Following his come from behind submission win on Nov. 2 vs. Aaron Miller, Michael Joker Guymon has retired at age 39, following 14 years of fighting. Although Guymon has retired before, this one looks permanent.
Guymon has filled countless roles in sport, from fighter to trainer to manager to one of the original members of the TapouT Crew. He is a veteran of the UFC (4x), Bellator, IFL, KOTC, and many more, with wins at 185, 170, and 155.
He currently runs Jokers MMA, in Orange County.
I’m just ecstatic,” said Guymon after the fight. “I couldn’t have written it any better. I didn’t want a fight that I just ran over someone. I got to perform, show a lot of different skills, and show I could do things under adversity.
As soon as I slapped the triangle on, I knew the fight was over and he was going to tap because it was just so tight. As soon as he stopped it, I was crying because I was so happy.
It’s not just about getting on track and winning these last three out of four, it’s the adversity I’ve gone through while doing it has been overwhelming. I’ve had to deal with a lot of adversity.
I normally walk around at 195 pounds and to fight at lightweight, at 155 pounds, I have to sacrifice a lot. It’s sacrifice on top of sacrifice to fight at that weight, all the while to teach classes at my gym and train other fighters.
I told people this is my last fight. I’m 39 years old, I’m not getting any younger, and I feel like the house is stacked against me. Fighting 14 years, you get a lot of battle damage through so many wars in training and fighting; it’s just an accumulation and my body is pretty damaged.
At my age with the chemical makeup I have now, it’s harder for me to lose weight, harder for me to recover, and it’s just one of those things where you physically can’t do it. My mind’s willing, but my body’s saying that it’s a done deal, dude.
I’m so happy with what I’ve done. There’s always things I wish I could take back or could have done differently, but for what I accomplished in my career; I have three wins in three different weight classes, I won a world title in a recognizable organization that’s been around a long time, I got into the UFC and actually got a win, that’s all on my resume that I’m glad to have done.
I’m elated and just happy to have accomplished what I’ve done in the time that I have done it in. I fought for 14 years and I don’t know many fighters that can say that they’ve done that.
Guymon did say there was a slim chance he would return, but at age 39 with so many goals accomplished, this one looks permanent.
