Former UFC title challenger [autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag] has announced his retirement from fighting in the wake of his release from Bellator MMA.
Borg, 29, wrote Friday on his personal Facebook page he will be “hanging it up” after his Bellator 295 bout vs. Kyoji Horiguchi was canceled due to weight-related issues.
“Things did not go as planned this weekend and I will not be fighting,” Borg wrote. “I made promise to myself that if another incident like this ever happened I would retire. So going forward I am officially out of the game and hanging it up. I just want to formally apologize to those I have let down and thank those that have been by my side throughout these crazy years. I am on a different journey in life now and I appreciate and love you all for always being Team Borg.”
While exact details remain unclear, Bellator president Scott Coker told MMA Junkie the promotion attempted multiple new contract weights to keep the fight afloat after Borg’s team informed them he was unlikely to make weight. Still, Borg did not weigh in, the bout was scrapped, and he was immediately cut from the Bellator roster.
“This is a professional fight league,” Coker told MMA Junkie. “This is not an amateur tournament. I think it’s time to say goodbye to both of them, and we’re going to move on and let them fight somewhere else, and good luck.”
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Borg, whose career has been plagued by fight cancellations mostly due to weight-related issues, was also axed from his longtime management firm Dominance MMA, which cited unprofessionalism.
The retirement Friday is not his first. In August 2020, he was released from the UFC after he was removed from a bout against Nate Maness. Days later, Borg retired – but less than one week later walked the announcement back.
The bout Saturday was expected to be Borg’s Bellator debut after he signed with the promotion. Between UFC and Bellator stints, Borg went 3-0 with fights for Eagle FC and UAE Warriors.
Borg competed 12 times in the UFC and compiled a 7-5 record, with the pinnacle of his promotional career by most accounts a UFC 216 title challenge loss to Demetrious Johnson.