Neil Seery Hasn’t Decided What’s Next After Retirement

Neil Seery spoke with MMAjunkie following his retirement fight against Alexandre Pantoja. The highlights are below:

On his fight with Pantoja: “I truly believe that every fighter has the biggest fight of their career coming up. The biggest fight ever is the retirement part. It’s getting ready for that. A lot of people tend to go up from the highest onto another organization to try and make a few quid. And all of it seems to end – flattened on face, in hospital or in very bad situations. And that’s why I’m stepping out now. I didn’t want to go downhill after making it to the top. I believe that I’ve got a massive fight ahead of me now. As in, how do we feel that void.”

On what’s next for him: “I don’t know yet. I haven’t made up my mind. There are a lot of options out there. I’ve got a full-time job. I’ve got another kid on the way. I have five kids. I’m just going to have to find something to do. I’ve got a lot of fishing rods up the riverside. But I just don’t know. And that’s what scares me. I’ve got to be honest with you – that’s what scares me. When you think it’s all over and it’s done and you’re not going to fight again, it’s very frightening.”

On his advice for other fighters: “I just think fighters need to, for their own hearts, to not just jump in and spend everything they can. It’s a short window. It’s not like a footballer’s career, where they sign for five years and make a lot of money. We don’t have that. It’s fight by fight, and that’s just the way it is.”