Gerald Harris announces retirement

Gerald Harris following his win over David Branch at UFC 116 in Las Vegas on July 3, 2010.

This time, Gerald Harris swears he’s done.

At a C3 Fights show in Newkirk, Okla., on Saturday, “Hurricane” announced his retirement following a win over fellow UFC vet Seth Baczynski. This is the third time that Harris, a 13-year veteran, has said he is hanging up the gloves.

“I went to Bellator, I lost every single fight, four fights. Three losses and a draw. I could have quit,” Harris said in a post-fight speech. “I wanted to end my career with a win. It wasn’t easy, I picked a tough-ass opponent, 11-time UFC vet, and I did it. It wasn’t pretty, I know it wasn’t pretty, but I got the job done. Another thing, I had a horrible injury in camp four weeks ago but I still showed up. I could have canceled this fight.

“Support your local fighters, I swear to God this is my last fight. That s*it hurt.”

Harris, who turned 39 in November, has competed for several notable promotions including the UFC, Bellator, and the World Series of Fighting. It was inside the Octagon that Harris made his most significant impact as he won his first three fights with the promotion to extend a career-best 10-fight win streak.

All of Harris’s UFC victories came by way of knockout, with his most memorable being a third-round slam finish of future WSOF dual-division champion David Branch at UFC 116 in July 2010. Following that win, Harris lost a decision to Maiquel Falcao and was subsequently released by the promotion.

Harris then went on to win eight of his next nine fights, including decision nods against Jorge Santiago and Kazuhiro Nakamura. In April 2014, he announced his first retirement, which lasted until he made a successful return at a Legacy Fighting Championship event almost three years later.

In October 2017, Harris won a welterweight title bout at an Xtreme Fight Night event with one of his trademark slams, and again announced that he was retiring. He would sign with Bellator the following April.

He finishes his pro career with a record of 26-8-1.