"We don't really get too much of a voice" - Brittney Palmer explains arriving at decision to retire at World MMA Awards

Brittney Palmer announced her retirement after winning Ringcard Girl of the Year at the 15th Annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards.

Palmer is one of the most well-known ring-card girls in UFC history, holding the position from UFC 125 in January 2011 to UFC 296 in December of last year.

During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Palmer explained her decision to retire. She stated:

''I’ve done it for a long time, and I think I’ve always had the question so many times. When are you going to quit? When are you going to give another girl a shot? I get these interview questions, and so I think about it. I’m 36 years old. I always said that once my art career started to level up to where my UFC career is and I wasn’t able to commit to both evenly, that I would have to make the decision. It was just time. You feel it.''

Palmer added:

''When I found out I won Ring Girl of the Year, I was actually in New York City working that event. All of a sudden, I was like, You know what? Wouldn’t it just be epic if I could use this opportunity, where I have the mic, to retire. We don’t really get too much of a voice, so to have that opportunity I thought was just a great way to settle out the year and my career with UFC and yeah, I did it.”

---

Brittney Palmer on her near-death experience

Brittney Palmer has always been open about her near-death experience from when she was 21 years old. In an interview with SunSport, she discussed an almost fatal vehicle accident, saying:

"When I was 21, I was hit by a car and I was unable to walk for three months. During that period, I started to realize that everything I thought was completely not it. Everyone who I thought were my friends were not my friends because we just worked together."

Faced with months of recovery, Palmer took an unusual approach. Instead of typical treatment or drugs, she turned to painting:

"In the way of rehabilitating, I began to paint, which is something I hadn't done since high school. I wasn't going to take painkillers, I wasn't going to do the therapy, I was going to sit and paint. I fell so in love with it. I just couldn't imagine dancing again."