The 39-year-old, who compiled a 14-10 record in MMA, last competed in July 2023, winning a pro boxing match against Veronika Dmitriyeva.

In mixed martial arts, Herrig fought for both Bellator MMA and Invicta FC early in her career, competing against top names in Bob Honchak and Carla Esparza while notching wins over Jessica Rakoczy and Heather Jo Clark among others.

Building an army of fans on social media and known for flashy weigh-in outfits, Herrig arrived in the UFC as part of The Ultimate Fighter 20, which introduced the women’s strawweight division to the promotion. Herrig would go on to fight for the company for eight years, and holds a win over current UFC women’s flyweight champ Alexa Grasso.

Felice Herrig announced her retirement on social media with a lengthy farewell message stating it was an honor to compete over the years.

Man what an honor.
After 20 years of competing in combat sports. Competing professionally In boxing , kickboxing , Muay Thai and mma. I have officially decided to retire.

I have so many fond memories of this sport. From competing on the first All female fighting reality show , Fight Girls to the first all female season of #theultimatefighter

I’ve fought in Thailand and Japan. Competed in Chuck Norris’s World combat league.

Racked up various kickboxing and Muay Thai titles. Hosted my own tv show and was a part of the first video game to feature female mma fighters.

I was lucky enough to be a part of the first set of female strawweights to ever compete in the UFC

I’ve met so many amazing people along the way and it’s been a beautiful thing watching this sport grow so much for women. Especially since when I first started people always told me I had no future in this sport. Promotors never even wanted to put women on their fight cards because they thought it was some kind of freak show.

This decision did not come lightly. After deciding to retire from mma I had hopes of finishing off my career with my first true love of boxing

However, My body just keeps saying “ No” as much as I love training hard and am able to get through practices , my body just doesn’t recover from it. I was constantly sick and spending any and all of my extra time just recovering for the next training session.
Not really living my life. I’ve paid my dues in this sport and I don’t want to continue to be miserable from it any longer.

Before deciding to call it quits I took a few months off of training to see how my body would react and it actually feels amazing. I have not been sick and I’m not in pain and tired every day.
I have decided to listen to my body and enjoy the life I have worked so hard to get.

I am officially retiring at Fight # 55

During her UFC run, Felice Herrig picked up wins over Cortney Casey and Justine Kish in addition to the Grasso win. She earned a Performance of the Night bonus for her submission win over Kailin Curran in July 2016, the first victory of a four-fight win streak.

Herrig had signed with BKFC following her retirement from MMA, but never competed for the bare-knuckle promotion.

The post UFC, Bellator Vet Felice Herrig Announces Combat Sports Retirement appeared first on Cageside Press.

Herrig (14-10) retired just weeks ago, after a career spent in promotions including Invicta FC, Bellator, and the UFC. “Lil Bulldog” spent nearly eight years with the UFC, picking up wins over Alexa Grasso and Cortney Casey, among others.

Welcome to BKFC @feliceherrig pic.twitter.com/vZSPzFXC48

— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) July 5, 2022

Announcing her retirement from MMA following a loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Vegas 56, Herrig told media outlets including Cageside Press that “I’ve known for a while that like, maybe my heart wasn’t in fighting anymore.” At the same time, she left the door open to pursue a career in other combat sports, stating the boxing had always been her first love.

“People are going to say whatever they want, but I never loved MMA. I love it in training, but I really love boxing. That has always been my first love. So maybe everything’s going to just come full circle.”

For now, Herrig will try her hand at bare-knuckle boxing.

In a press release announcing the signing on Tuesday, Herrig is quoted as saying that “I’ve watched closely what Dave Feldman and his team at BKFC have built and truly want to test myself in bare knuckle.” She went on to add that “At this point in my career, I’m ready for a new challenge, and there is nothing bigger and better than BKFC.”

No opponent or date has been announced for Felice Herrig’s BKFC debut.

