Peter Aerts officially retires
The Dutch Lumberjack Peter Aerts has officially retired, after an extraordinary kickboxing career that began some eight years before UFC 1.
Peter Aerts started competing in kickboxing in 1985, at age 15. By 19 he was the International Kickboxing Federation’s heavyweight champion. 30 years later he has officially retired, having fought late in 2014, and not recovering adequately from it. He made the announcement via video.
During an extraordinary fighting career that started eight years before UFC 1, Aerts had a record of 105-34-2, including three K-1 World Grand Prix Championships. He even went 1-1 in mixed martial arts, back in 2005.
Aerts wound his career down over the past few years, fighting infrequently since the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix. His last fight was fitting, vs. Ernesto Hoost. There Aerts lost a three round decision. Hoost had fought just once in eight years before that, and will in all likelihood not fight again. The two great warriors having one final go is as good a way to go as can be imagined.