Darren Stewart has officially retired from MMA.
In a career spanning a decade ‘The Dentist’ competed 28 times, amassing a record of 16-10-0-2 and fighting in the UFC for a large period of time.
Taking to social media, Stewart wrote:
“It hurts me to write this but I think it’s time to call it a day. Not by choice but I’m forced too because I’ve lost a lot to this game trying to survive and I can’t do it no more. When UFC let me go I should have invested something but instead I put all my eggs in one basket AGAIN to get back to the top and life has gotten even worse. I’ve got family and it’s not fair on them stressing just to keep food on the table. I love fighting and I don’t want to call it as I’m only 33 but im not getting any help financially. Spoke about it a few times so not going to go into it. Maybe I’ll get into boxing if it ever arises but mma? …..yeah I’m done. Brings tears writing this seriously but it is what it is. I’ll still teach 1-2-1 or seminars and still do Jiu Jitsu here and there because I feel I can still pass knowledge on. But other than that, I need to go find the second job. Thanks for always supporting me those who have. Means a lot. I hope the next generation has learned a lot from me and my career.
“That’s it from me
“THE DENTIST”
After going 7-0-0, with four of those contests being in the famous yellow gloves of Cage Warriors, Stewart signed with the UFC in 2016. The start of his promotional tenure was far from ideal as he went 0-3-0-1 in his first four fights. His first win inside the octagon came at UFC Fight Night 130 when the punching power that had initially caught the eye of the UFC returned as he stopped Eric Spicely in the second round of their bout. He picked up his second win under the UFC banner just four months later when a viscous elbow against Charles Byrd put an end to that contest at UFC 228.
He then faced, the then unbeaten, Edmen Shahbazyan and gave the up-and-coming prospect the toughest challenge of his career up until that point. Stewart lost out on a razor close split decision but got back to winning ways immediately after with back to back victories against Bevon Lewis and Deron Winn. 2020 was a quiet year by Stewart’s standards, only competing twice picking up a loss to Bartodz Fabinski before defeated Maki Pitolo later in the year.
After going 0-3-0-1 in his next four, ‘The Dentist’ parted ways with the UFC and returned to Cage Warriors. In his first fight back, Stewart dropped a unanimous decision to Mick Stanton at Cage Warriors 141 but keen to flip his form, he managed to squeeze in another bout and a win before 2022 closed out, with a first-round stoppage of Guilherme Cadena. He then went on a steady run of form in 2023 with wins against Leon Aliu, Matthew Bonner and Antonio Zovak to propel him towards Cage Warriors title contention. Unfortunately for the 33-year-old his advancement towards Cage Warriors gold took a big blow at the start of 2024 when he was beaten by Carlos Pereira.