The post Recently Retired UFC Strawweight Felice Herrig Signs with BKFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

In the latest round of cuts (or in some cases, contracts expiring, plus a retirement), Tristan Connelly and TJ Laramie, two Canadian talents, have been removed from the promotion’s active roster. Additionally, Felipe Colares, Louis Smolka, Andreas Michailidis, Alex Da Silva,
Frank Camacho, and Niklas Stolze have been removed, per automated service UFC Roster Watch.

Felice Herrig is also out, though that should come as no surprise — the strawweight veteran announced her retirement this past weekend, after a loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Smolka (17-9) confirmed his exit from the promotion recently. It’s the second time “Da Last Samurai” has been shown the door by the company, but he’s not letting that get his spirits down.

“I’m kinda excited to test free agency, the MMA landscape is changing a lot and pretty soon it might be like boxing where huge entities are roaming the globe to take each other out,” Smolka wrote on social media in response to the news. “Sounds like it has the potential to be really lucrative to me.”

Tbh I’m kinda excited to test free agency, the MMA landscape is changing a lot and pretty soon it might be like boxing where huge entities are roaming the globe taking each other out. Sounds like it has the potential to be really lucrative to me https://t.co/zrvTZR1gPF

— Louis Smolka (@LouisSmolkaMMA) June 7, 2022

Connelly (14-8) came into the UFC on a high, defeating Michel Pereira in an upset at welterweight at UFC Vancouver in 2019. After an extended layoff, he moved to featherweight to face Pat Sabatini last year, coming up short. Following another year on the sidelines, he returned this past April, losing a decision against Darren Elkins.

Laramie (12-5), a Contender Series winner in 2020, was unable to pick up a win inside the octagon, losing both of his fights. The Windsor, Ontario native also suffered a loss against Sabatini, after losing his promotional debut to Darrick Minner.

Niklas Stolze fought this past weekend, and told Cageside Press going into the fight that he knew his back was against the wall. Alex Da Silva fought and lost on the very same card, falling to 1-3 through four UFC fights.

The post Nine Fighters Removed from UFC Roster, Including Two Canadians appeared first on Cageside Press.

Laying down her gloves in the cage, Herrig signaled the end to a fighting journey that began all the way back in 2005, in kickboxing. “Lil Bulldog” transitioned to MMA as a pro in 2009, eventually competing for Invicta FC, Bellator, and since 2014, the UFC.

The decision to call it a career comes after a third consecutive loss, and double ACL surgeries— but Herrig was not willing to let the knee injuries force her out of the sport. Which meant competing once more was key for the 37-year old.

“It wasn’t so much about the win or the loss. I’ve known for a while that like, maybe my heart wasn’t in fighting anymore,” Herrig told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “I enjoyed the training process, I enjoyed everything about it. I had the two knee surgeries, and that was not the way I was going to go out in the sport. I wasn’t going to let an injury hold me back. I wanted to prove to myself, and nobody else, that I can overcome two ACL surgeries and get back to being in the best shape of my life and come back and fight at the top level in the UFC.”

She did just that, continued Herrig, “but I also knew in the process that if I didn’t feel what I wanted to feel in the cage, that I was going to retire. I don’t like the nerves of— it’s like a roller coaster ride, you get those nerves and those butterflies and the anxiety, and I just don’t like that feeling anymore.” Herrig also noted that her legs felt heavy in the fight. “I just felt heavy and I just didn’t feel like, not that I didn’t try to push the pace, but I just didn’t have that extra little ‘umph’ to really fight out of bad positions.”

