Video: UFC 175 winner Luke Zachrich thought about quitting MMA before UFC call

Luke Zachrich finally has a UFC victory to his name, and now his decision to continue a career in MMA is validated.

The 32-year-old considered leaving the sport after never receiving a chance to fight for the UFC following a stint on “The Ultimate Fighter 7” in 2008.

He continued to compete for several years afterward, but before receiving an opportunity to step in the octagon on just 11 days’ notice this past April, he was on the verge of changing sports and testing his luck in boxing.

“It has been a very, very long hard road – I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years,” Zachrich told MMAjunkie. “I tasted a little bit of it in 2008, so it’s been six years. I was the first season where they basically cut everyone who didn’t make the semifinals and didn’t get to fight on the finale.

“I took the last fight on 11 days notice and before the last one I almost decided to hang it up and start boxing, honest to god. As soon as I stopped thinking about the UFC and coming back here and doing something in the boxing; boom, the phone rings. I kind of gave up on it for a second.”

While his first opportunity resulted in a 44-second knockout loss, Zachrich (14-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was given a second chance to showcase his talent at UFC 175. He was successful, defeating Guilherme Vasconcelos (3-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

For complete coverage of UFC 175, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.