me and trying to get into my head. But no, I’ve made my mind up and I’ll stick to it.
“A lot of people should be happy that I’m going. People still want to see me fight, which is fantastic, but when does it come to the stage that people don’t want to see you fight anymore and don’t want you to take any damage? We have a lot of that in MMA as it is.
“We’ve got people going in just to get paid. I’m not one of them. I had a reputation for turning up to fight every single time, and I am going to turn up to fight, but it just comes to an end sometimes.
“You know when your body’s telling you that’s it. No more headshots, no more gruelling matches, no more gruelling training sessions, just sit back and enjoy more or less what you’ve helped to create.”
To see the interview with Neil Seery in full, watch the video above.
