Mac Danzig retires from the cage

Mac described his experience in the sport as “a long, amazing, arduous, thrilling, painful, depressing, spectacular, self-realizing, worthwhile struggle of a journey, for which I have no regrets.” He told blog readers that his enthusiasm had peaked and had been declining for a number of years, and also shared his thoughts about the threat to the brain from fighting on for too long, a matter which carries further weight for him as he considers his parenthood.

Unsurprisingly Mac is interested in training future fighters, and fans of his outstanding wildlife photography will be pleased to know that he hopes to continue this. “Animal rights, human rights and diet/health are still very much in my blood£ ho continues “and I will continue to promote them with good conscious into the future.”

Mac finishes his career having won 21 of his 34 fights. He was known for his grappling, having won ten fights by submission. His achievements include winning Ultimate Fighter 6 and King of the Cage Lightweight World Championship, which he defended four times. He’s also been the 2001 Extreme Trials National Champion and the Gladiator Challenge World Championship.

Mac has explained that he always had "a profound respect and interest in nature and animals" which led to his veganism.  "In 2004, I got to the point where I was sick of eating chicken. It started grossing me out for some reason. I was about a month out from a fight and I decided I was going to cut out all meat. I was working with a trainer who was vegan and he helped me make the switch. I won that fight and went on a 12-fight winning streak. And [not eating meat] made it really easy to cut weight for that fight."

GVA wishes Mac well in his future endeavours.

Mac’s GVA profile with further links

Mac announces his retirement