UFC News: Veteran fighter to hang up his gloves soon after loss to Muslim Salikhov

Nordine Taleb has been fighting in UFC since 2014, and has been a professional fighter under Bellator and other promotions from even before. But he believes the time has come to call it quits and step away from the Octagon.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Taleb announced his sudden retirement, along with expressing gratitude for the journey so far.

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Nordine Taleb: It was a hell of a ride

Taleb debuted under the UFC banner at The Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale in April, 2014 with a decision win against Vik Grujic. Over the next five and a half years, he went on to lose 5 bouts but also win 7 of them, against the likes of Jingliang Li, Danny Roberts and Erick Silva.

His latest appearance in the Octagon was when Khabib vs. Poirier headlined UFC 242, where he competed against Muslim Salikhov and suffered a first-round knockout loss back in September.

Taleb is currently not booked for any fight, but he has made it clear that the next bout he fights will be his last one.

.Hi everyone, after thinking for a while about it I took the decision than my next @ufc fight will be my retirement fight, it was a hell of a ride and I'm very grateful for it ! See you soon for the last ride 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/NbL1Tr6kZF

— Nordine Taleb (@TNT83MMA) November 26, 2019

His fans and associates congratulated him on his career run and wished him good luck for what he does next. Among them was retired MMA coach Eric O'Keefe, who used to be in Taleb's corner early on in his career.

Coming from you it means a lot thank you brother !

— Nordine Taleb (@TNT83MMA) November 26, 2019