WSOF's Nick Newell didn't want to be a 'busted-up guy' fighting for a paycheck

Nick Newell, Ray Sefo and Tom Marcellino

Nick Newell began to think that years of fighting and hard training might be taking their toll on his body when he injured his knee during a relatively low-impact training session recently. A few weeks later, when he hurt his back stretching out before practice, he knew he had a problem.

“It’s not even the sparring that’s doing it to me,” Newell told MMAjunkie. “I’m getting hurt just doing normal stuff in practice, and it’s one thing after another. My body is just so banged up.”

That’s why Newell (13-1) announced his retirement following a unanimous-decision victory over Tom Marcellino (7-4) at WSOF 24 in Mashantucket, Conn., this past Saturday. The move came as a shock to many of his fans. The 29-year-old Newell gained renown for pursuing a fighting career in spite of being born a congenital amputee. After years of being told that a one-handed fighter couldn’t compete at the highest levels of MMA, Newell proved doubters wrong by racking up a perfect record en route to an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the WSOF lightweight title.

His TKO loss to 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje remains his only defeat, but to Newell it wasn’t just a matter of wins and losses. His last few training camps have been fraught with one injury after another, he said. Getting out of bed became its own ordeal. Some days he couldn’t even accomplish that, and it showed in the cage.

“This last one, I went out there and fought a boring fight because I was so worried about my cardio,” Newell said. “I hold myself to a certain standard. I know who I am and what I’m capable of, and the last few performances I just haven’t been able to show it. I don’t want to be an old, busted-up guy giving people a watered-down version of myself for a paycheck.”

Newell didn’t tell his longtime coach, Jeremy Libiszewski, that he was planning on calling it quits. Still, Libiszewski “had a feeling” that they might be heading into their last fight together.

“It was such a stressful training camp, and I don’t think he had more than three consecutive days where he was healthy enough to really train,” Libiszewski said. “He never fought for anyone else, or to be accepted by other people. He did it for himself, and he knows what he’s capable of. Right now, he’s not putting that out there. The kind of guy he is, he just can’t be happy with that.”

It might be that high standard for himself that makes it difficult for Newell to appreciate what he’s already accomplished. His would be a very respectable career for any pro fighter. For a fighter with one fewer hand than every opponent he ever faced, it seems borderline amazing.

Then again, Newell never set out to be good for a congenital amputee. He set out to be the best in the world, and if his body had held up, he still thinks he might have gotten there. But his success was earned through a different brand of sacrifice, he said, and he paid a price for it.

“I didn’t get to where I am because I’m just so good,” Newell said. “I got to where I am from working really hard, and that takes a toll on you. I don’t think I’ll ever be fully satisfied with my career, but I have to be smart. I want to be that guy I used to be, and I’m not.”

Now Newell said he’ll focus his efforts on coaching and teaching. He still loves the martial arts, he said, and still has a passion for it, even if his body isn’t up for the intense grind of training camps anymore. His coach expects to see him open his own gym soon, and has little doubt he’ll succeed at that just as he succeeded in MMA: through sheer will and determination.

“He’s the kind of guy that makes you want to be a trainer,” Libiszewski said. “He’s a great guy, honest, lives a good lifestyle. He’s not just a fighter. He’s a true martial artist, and that’s the guy you want to be in the gym with.”

For complete coverage of WSOF 24, check out the MMA Events section of the site.