Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

That's exactly the case here, as you can see in the above photo of a freshly retired Chris Lytle celebrating his UFC on Versus 5 win over Dan Hardy with his family inside the Octagon.

In combat sports, it's rare for a fighter to go out on his own terms. The kind of fighting spirit it takes to make a living getting beaten up every few months normally cannot be extinguished on a whim. It usually takes a few beatings and aggressive convincing from overly worried onlookers.

And sometimes the people in power have to make an executive decision to remove a fighter from competing in the sport he loves. This was not the case with Chris Lytle. 

After 12 years in the game, the Indiana firefighter and budding politician made the decision that, at 36-years-old, it was time to step away from his life as a prize fighter and just go back to being good old dad.

He did it his way, going out with a bang by engaging in one last slobberknocker before submitting his opponent in the final round. He'll leave on a high note and with the memory of standing in the cage alongside his loved ones as he said goodbye. 

And we'll always remember him, too.