With such a lengthy combat sports career behind her, Herrig isn’t sure if the issue is mental or physical, but at the end of the day, the result is the same. “I’ve been doing this sport for twenty years, it takes a toll on your mentally and physically. So yeah, part of me did know that it was maybe going to be my last fight, and I said that if I felt great in there and I had the desire to really push the pace, then I would continue on in this sport. But I said that if I didn’t have it in me… I just felt something in there that I didn’t— I went after it, and I actually loved getting hit, that wasn’t like— I was like ‘yeah, that felt kind of good,’ which is weird, but I just didn’t, like, I just wanted the fight to be over. I’m not saying I gave up, I just realized, this isn’t for me anymore.”

An emotional Herrig said she still expected success once she got in the cage. “What’s the point if I can’t perform well? Then I might as well just go to the gym and do what I love; go to my kickboxing classes, and do my Yoga and do my strength training and just train for me. I don’t know. It’s just really sad for me, because I think too, as a fighter who’s been doing it for so long, you think like ‘what am I going to do when I’m not fighting?'”

That said, Herrig is aware she has more opportunities, and got to a point before the fight that she knew she had more to offer the world “then just Felice Herrig the fighter.” There’s also the potential of a move to boxing, which Herrig called “my first love.”

Early in her combat sports career, “everything was going towards MMA, and that’s why I got into MMA. And I don’t know I ever really loved it,” admitted Herrig. “And I know that’s really sad to say, and it seems like I’m a traitor or a fake or whatever, like ‘oh you don’t love MMA, you’ve been doing it so long.’ I know people are going to talk sh*t about me, like ‘oh no wonder you lost, your heart’s not in it,’ whatever. People are going to say whatever they want, but I never loved MMA. I love it in training, but I really love boxing. That has always been my first love. So maybe everything’s going to just come full circle.”

With Herrig making her exit from MMA, she can now look back at a successful career, first love or not. Asked about her favorite win, one stood out in particular: “Alexa Grasso.”

“So when I fought Alexa Grasso, I was a 3-1 underdog. I knew Grasso was an up-and-comer, and she is a great fighter, she is a badass, but everybody underestimated me,” recalled Herrig. “They were always talking about how great her striking was and ‘oh Felice couldn’t strike with her,’ and I’m like ‘do you not even know that I have 30-something kickboxing fights?’ I feel like people, they want to look at all these up-and-comers like they’re like a god, and they kind of dismiss people that have actually been in the sport a long time and accomplished a lot, because it’s all about ‘oh what are you doing now?'”

Herrig would go on to win the fight against Grasso, pulling off the upset and securing the second victory of a four fight win streak that had her flirting with title contention. She now finishes her MMA career with a record of 14-10.

Watch the full UFC Vegas 56 post-fight press scrum with Felice Herrig above. More coverage from the event can be found below.

The post UFC Vegas 56’s Felice Herrig on Retirement: “This Just Isn’t For Me Anymore” appeared first on Cageside Press.

With her back against the wall and her career on the line, Kowalkiewicz came up with a huge win when he defeated Felice Herring via second-round submission. The Polish fighter is now 2-0 against Herring, defeating her in 2018 at UFC 223.

It was a must-win fight for Kowalkiewicz, and she knew it as she changed everything. She went to Florida for her training camp, leaving her family and dog in Poland. Former strawweight champion and former opponent Joanna Jedrzejczyk set up the camp for her country mate.

“Joanna really helped me to organize this whole fight camp. JJ, thank you very much. I am here because of you. Yeah, this win is teamwork,” Kowalkiewicz told Cageside Press in her UFC Vegas 56 post-fight interview.

After her win, she let out a scream of emotion. It was a much-needed move as the fan-favorite fighter was on a five-fight skid.

“It’s easy to love the sport when you are champion, when you are winning your fights,” Kowalkiewicz said. “But when you start losing, when you lose one, two, or three fights and you still love it, it means that you are a real martial artist. And I am a martial artist, and I love MMA. I love the UFC. I love to be a part of UFC. This is my home. What can I say? This is my home.”

She also has a new home – American Top Team in Florida. The 36-year-old will do all of her fight camps at ATT from now on. “I said this today, or one time I am not ‘Polish Princess’ anymore. I am ‘Polish TNT’ from ATT.”

