UFC veteran Ivan Salaverry: Retirement comes with no regrets

by Kelly Crigger for MMAjunkie.com on Aug 18, 2008 at 3:40 pm ET

When famous athletes retire, they get interviewed by Bob Costas in a luxurious hotel room with big lights, multiple camera angles and complementary Fiji water at the ready. They reminisce about their bygone glories as woeful fans abuse the Kleenex box and beg their hero not to fade away just yet.

Ivan Salaverry got me, Kelly Crigger, a part-time writer who happened to be in Seattle just days after the announcement that he would no longer grace the octagon. Hardly fitting for someone with such a distinguished MMA career. In a time when old-timers live in a state of perpetual denial and continue to embarrass themselves while trying to cash in on their name, Salaverry has voluntarily bowed out of competition to pursue other interests and give his time back to the people who matter in his life -- his family and students.

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