Jessica-Rose Clark has announced her retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) due to constant injuries and a lack of passion for the sport, but plans to continue competing in other combat sports.
Jessica-Rose Clark has a new game plan. She’s not leaving combat sports, but she’s done with mixed martial arts. Retirement had been on her mind for a while.
“My contract ended after the [submission loss to Tainara Lisboa at UFC Charlotte] – that was the last fight on my deal,” Clark revealed on The MMA Hour. She had planned to bow out after her fight with Sarah Alpar at the end of 2020. Injuries were piling up, and the joy was draining away.
Clark had an image of what MMA would be like. The reality, once she reached the top, was a different story. It was a struggle to reconcile the two.
She made a pact with herself before the Sarah Alpar fight. If she didn’t enjoy it, she would call it quits. She had a great fight, but got injured. Tore her ACL. Surgery followed. Then, a new contract offer came with a significant pay bump and new visa. She thought, “OK, that was a good fight. We’ll give it another shot.”
After her third-round TKO of Alpar, Clark scored a win against Joselyne Edwards at UFC Vegas 41. Then came three straight submission losses, ending her UFC run.
She harbors no ill feelings towards the UFC. Her nine-fight run over nearly six years was all about passion. But the love for MMA just wasn’t there anymore.
“It just didn’t fulfill me anymore the way it used to, it didn’t excite me anymore the way that it used to,” Clark explained. She loved the crowd, the cheers, the entertainment aspect. But the actual sport of MMA? She just didn’t love it anymore.
Every day was a battle. Wrestling and jiu-jitsu left her beat up. It felt like it wasn’t worth it anymore. Even after winning her next fight, she hated it. Losing to Stephanie lit a fire in her, but it was short-lived.
When she fought Julia and had her arm dislocated, she retired in the cage. She had promised herself that if she got another bad injury, that would be it. She still had one fight left on her contract, but she knew she was done. She wanted to try pro boxing and kickboxing. At 36, she knew she didn’t have time to waste.
“My career was going to die in the UFC, and it was never a bad place to be,” Clark continued. “I just didn’t love the sport anymore, and I wanted to try other things before it was too late.” The paycheck was a loss, but the love she’s received since leaving has been overwhelming.
Clark was set to compete at Lion Fight 75 in September in her first post-UFC bout. But her opponent, Karen Cedillo, was not medically cleared, and the fight was cancelled.