Kowalkiewicz wants to fight again soon but will take some time with the family that she left for her training camp.

“Tomorrow I’m back to my home, to my family. I need to spend some time with my family, take a short vacation and relax because this is very important too. After vacation, I want to go back to ATT to train and fight again,” Kowalkiewicz said.

Watch the rest of Karolina Kowalkiewicz’s post-fight interview.

The post UFC Vegas 56: Karolina Kowalkiewicz Thanks Jedrzejczyk For Setting Up Camp At ATT appeared first on Cageside Press.

Looking to snap a three-fight skid, she was paired up with Karolina Kowalkiewicz, who entered the fight in the direst of straits, having lost five consecutive bouts dating back to 2018.

Round one kicked off, and both ladies went off with combinations and power shots KK was content to trade with Herrig until she clinched her on the fence looking for the back take, but Herrig was able to spin to face her. KK let her go and landed on the break. Herrig did attempt a takedown but was denied. The rest of the round was exchanges on the feet with neither fighter getting the advantage.

Round two began as more of the same but KK was able to fight off a takedown attempt from Herrig and get top position. The ground and pound softened up Herrig for the rear-nake choke and Karolina Kowalkiewicz finished Herrig with the rear-naked choke to snap a lengthy losing streak for KK.

Following the loss, Herrig retired in the cage, bringing her active fighting career to a close.

Official Result: Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Felice Herrig by submission (Rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:01

The post UFC Vegas 56: Karolina Kowalkiewicz Submits Herrig Via RNC, Snaps Losing Streak appeared first on Cageside Press.

Felice Herrig (14-9) will face Karolina Kowalkiewicz (12-7) at the Fight Night event on June 4, 2022. UFC officials announced the news in a press release on Thursday. The pairing was originally rumored thanks to a leak of potential match-ups from the UFC’s “war room” earlier this month.

The fight marks the return of both veterans after extended layoffs. It is also a rematch of their 2018 meeting, which Kowalkiewicz won via split decision. Since that time, Herrig suffered two more defeats, at the hands of Michelle Waterson and Virna Jandiroba.

Herrig, who from 2016 to 2017 put together a four-fight win streak, has not competed since the August 2020 loss to Jandiroba.

for her part, Kowalkiewicz has not won a fight since the pair’s first meeting. And while Herrig is winless in her last three, the Polish strawweight, a former title challenger, currently sits on a five-fight skid.

Losses to Jessica Andrade, Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso, Yan Xiaonan, and Jessica Penne have piled up, putting her in a must-win situation. After starting her career a perfect 10-0, Kowalkiewicz has gone just 2-7 since.

UFC Vegas 56, which takes place at the Apex in Las Vegas on June 4, 2022, is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The following bouts have been reported for the event:

• Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev
• Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva
• Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jeff Molina
• Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ode’ Osbourne
• Andreas Michailidis vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
• Erin Blanchfield vs. JJ Aldrich
• Michael Trizano vs. Lucas Almeida
• Damon Jackson vs. Daniel Argueta
• Alex da Silva Coelho vs. Joe Solecki
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Askar Mozharov
• Tony Gravely vs. Johnny Munoz Jr.
• Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Niklas Stolze
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Felice Herrig

The post Felice Herrig Returns Against Karolina Kowalkiezwicz at UFC Vegas 56 appeared first on Cageside Press.

In a rather odd twist of fate, Herrig’s last two fights, both losses, were overshadowed by one Conor McGregor. The Irish star headlined against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, where Herrig lost a unanimous decision against Michelle Waterson. One fight prior, she’d been at UFC 223 — losing a split decision to Karolina Kowalkiewicz just days after McGregor and some associates stormed a parking garage at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, in an attack on rival Nurmagomedov.

