Roger Gracie is the ONE Championship cruiserweight champion, but hasn’t defended the title since he won it in May 2016. Today, he has decided to step away from the sport completely, retiring from MMA at the age of 36. In an interview with MMA Fighting, he cited his reasons - mainly not wanting to continue to fight just for money:

“I decided to stop because I didn’t think MMA was motivating me enough to keep dedicating myself 100 percent to an athlete’s life. I enjoyed it, it was a huge pleasure to do these 10 MMA fights, but I have no other ambitions. I just turned 36. I never wanted to compete longer than 38, and there’s not much else left to conquer in MMA, something that would change my career.

“I just ended my career at a high level. I would have more to lose than to gain if I kept fighting MMA. If I had the same passion in MMA like I had in jiu-jitsu I would continue, but the only motivation that would keep me in MMA was money, and I’m against doing something focusing only on money. I don’t think I’d even give my 100 percent in this case, so I decided to retire and focus on other things in my life."

His retirement, which came just three months after he stepped away from competitive jiu jitsu, was first reported in an interview with MMA debate.

Gracie (8-2 MMA) fought 10 times in 10 years for five different organizations. His longest run came in Strikeforce, where he lost to King Mo Lawal and then won two fights at middleweight. This earned him a shot in the UFC, but a single loss to Tim Kennedy and he was out. He finished his career with two wins in ONE, including the title win.

Gracie is considered one of the best, if not the best, competitor in jiu jitsu’s long history. He retired as a 14-time world champion, 10 of them coming in the black belt division.