A pioneer in the Canadian MMA scene, John Alessio, has decided to hang up the gloves and retire from the sport of MMA.
Canadian born Alessio has fought for almost every major organization in North America and PRIDE in Japan and finished his career with a 35–17, 2NC record.
Alessio announced the retirement news on his official Facebook page.
I write this post with a lot of mixed emotions. For the past 17 years i lived out one of my dreams of being a Pro MMA fighter, in fact when i started it wasn’t even called MMA yet. I have competed at the highest level and traveled the world. From the small town of Duncan B.C Canada to living in California and now Las Vegas this sport has given me so much. I have met some amazing people and made some life long friends. I have had the honor of fighting and training with some of the worlds best fighters. I got to enjoy the moments of putting championship belts around my waist, having my hands raised in victory, hearing the crowd cheer and scream and also the bitter feeling of defeat. But like all good things they come to an end, i believe that now is the time for me to put the gloves away and close this amazing chapter in my life. It is time for the next step of my life. Thank you to everyone that has played a part in my long career, the list of people to thank is big. First and foremost my career might have never started without my good friend Jason Heit and also Garrett Tepper as my first trainers. Also my best friend Josh Spong has been with me on this long up and down ride since the beginning, 56 fights and he has been at probably 90% of them. Standing by my side in victory and defeat. I have amazing memories with my Cali friends and training partners Romie Aram Betiss Mansouri Jesus Morales, John Cole, Manny Tapia, Mac Danzig Chad Davis and more! To my Xtreme Couture family thank you for everything Randy Couture Eric Nicksick Jake Bonacci Robert Follis etc…. I truly have so many people to thank and i am truly grateful for all of you Gil Martinez and Dewey Cooperim sorry to go on and on but i appreciate everyone that had something to do with my career and i know i will forget some names right now Robert Drysdale and also a huge thank you to my long time manager and close friend, Robert Roveta. i appreciate everything you did for me.
Im sorry this post is so long but again to the sport of MMA, all the promotions i competed for, all the media that covered me, all the fans that cheered me on, my family and friends for always believing in me THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! I love you all!!!!
Alessio (35–17, 2NC) began his career in 1998 in front of his home province of British Columbia. The man known as “The Natural” amassed a 7-3 record before getting the call from the UFC. In the year 2000, at UFC 26, Alessio took on a very dangerous Pat Miletich and lost his UFC debut via second round armbar. He went on to lose his next fight to another Canadian — Joe Doerksen, but that didn’t set him back by any means.
Alessio took his training down south to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and picked up some big wins, including the King of the Cage welterweight title in 2003.
In 2006, Alessio once again got noticed by the Zuffa brass and fought Diego Sanchez at UFC 60. He came up short on the judges scorecards and lost a decision. This loss pushed him to what was his longest home in his career — the WEC.
The 36-year-old picked up some big wins under the WEC banner and earned a shot at Carlos Condit for the welterweight gold. Condit was just too much for Alessio and wound up tapping him out in the second round.
Later in his career, Alessio made his way back to the UFC and rounded out his career under the Bellator banner.
Congratulations to John Alessio on all his career accolades and good luck to whatever the future brings.
