Could this really be the end of Derrick Lewis' MMA career?

Say, just for the sake of argument, that Derrick Lewis was telling us the truth. Say that when he told us his TKO loss to Mark Hunt on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 110 would “probably” be his last fight, he really meant it. Say it wasn’t just the pain and disappointment talking. What then?

What are we supposed to make of a career as short and strange and somehow memorable as his? Roughly seven years as an active MMA fighter, three years in the UFC, only the last year of which saw him become a household name among fight fans.

And now, according to “The Black Beast,” it’s over? You know, probably?

Even without that seed of doubt, it’d be hard to believe. A 32-year-old fighter who calls it quits immediately after a loss is practically begging for a little skepticism.

That’s true in any division, but especially at heavyweight, where the talent is rare and old. Just look at the 43-year-old Hunt (13-11-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC), who gave Lewis (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) a lesson in cage control and victory via attrition in front of his hometown crowd in Auckland, New Zealand. Even he seems seems a little surprised that his career is still in progress.

But now that he’s settling down, Lewis isn’t sure he wants to keep putting his family through this. Fair enough. Fight camps and quality family time are often incompatible. As much as fighters like to say they’re doing it for their families, by which they mean sacrificing their bodies for money, the lifestyle itself is necessarily a pretty selfish one.

Plus, not all your loved ones are going to think the paychecks are worth the risk of brain trauma – or the stress of sitting around and hoping you come home in one piece.

But a Lewis exit right now would leave a considerable hole in the heavyweight division. A knockout artist with real personality? A contender still young enough to withstand the inevitable ups and downs of the weight class? Someone fans actually care about, at least in part because, when he makes inside jokes like this one at a UFC weigh-in, he seems like one of us, just another MMA nerd, albeit with actual physical skills?

Yeah, that’s someone you might like to keep around if you’re the UFC.

But let’s not kid ourselves. As much fun as Lewis has been to have around, he’s also been somewhat limited as an MMA fighter.

His striking is lethal in short bursts. His ground game consists of one move: standing up. His cardio is such that, win or lose, he’s bound to be out of breath for the post-fight interview. It’s very possible that a six-fight winning streak beginning with Viktor Pesta in 2015 and culminating with Travis Browne in February was bound to be the high-water mark for his career.

Then again, if the enduring appeal of fighters like Hunt proves anything, it’s that we’re not just here for champions in this sport. That, too, is especially true at heavyweight, where a colorful character with the power to separate other big men from their consciousness can be a draw for years to come.

But if a fighter weighs the pros and cons of that situation and decides he’d rather seek a new career elsewhere, I’m not sure I can blame him. This is a tough sport in which to be a lovable punching bag. It’s also, however, a tough sport to quit on your first try.

And remember the last time Lewis informed us of his plans for the future, how he wasn’t even going to answer the phone if his coaches or manager called him about taking another fight?

That was in February, after his win over Browne. A month later he was signing up to fight Hunt in New Zealand. Don’t be too surprised if a man who takes vacations like that ends up taking the same approach to retirement.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 110, check out the UFC Events section of the site.