WITH his eyes full of tears and admittedly harbouring regret, Darren Stewart announced his retirement from MMA.
And after getting a job on the railway tracks to support his family – the father-of-two might have thought his fighting days were over.
GettyDarren Stewart retired from MMA[/caption]
But an opportunity Stewart had been waiting for finally arised – offering his career a second chance.
Stewart had fought professionally in MMA since 2014 – spending five years in the UFC until a losing streak saw him demoted to the domestic scene.
And after six Cage Warriors bouts – the Londoner’s fight offers had dried up – prompting him to announce a heartbreaking retirement.
Stewart, 34, told SunSport: “That day I was asking like, ‘What’s happening any more fights?’
“And I was getting told that there might not be no more fights until the end of the year.
“And I fought at the beginning of the year, so how am I gonna survive?
“Remember, I got no job, how am I gonna survive from the beginning of the year to end of the year? No sponsorships, I mean, nothing
“And then when I got that message, I started breaking down into tears. I was crying, I said, ‘You know what I’m done.’
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“My missus came and said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I’m gonna call it a day.’ I think she said something like, ‘Yeah, but you always say this.’
“I was like, ‘I’m done now.’ That’s a hard thing to do and I had to do it.”
Stewart was fighting full-time, relying only on his purses to get by and the cost of his fight camp expenses also piled up.
He said: “I was getting loads of messages and saying, why, why, why?
“I said, ‘What do you mean why?’ I’m not getting no help as a fighter, people just see us fight – it’s more than that.
“What happens after the fight? What happens after three, five minutes (rounds). You gotta pay this, you pay that.
“I didn’t have no sponsorship either, so you gotta pay this and pay that. It’s just too much, man.
“And then what you’re left with that’s gotta cover your rent until so and so and when’s the next fight? You don’t know.”
Stewart got a job working on a railway tracks and clocked in every evening as a retired fighter.
I started breaking down into tears. I was crying, I said, ‘You know what I’m done.’
Darren Stewart on retiring
But everything changed when he got the call from Misfits Boxing – an avenue he had his eyes on for a while.
Misfits – headed up by YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI – homes to celebrity-style crossover bouts.
And Stewart will fight ex-UFC star Darren Till, 32, in Manchester on March 29 having never lost faith in a getting another break.
He said: “It was a struggle, man.
“I started working on the railway, so going to work every night when everyone’s sleeping. Working on the tracks, lifting heavy stuff. It’s not me.
“I mean, my body wasn’t recovering, it was a big struggle, I just kept praying and saying, ‘You know what, something will come around, something will come around.’
“I had good people around me and my coach I was still training with, not only do I box with him, I do rehab with him.
‘It’s sad that I’m saying it’
“So I do my rehab, get my mobility back for all the years and trauma that my body took from MMA.”
Stewart admits to regretting putting all his chips into the MMA basket without having a back-up plan to turn to.
And he would advise his eldest so Tyler – who has just started judo – against doing the same.
Stewart said in rare honesty: “I will support him, but I’ll say to him, ‘Do something else, just learn it for self defence.’
“And depending what he goes into as well. If he’s really good at it, I can’t say nothing I’ve gotta support him, but if you’re just doing it for fun, no, it’s not a fun game.
“Fighting’s a real thing, just do it for self defence and go do something else. It’s sad that I’m saying it.
“I know people don’t wanna hear this, but I’m the only guy I tell you the truth.
“I should write a book after this, honestly. A lot of people ain’t telling you this. When I speak to people, they’re like, ‘Wow, really?’ Yeah, really.
“I’ll tell my son, ‘You know what, if you really want to, I’ll support you, but honestly, just learn their self defence and just keep it moving’.”
@darren_mmaStewart with his eldest son Tyler[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
