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Nam Phan at Bellator 131 weigh-ins - Photo Credit: Bellator MMA

Veteran competitor Nam Phan has announced that he is hanging up his mixed martial arts gloves, following his third successive submission loss.

Phan (21-17), a veteran of the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator, took to Facebook to announce the news, which came shortly after his loss at the hands of Scotland’s Robert Whiteford at ACB 54 in Manchester. It was his fourth loss since being released from the UFC in 2014.

At just 33 years of age, Phan is still fairly young, but having competed professionally since 2001, he has accumulated 38 fights’ worth of damage to his body. He made his debut as an 18-year old on the regional scene in his native California, facing the likes of Josh Thomson.

Phan was a semi-finalist on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, losing out to future UFC Lightweight mainstay Michael Johnson. Phan would embark on an eight-fight UFC career thereafter, a run in which he went 2-6. He is best known for the two all out wars he fought against Leonard Garcia, both of which won Fight of the Night honours.

Phan’s final UFC fight was a unanimous decision loss at the hands of Vaughan Lee in Macau, following which he was released. A one-fight stint with Bellator followed, and after three fights in Japanese promotion Pancrase, Phan found his way to ACB.

Against a tough fighter with UFC aspirations, Phan was never able to get going and Robert Whiteford (14-4) was immediately able to secure the front choke, and with it, earn himself the technical submission victory. After the fight, Phan released the following statement:

“Just wanna say great fight to Robert Whiteford, he did amazing. As for me, I think it’s time to hang up the gloves. I’ve been submitted in my last three fights. I don’t want to quit bc I still feel young and strong. I run marathons, compete in pro boxing matches, and I still do Jiu Jitsu/Judo tournaments but when it comes to MMA, I just don’t have the right resources.

“Fighters at the event are telling not to quit but on the bus ride back they were talking about how this one fighter has too many losses and taking too much of a beating and he should quit. I don’t want to be that guy. I’ve been fighting since the year 2000 and have over 40 fights. Some of my matches are not even recorded on Sherdog because they’re considered underground. I don’t want to say I’ll never return to the ring for one last fight but I think I put my body, mind, and family through enough stress.

“I’ll still train every day, continue to compete in Marathons, boxing matches and amateur grappling matches. As for MMA, I’m gonna take a bit of time off. Thank you everyone, for all the years of support.”

For full results from ACB 54 click here