Jared Gooden, 31, called it a career during a heartfelt message on social media.
Gooden said he was “hanging up his gloves” to focus on raising his daughter, and he thanked fans for their love and support.
Gooden last competed in the UFC in October 2024, when he lost a unanimous decision to Chidi Njokuani. Gooden also missed weight for that fight. It was the second time he missed weight in three fights and his third slip-up on the scales with the UFC over a three-year period.
In addition to the weight misses, Gooden had also lost back-to-back fights, with the most recent defeat coming on March 29 against Mahamed Aly at a Shogun Fights event.
At Gooden’s best, he produced some memorable finishes in the UFC.
He earned a Performance Bonus for a second-round submission win over Wellington Turman in December 2023. He also scored a one-punch KO win over Niklas Stolze in July 2021.
If Gooden stays retired, he will be walking away from the sport with a 23-11 record. He is 2-5 in the UFC.
Other UFC News
According to Brazilian content creator and trusted source on Brazilian MMA news Laerte Viana, rising heavyweight prospect Tallison Teixeira has his first ranked opponent.
Teixeira, one of the stars of Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, is set to take on Derrick Lewis on July 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Teixeira, 25, burst into the UFC’s heavyweight rankings with a 35-second KO win over Justin Tafa in February. The victory pushed the 6-foot-7 Brazilian to 8-0 for his career, and he’s now ranked No. 14.
Lewis comes in ranked No. 9, so a victory from Teixeira—especially an impressive one—will likely land him in the Top 10.
Lewis was supposed to fight Jhonata Diniz in November, but the former became ill after weigh-ins and was forced to pull out of the fight. Had Diniz beaten Marcin Tybura in November 2024, he might have been Teixeira’s opponent.
As it is, Teixeira will get a significant test against a well-known opponent. He could get fraud checked or score the first major win of his professional MMA career.
Up Next – UFC Vegas 105
Lerone Murphy will clash with perennial featherweight contender Josh Emmett on Saturday at the Apex in UFC Vegas 105. Murphy has the look of a future title challenger, and he is the favorite in the fight.
However, Emmett, 40, is not having similar thoughts to Gooden. He seemingly has no plans of calling it a career anytime soon.
Here is a look at the entire card:
- Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy – Featherweight
- Joanderson Brito vs. Pat Sabatini – Featherweight
- Cortavious Romious vs. Chang Ho Lee – Bantamweight
- Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Martin Buday – Heavyweight
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Brad Tavares – Middleweight
- Robert Valentin vs. Torrez Finney – Middleweight
- Luis Gurule vs. Ode Osbourne – Flyweight
- Davey Grant vs. Daniel Santos – Bantamweight
- Dione Barbosa vs. Diana Belbiţă – Flyweight
- Rhys McKee vs. Daniel Frunza – Welterweight
- Victor Henry vs. Pedro Falcão – Bantamweight
- Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Talita Alencar – Strawweight
- Loma Lookboonmee vs. Istela Nunes – Strawweight
Be on the lookout for post-event coverage.
