UFC Quick Quote: Josh Burkman to retire ... maybe

by MMAmania.com on Apr 9, 2008 4:04 PM EDT

josh burkman

"No more decisions. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure this fight doesn't go to a decision. I'll even retire if it does go to a decision. I can't have them anymore.... After this fight nobody will talk about my wrestling background anymore, because I'm not even going to try to clinch. I'm not even going to try to go to the ground. I'm going to try and knock this dude out. So much for not giving away a gameplan ... there's my gameplan."

-- Josh Burkman jokes (I think) with MMAWeekly.com that he will retire if his upcoming welterweight fight with Dustin Hazelett at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale on June 21 goes to a decision. "The People's Warrior" has had his last five fights go to the judges scorecards and he's dropped two of them (Mike Swick and Karo Parisyan). He narrowly won a split decision over Forrest Petz during that span.

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Bout time…finish some fights!

by triangle choke on Apr 9, 2008 4:09 PM EDT reply actions

hope he doesnt fall into the Karo fight mode where he throws one haymaker looking for knockout ,I used to like Josh alot right after the TUF but, dont know now… and I kinda want Dustin to win man, he was tooling Koshcheck and got caught, I bet a rematch between him an Kos would end up in Kos unconcious…

by hector on Apr 9, 2008 4:13 PM EDT reply actions

Not a problem if Mazz is the ref.

by Nokimono on Apr 9, 2008 4:22 PM EDT reply actions

Who cares that this punk is going to retire? Make room for anyone better. The guy is no good plus he is just a cocky ass in real life so good riddence to him! Love the picture of Burkman fighting Fitch when Burkman starts crying. Hilarious!

by BUUCK on Apr 9, 2008 4:24 PM EDT reply actions

Comments like this will end uo biting him in the ass. Fans do want to see finishes like Irvin/Alexander and IMO Chuck is loved because of he KO ability he has (not just this but it is a factor) but fans also like 15/25 mins of quality fighting. I like decision wins as long as they are entertaining and not lay n pray or dry humping the fence.

by UKmmaBOY on Apr 9, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

Who cares if he did retire, I wouldn’t even know if he was gone or not. He’s a B-level fighter that I forget about until I see an article on this site.

by tripleainto on Apr 9, 2008 4:28 PM EDT reply actions

Thats just an excuse for why he will be too scared to go to the ground with McLovin! No crap he doesnt want to wrestle him, Koschek didnt even wantt o wrestle with him so why would Burkman.

This is just a premeditated excuse for him having to abandon his game plan. He has no choice because his usual strategy would just fall right in the hands of McLovin.

Very Lame Burkman…. I would like to hold you to that retirement claim! I for 1, wont loose any sleep if i dont ever see you fight again.

So he is pledging to keep it standing? I hope he spares us from that BS, desperate attempt of a Capoeira Jump spinning hook kick….LAME!!!!!

by john on Apr 9, 2008 4:31 PM EDT reply actions

Get out of my head john. lol I laughed when I saw what he had to say about not wanting to wrestle, just for the simple fact of not wanting to go to a descision? HA! He knows if he does go to the ground, Hazelett takes it no problem. His only chance is to knock him out. I also hope he retires if he does leave it up to the judges, but I for one don’t think Hazelett will let him.

by Toms Bombs on Apr 9, 2008 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

You just beat me to the punch John. Kos was terrified to bring McLovin to the ground. Unless Burkman somehow got a BJJ black belt overnight, he can’t hang with Dustin on the ground. So of course he is planning on standing with Dustin.

Also, my birthday is next week and when I blow out my candles, I am going to wish that the Hazelett/Burkman fight end with Dustin winning via a dominant decision, 30-26 across the board!!!!!!!!!!!! Retire this over-rated punk.

by ViolentMike on Apr 9, 2008 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Ditto. His only chance is a decision or haymaker.

Burkman throws one shot bombs. He should work on 1st touching his opponent, then putting combos together, and then sitting down on his punches if he wants to be a KO artist.

