Bart Palaszewski, one of two to beat UFC champ Pettis, confirms retirement
Bart Palaszewski, a former IFL fighter who eventually took his talents to the WEC and UFC, has officially retired from the sport.
The 30-year-old Polish-American fighter first hinted at retirement on social media over the weekend and made it official in recent days.
Palaszewski most recently competed at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, where he suffered a submission loss to Cole Miller in April 2013. Soon after the Miller loss, Palaszewski confirmed the UFC had released him. He hasn’t fought since.
During a 12-year career, the fighter competed as light as featherweight and as heavy as welterweight.
Palaszewski (36-17) posted an 8-4 mark with the IFL’s Quad City Silverbacks, a 4-3 record in the WEC, and a 1-3 mark in the UFC. However, his UFC stint also included a “Knockout of the Night†award in his UFC 137 victory over Tyson Griffin and a “Fight of the Night†bonus in his UFC on FX 5 loss to Diego Nunes.
One of Palaszewski’s biggest career highlights came in late 2009, when he earned a split-decision victory over Anthony Pettis, who went on to win WEC and UFC titles, at WEC 45. He remains one of only two fighters (Clay Guida) to score a victory over the reigning UFC lightweight champion.
The victory was part of a 5-1 run that propelled the colorful Palaszewski to a UFC contract in 2011.
