(CNN) Professional wrestler Leati Joseph Anoaʻi, better known by his stage name Roman Reigns, has announced that he is stepping away from the ring due to an ongoing fight against leukemia.

Reigns, a former football player who has since become one of World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) most popular personalities, announced Monday that he had been living with cancer for 11 years and that it had returned.

He said he would relinquish his claim to the WWE's Universal Championship as he focuses on battling leukemia.

"When I was 22 years old, I was diagnosed with this. And very quickly I was able to put it in remission. But I'm not going to lie, that was the hardest time in my life. I didn't have a job, I didn't have any money, I didn't have a home and I had a baby on the way," Reigns said in an emotional speech Monday in Rhode Island to kick off WWE's Monday Night Raw program.

He thanked the WWE for giving him a chance after his football career had ended.

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