MILWAUKEE, WI - AUGUST 14: Chris Lytle (L) has his hands wrapped backstage in his locker room at the UFC on Versus 5 event at the Bradley Center on August 14, 2011 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

After seven years away from competing in professional combat sports, a true veteran of MMA has returned. But not to the sport he made his name in.

It took 31 wins, 18 losses and 5 draws before Indianapolis’ own Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lytle called it a career in MMA.

Making his professional debut in February 1999 at age 25, Lytle eventually found his way to the UFC, where he spent most of his MMA career, ending it after 20 total fights with the organization.

Anyone who ever watched Lytle compete knew that he was a fighter through and through as he was always looking to put on a show inside the Octagon. But Lytle’s fight career also saw him venture into the boxing ring from 2002 to 2005, where he went 13-1-1 as a professional boxer.

Now, almost a decade after hanging up the gloves, Lytle will be returning to action. The only difference is that this time the gloves won’t be going back on.

“I don’t think people realize how much of a difference there is [between boxing and bare-knuckle boxing].” Lytle told FanSided, “I can block so many shots with the big boxing gloves on, you can parry me, you can move out of the way and cover up, but if you do that with no gloves, some of those are gonna sneak through and you’re gonna get hit and cut open and you’re gonna be like, ‘that was a big mistake.'”

On Aug. 25, Lytle will take on Drew Lipton at Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championships 2 at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, which fans can watch on PPV. The match will go down as the second career bare-knuckle boxing match of his career as well as his second fight since his 2011 retirement (the first fight coming in January).

Older fighters returning after retirement in MMA is nothing new and has become somewhat frowned upon. Just take former UFC star and former light heavyweight king Chuck Liddell for a prime example.

Liddell is returning to action after a lengthy eight-year retirement and has been questioned ever since the idea was even presented by the San Luis Obispo native.

Many assume fighters make these comebacks primarily for the money. That, however, is not always the case, as is seen with the man referred to as ‘Lights Out’.

A full-time firefighter for the past 17 years, Lytle has fought through all of it and is financially stable. That begs the question: Why come back at all?

The answer is simpler than one might think.

“This is a weird thing … And I think the thing most people will think is nuts is …this is about fun for me and this is just something that I want to do,” Lytle said, “Obviously not about the need to do, you know. It’s not like financially this is gonna make or break me.”

Among rumblings of a return for any sports figure, the general consensus assumption would be that the retired athlete, if to return, would return to the sport they were doing prior.

Although similar, what is it that makes the now 44-year old MMA veteran choose bare-knuckle fighting?

“I remember when I first saw [bare knuckle boxing], somebody I knew was doing it and I said ‘what the hell are they doing?’ And I clicked on [the video] and I watched it, and after I got done I was like ‘I kinda wanna do it … ‘

The feeling of watching it reminded me of back when I first started seeing the UFC way back in the day. It was just almost like forbidden fruit, [that you’re] not supposed to do, and this bare-knuckle boxing kind of had that same allure to it.”

“It’s like a new challenge, something different.” Lytle continued, “I feel like I’ve been a combative sport athlete for 20 years, it’s just something I’d like to try and do. The whole idea of a mixed martial arts fight …I’m past that. It’s so much harder when it comes to the training and all the time, energy, effort. I’ve had a lot of pro boxing matches so this is similar to that. I know how you train for boxing; [it’s] a lot easier on my body, mind, everything. So when I saw this, it had the perfect combination of everything, and something that I knew I had been missing in my life for a while, and this is a good way to go back and get it for a little bit.”

After a wildly successful inaugural event, it’s no surprise that the BKFC caught the attention of MMA fighters and fans alike.

And as combat sports competitors, the fire inside can never truly be extinguished. We see fighters unretire regularly, and Lytle embodies the feeling that makes them do it.

The idea of a new challenge is enticing to anyone. For fighters, it’s taken to a whole other level.

“This might sound weird, but before I get done doing it, I want to have another fight where it’s a gut check,” Lytle said. “Where I have to go in there and overcome some adversity to make it to the end and make it a tough fight.

“When I take a step back and look at my career, those were my favorite fights. Ones where it was harder for me. I love my 30-second knockouts, those are great, but I like thre- round wars a little bit better. When I look at them I’m like, ‘man, that proved a little bit more to me than I hit that guy once, who cares?’ I’d be disappointed if I don’t have another fight like that.

“Maybe this [next one] will be it. If not, I’ll take another one until I get that, you know?”

If these fighters still physically can go and are offered fights, the likelihood of them taking it will always be there. They put their bodies and souls on the line each and every time out and achieve the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Feelings like this are the kind that most humans never even get to experience. So the fact that these warriors persist on doing it for as long as they can makes all the sense in the world.

If you love something, you’re going to do it for as long as you truly can.

“I’m sure I won’t be doing this very long,” Lytle said. “If you would have told me I’d have a fight at 44 [years old], I’d have laughed at you and said it would never happen. I feel like if you’re a true fighter, it’s in your blood, it’s hard to kinda get away from.

“So that being said, as long as I feel like I can do this in a safe manner and it’s not gonna be detrimental to me, I wouldn’t mind. But if I start taking too many shots, I may have to re-evaluate things and be like, ‘hey, I’ll do this until I die,’ but at some point I have to be smarter about that. So I don’t really know at this point. It’s just kind of open-ended right now.”

Despite giving the boxing world another go, Lytle is still very much involved in MMA and keeps up with the sport as he works with the likes of Matt Mitrione and many others regularly.

Regardless, he thinks that the MMA chapter of his life as a fighter has very much turned the page. But as we know, you can never say never.

“I’m not saying there’s NO chance [for an MMA return,] but it would cost ’em a lot of money,” Lytle said. “I would have to get paid pretty well. So if there’s somebody out there who wants to pay a lot of money to see me do it … talk to me, we’ll talk.”