Ryan Dempsey, Broadside Correspondent
UFC
Ultimate Fighting Champion superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has announced that he will retire from the UFC. Jackson announced his retirement for reasons such as being rushed into fights, past injuries and recent altercations with UFC President Dana White.
The altercations with White and Jackson were caused after Jackson accepted the role of B.A. Baracus in the forthcoming A-Team movie, leaving White to scrap plans for the Dec. 12 bout between Jackson and Rashad Evans.
“The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them,” stated Jackson, the former UFC light-heavyweight champion.
“He’s acting like a baby right now, but he’s a grown man,” commented White on KHTK radio.
No one knows exactly what this means for the UFC, but there is no question that this story will develop into something interesting in the future.
Men’s Tennis
Last week, tennis star Rafael Nadal announced that he will again be taking time off from the game. The announcement came after Nadal was seen by doctors. According to CNN News, “Dr Angel Ruiz Cottoro, medical services chief for the Spanish Tennis Federation, revealed the world number two has suffered an acute rupture of his right abdominal muscle, which was confirmed by ultrasound, according to a statement on the tournament’s official website.”
Nadal, who is currently ranked number two in the world, had to withdraw from multiple tournaments this year due to an array of injuries.
Women’s Tennis
Last week, former world’s number one women’s tennis player Justine Henin announced that she will come out of retirement. Henin, who retired in May of last year at the age of 25, claimed she was burning out and wanted to be a soap opera actress.
Although Henin is not the first player in recent years to retire at an early age, such as Kim Clijsters, who stepped away from the game at 23 to get married and start a family only to return this year and win the U.S. Open, Henin is the first player ever to retire while holding the top world ranking.
So why did Henin decide to return to the game she so recently retired from? According to The New York Times, Belgian news agencies on Tuesday met with Henin.
“Perhaps subconsciously, [Clijsters’] comeback influenced me,” Henin said. “I have lots of admiration for what she did. To come back so quickly to that level, that earns your admiration and it’s certainly an inspiration. But that was not a determining factor. The victory of Roger Federer at the French Open this year spoke to me much more. That stirred emotions in me. I sensed something missing.”
The “something missing” Henin referenced might be the game itself, but could also be the Wimbledon title. It is the only grand slam title missing from Henin’s résumé.
“[Henin] is one of the great champions in the history of women’s tennis, and we, along with millions of her fans around the globe, are thrilled,” said WTA chairman Stacey Allaster. “[Henin] is that rare athlete who decided to step away from the game at the height of her powers, and no doubt she will be a force to be reckoned with from the get go.”
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