VM, I hope your birthday wish comes true.

by SaVaGe on Apr 9, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Burkman might be in trouble in this fight. Hazelett looked pretty good against Kos. I was impressed. Hazelett just might have the advantage on the ground anyhow, so I don’t think keeping the fight standing is a bad strategy for Burkman.

by RealDrew on Apr 9, 2008 4:37 PM EDT reply actions

Burkman is more boring than Tim Silvia. He even managed to make Swick look boring. I hope Hazlett chokes him out and sends his ass packing. And BTW how the hell did this dude pull Arianny????

by bnf on Apr 9, 2008 4:46 PM EDT reply actions

burkman shouldn’t retire just because he can’t finish fights. As long as they’re exciting, it doesn’t matter. He just needs a better skill set.

by sbud on Apr 9, 2008 4:46 PM EDT reply actions

Burkman is going to retire?? Talk about short lived….haha

Hazelett was pretty impressive. Hopefully Josh comes to throwdown hard, or he really will need to retire.

by grembone on Apr 9, 2008 4:47 PM EDT reply actions

Dustin wins this fight for sure.

by facethemusic321 on Apr 9, 2008 4:49 PM EDT reply actions

Dam! I thought he was the peoples warrior? You guys are hard on him.

by JV on Apr 9, 2008 5:03 PM EDT reply actions

No, Peoples Warrior means he fights for Cecil Peoples.

by Pat on Apr 9, 2008 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Hazelett is going to win, but I do like Burkman… he’s not top notch but he is entertaining for sure.

He sounds serious about his gameplan… but the “retire” part sounds fake.

by JonnyBoy on Apr 9, 2008 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

I love it. Watching people hold back for fear of gassing out makes me frustrated.

by EazyEismydad on Apr 9, 2008 6:04 PM EDT reply actions

They are kinda packing this Finale with fights other than guys on the show.

Burkman vs. Hazelett
Diego vs. Fiorivanti
Grove vs. Tanner
McFedries vs. Eastman
These and the fight for the TUF 7 winner.

That’s the normal time-alotted five fights that would be booked for a three hour telecast. Obviously they can squeeze more in depending how many fights finish quickly, but it would seem they may not be showing many of actual guys from the show and their fights.

by PJJ on Apr 9, 2008 6:17 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, the card is filling up but I could see the UFC moving some of these fights to the under card in favor of good TUF7 match-ups on the main card. Give the season time to play out and the rivalries a chance to develop.

McFedries vs. Eastman in particular I can see going to the under card. I have nothing against these guys but I have no real interest in them either, just 2 b-level fighters trying to stay in the UFC. I’d be happy with a quick recap of the action unless the whole thing is a slugfest.

Grove vs. Tanner as well could go to the under card. Grove is on a 2 loss streak and Tanner didn’t get to show much against Okami. To me this is a very interesting fight. I am a fan of both fighters and think each is still a threat @ 185 with the potential to give the fans a real war but I can see how others would see it the same way as I view McFedries vs. Eastman.

by Mediocre Ninja on Apr 10, 2008 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I guess he’s retiring after this fight, because a lot of dudes say this and that but it all changes when they get punched in the face a few times.

by Amir on Apr 9, 2008 6:27 PM EDT reply actions

I thought burkman should of won the fight against swick….or the fight should of been a draw the fight shouldn’t of went to swick.

by RobWhiskey on Apr 9, 2008 7:00 PM EDT reply actions

Mania, this a very nice chat thing you got going on now..

Dustin Hazelett by Molestation

by "Mr. NC-17" on Apr 9, 2008 7:51 PM EDT reply actions

I hope he does retire. He kind of sucks anyway. When was the last time you actualy said, “Hey man, I cant wait to see Burkman fight!” I dont think he is a draw in any capacity. They should get rid of him and move Carlos Condit up. He would be a much better draw and provide better fights.

by the_mexicutioner on Apr 9, 2008 7:55 PM EDT reply actions

the peoples champ? he aint any ones champ, ;-) no one cares about him

by Ramon on Apr 9, 2008 8:06 PM EDT reply actions

I think he’s full of shit, so he’s not going anywhere, unless he moves up to 185, and fights some new meat. I really like him, but he should’ve been more aggressive vs Swick, disappointing performance, almost feel asleep..

Hey, is he still hittin’ Arianny?

by DirtbagHtr on Apr 9, 2008 10:32 PM EDT reply actions

I went to his Myspace site to see if he had comments on this fight to confirm rumors of it. He still had her in the top of his friends list. She, however, had him nowhere in sight. Don’t know what she ever saw in him. (I will keep my soul patch and shaved head in case that’s it and I meet her someday.)

by PJJ on Apr 9, 2008 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions