It came as a revelation to most viewers when Chas Skelly was walking to the octagon at UFC Fight Night 201 that it could be his final fight.
UFC commentator Jon Anik revealed the note as Skelly (19-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) was set to compete against Mark Striegl (18-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, but is he really done?
Skelly scored a second-round TKO of Striegl in the featherweight bout, using an inside elbow, then a knee to inflict damage, score a knockdown and finish the fight with ground-and-pound.
After the fight, Skelly was asked by Paul Felder if it was 100 percent his final bout. Skelly flip-flopped on the topic, but was firm in the notion that his body has been breaking down in recent years, and he wants to focus on his roofing company.
“I plan on maybe not fighting anymore after this fight,” Skelly said. “It’s been a long road. I want to go out on my own terms. My body is not holding up the way it used to. I would like to stay on the roster and if they offer me something that’s interesting, then maybe.”
If Skelly did compete for the last time, he ended on a positive note. He earned his sixth stoppage out of eight career UFC wins. The replay of the finish over Striegl can be seen below (via Twitter):
How about THAT for a send off!?@ChasSkelly with a finish in his last appearance in the Octagon 👏👏 #UFCVegas48 pic.twitter.com/tE0nFMaqc6
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) February 19, 2022
A final thank you to the fans from @ChasSkelly 👏
[ #UFCVegas48 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/ZhCabOuSWi
— UFC (@ufc) February 19, 2022
