Brian Stann (pictured) has retired from MMA competition. Photo via UFC.com.

Brian Stann is done with the mixed martial arts arena.

The former WEC light heavyweight champion and UFC middleweight announced Wednesday that he is retiring from the sport, choosing to focus on family and a broadcasting career.

“It’s the best thing for me, and more importantly for my family right now,” Stann said on The MMA Hour. “I’m still going to be involved as much as the UFC will allow me to be in the UFC, and continuing to be an ambassador for the sport. But as far as competing anymore, as sad as it makes me, it’s not the best thing for me as a husband and a father, which by far is the most important thing to me. I sacrificed more than I gained, and it’s time for me to focus on my family.”

Stann most recently fought at UFC on Fuel TV in Japan, a loss to Wanderlei Silva. The fighter admitted that if he had beaten Silva, he likely would have stayed in the sport, but the loss was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In addition to being a fighter, Stann completed two tours of duty in the Middle East as a U.S. Marine. He also kept a full-time job while competing in the WEC and UFC.

“The relationships and experiences I’ve gotten from fans and fellow fighters have honestly made me a much better person,” he said. “I leave fighting having taken more from fighting than I have ever gave.”

Stann finishes his career with a 12-6 record.

Following his loss at Bellator 96, Renato “Babalu” Sobral retired from MMA. Photo by Esther Lin.

Renato “Babalu” Sobral made a brilliant career in MMA. Thirty-seven years old, 16 of those years being a career in MMA, the fighter participated in 48 fights, had 37 wins and earned 19 of them thanks to his Jiu-Jitsu. The black-belt has fought in the biggest MMA events and was successful in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. He is a former Strikeforce champion, and fought for the title in the UFC.

Monday night, June 19, Babalu said goodbye to the cage after being knocked out by Jacob Noe at Bellator 96. The Brazilian started the fight well, but failed to take the opponent to the ground. In the third round, however, Noe landed some good shots, which left Babalu bewildered. The referee did not wait and declared the victory of the American. This led to protest by Babalu, who pushed the referee, but later accepted the result with resilience and declared retirement, placing his gloves on the ground.

Watch the fight here:

Babalu was signed by Bellator earlier this year, and had a fight before this, but on the occasion also suffered a knockout.

The victory of Jacob Noe places the American at the final of the summer tournament. He will face King Mo Lawal, professional wrestler and former Strikeforce champion, who won the other semifinal of the night against Seth Petruzelli by knockout.

Check out the full results of Bellator 96 by clicking here.

Shane Carwin (pictured) weighs in for what would be his last fight, a match with Junior dos Santos at UFC 131. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin, 38, announced his retirement from MMA, according to a post he made on Twitter late Tuesday.

“Officially retired today,” Carwin wrote. “I thank my family, friends and fans. Dream big and God bless you.”

Known for heavy hands, Carwin won seven of his 14 fights by knockout. He suffered only two losses in his career: A loss to Brock Lesnar to unify the heavyweight title at UFC 116, and a hard and bloody battle against Junior dos Santos at UFC 131. These were his last fights.

After months recovering from back surgery, the heavyweight returned to the UFC as one of the coaches on the 16th edition of the “The Ultimate Fighter,” leading the his team against rival coach Roy Nelson. The two were supposed to face each other in December 2012, but a new and serious knee injury kept Carwin from fighting.

Carwin finished his MMA career with a 12-2 overall record.

UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes officially retired from MMA on Thursday. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes has officially retired from mixed martial arts competition, and will immediately begin his position as the UFC’s vice president of athlete development, UFC president Dana White announced on Thursday.

Hughes’ first responsibility in his new role, according to UFC COO Lawrence Epstein, will be to spearhead a written code of conduct for UFC fighters to follow, in addition to mentoring all contracted fighters in the organization.

“What started out as a hobby brought me to the UFC and here in front of you now,” Hughes said at the UFC on FOX press conference. “I love this sport, and the new position is the best way to stay in it moving forward.”

A man of few words, Hughes also thanked the UFC and said he looks forward to using his experience in providing a prospective for both the UFC and the fighters.

Hughes finishes his career with a 45-9 record, and is widely regarded by his colleagues, media and fans as the greatest UFC welterweight champion of all time. He first won the title back in November 2001 at UFC 34 with a knockout slam of Carlos Newton. He defended the title five times before submitting to B.J. Penn at UFC 46, a loss he avenged at UFC 63.

Hughes won the belt one more time with a win over current welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 50 in 2004, only to lose the belt just over two years later to St-Pierre at UFC 65.

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