There would be no McGregor involved in UFC 252. Just a rather daunting opponent in former Invicta FC champ Virna Jandiroba. And Herrig, returning from a knee injury, on top of all that.

Jandiroba immediately landed a takedown off the opening bell, putting Herrig on her back. Felice threw a few punches from bottom while her opponent worked, threatening to take the back. Jandiroba trapped a leg, and to prevent the Brazilian from taking her back “Lil Bulldog” gave up mount. Before long, Jandiroba had an arm-bar in. Herrig freed the limb, but Jandiroba latched on with the submission again. Dry, with the arm trapped, she had it, and Herrig knew it. That tap came, spoiling Herrig’s return.

Virna Jandiroba, meanwhile, had her second straight win inside the octagon. Putting the strawweight division on notice.

Official Result: Virna Jandiroba def. Felice Herrig by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 1:44

The post UFC 252 Results: Virna Jandiroba Earns Quick Submission Over Returning Felice Herrig appeared first on Cageside Press.

Felice Herrig teased just yesterday on social media that she had fight news coming soon.

Herrig (14-8) missed all of 2019 thanks to a torn ACL, and last competed in October 2018 against Michelle Waterson. That came at the infamous UFC 229 card, which saw Khabib Nurmagomedov nearly spark a riot in an attempt to attack Conor McGregor’s corner.

The loss to Waterson marked two straight for Felice Herrig, who had previously suffered defeat to former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The back-to-back losses snapped one of the best runs of “Lil Bulldog’s” career however, which saw her win four straight inside the octagon.

Virna Jandiroba (15-1) last fought in December, earning a win over Mallory Martin via rear-naked choke. The Brazilian is 1-1 through two fights inside the octagon.

UFC 252 does not yet have a location officially announced. However, the UFC has revealed that heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former double champ Daniel Cormier will complete their trilogy at the event.

The post Felice Herrig Expected to Return at UFC 252 Against Virna Jandiroba appeared first on Cageside Press.

Felice Herrig will have to forgo appearing in front of her hometown crowd for now. Herrig, a.k.a. ‘Lil Bulldog,’ has seemed to be on the cusp of breaking out over the last couple of years. After entering the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter 20, Herrig, who already had a sizeable fan following, struggled out of the gate. However, a 4-0 run from 2016-17 had things looking up, until setbacks against Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Michelle Waterson.

That led to Herrig (14-8), an Illinois native, being booked onto UFC 238 in Chicago, against China’s Yan Xiaonan (10–1 (1)). A promising match-up, especially with Xiaonan undefeated in the UFC through three fights.

However, on Wednesday, news broke that Herrig has been forced out of the fight. Herrig announced the news herself with a video on Instagram, which you can view below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5SgdTA9r0/?utm_source=ig_embed

“Crutches. That’s never a good thing,” Herrig quipped in the video segment. “And it’s not. Unfortunately, Friday, I tore my ACL, and I do need surgery. Which means that I will not be fighting on UFC Chicago [UFC 238]. Which is a bummer, for sure. So I just want to say I’m sorry to the fans, to the UFC, and most definitely, my opponent. I hope that she gets a replacement, there’s still enough time.”

“As for me, what can you do?,” she continued. “All I can do is move forward, and stay positive, work on my recovery, and come back stronger than ever. In the meantime, I hope everybody sends me warm wishes and hugs and virtual kisses and prayers, and just know that I will be back.”

Herrig last fought at the infamous UFC 229 in October, losing against Waterson that night. No timetable has been announced for her return, not surprising with a fresh injury. The UFC has yet to comment, or announce a replacement for Xiaonan.

UFC 238 takes place June 8 at the United Center in Chicago, IL.

Update, 7:05 PM ET — Angela Hill, fresh off a win over Jodie Esquibel at UFC Fort Lauderdale, has stepped up to replace Herrig, per a report by MMA Junkie.

The post Felice Herrig Out of UFC 238 After ACL Tear appeared first on Cageside Press.