Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Chris Lytle announced yesterday (Aug. 13, 2011) that he intends to retire from mixed martial arts (MMA) after his fight against Dan Hardy at UFC on Versus 5, regardless of the outcome.
Let's take a look back on the story of the man we've all come to know simply as "Lights Out."
He was a professional boxer. He's still a firefighter. He looks to one day transition into some form of public office. Certainly not the least of these, Lytle is also the father of four. Seemingly, there's nothing this guy cannot do.
Officially, Lytle has won 30 fights, lost 18 and earned five draws.
Though he made his UFC debut on Nov. 17, 2000, Lytle was cut right after his fight against Ben Earwood. He's been consistently employed by Zuffa since 2003, going 8-6 during that time span.
During his UFC career, Lytle has earned eight separate fight bonus awards. Five of those bonuses were for the "Fight of the Night."
Here's a look back on some of Lytle's more memorable moments.
On Nov. 17, 2000, at UFC 28, Lytle was 24-years-old and was making his inaugural entrance to the Octagon. His opponent was Ben Earwood, who was a wrestler with a 10-2 record.
Lytle landed 67-percent of his strikes to Earwood's 56-percent.
The real story, though, were the takedowns. Earwood used his to gain top control and in turn notch the unanimous decision victory.
Lytle spent the next couple of years bouncing back and forth between Pancrase bouts in Japan and various regional shows in "The States."
On Nov. 21, 2003 at UFC 45, Lytle made his return to the UFC against Robbie Lawler, who won what has been viewed as a controversial decision ever since.
From that point on, Lytle has spent the majority of his career inside the UFC Octagon, though he did make appearances with Shooto, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Legends of Fighting (LOF), Cage Rage and United Fight League (UFL).
One of the things Lytle is best remembered for is his appearance on Season four of The Ultimate Fighter. He lost a very controversial decision at the hands of Matt Serra, but was able to win an army of fans due to his performance.
During his career, Lytle has done just about everything and fought just about everyone (or at least it feels that way). He will be remembered for being a lot of things. "Boring" is not one of them.
Let's all pause for a moment of silence for the passing...er...moving on of one of our era's all-time fun fighters to watch.
And share your favorite memories of Lytle in the comments below, Maniacs. Lord knows there are plenty.
Get the latest gear
