Two-Time UFC Competitor Anna Elmose Announces Retirement

Two-time Octagon talent Anna Elmose has announced her retirement from MMA, citing a lack of desire to fight.

“I'm retiring as a fighter,” Elmose wrote on Instagram. “I've understood, that I no longer have the necessary desire, will to win or hunger to compete.”

Elmose’s decision comes on the heels of a unanimous decision loss to Amanda Bobby Cooper at UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast on Nov. 19. In that bantamweight bout, Emose knocked her opponent off balance with a right hand in the opening stanza and later opened a cut near Cooper’s eye with an elbow from top position. However, Elmose was unable to capitalize on that moment, and Cooper took control down the stretch.

“I have no excuses for my performance against Amanda Cooper. I've never been in better shape, I had awesome sparring and the weight cut went according to plan. I simply couldn't get my pulse up, didn't feel any kind of adrenaline rush and basically felt content,” she wrote. “When I entered the Octagon in Belfast, I didn't get any kind of buzz at all. I just felt flat, and it was weird to experience, because I didn't understand it at first. But when I knocked my opponent down, and I didn't get the rush to finish the fight, as I usually do, I knew that my edge and desire simply was gone.


 “I honestly had no idea until the fight, that I have lost my ‘fighter heart,’ and I really didn't see it coming. I apologize to all I've let down, but I don't have it in me anymore.”

A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Elmose began her professional career with three straight triumphs, all via knockout or technical knockout. She suffered a first-round knockout loss to Germaine de Randamie in her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 87 before falling to Cooper.

“I live a very good life now, and I've realized, that I don't have anything to fight for anymore,” she wrote. “At the age of 32, other aspects of life now make more sense to me, but I don't regret a thing.”

I'm retiring as a fighter. I've understood, that I no longer have the necessary desire, will to win or hunger to compete. I have no excuses for my performance against Amanda Cooper. I've never been in better shape, I had awesome sparring and the weight cut went according to plan. I simply couldn't get my pulse up, didn't feel any kind of adrenalin rush and basically felt content. When I entered the Octagon in Belfast, I didn't get any kind of buzz at all. I just felt flat, and it was weird to experience, because I didn't understand it at first. But when I knocked my opponent down, and I didn't get the rush to finish the fight, as I usually do, I knew that my edge and desire simply was gone. I honestly had no idea until the fight, that I have lost my "fighter heart", and I really didn't see it coming. I apologize to all I've let down, but I don't have it in me anymore. I live a very good life now, and I've realized, that I don't have anything to fight for anymore. At the age of 32, other aspects of life now make more sense to me, but I don't regret a thing. I'd like to thank the UFC for giving me the chance to perform at the biggest stage in Martial Arts, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. What an adventure it has been! Intensiti Fighter Management gave me dreamlike opportunities, and I'll always be grateful for their treatment of me as an athlete. I can't praise my management enough. The team at Rumble Sports took me from being a chubby hobby-kickboxer to an elite MMA-fighter in only three years. Thank you to everyone, who helped shape me as a fighter. The panda is no longer endangered and it's time for new dreams and adventures.

A photo posted by Anna Elmose (@anna_elmose) on Dec 8, 2016 at 1:35pm PST