UFC flyweight Patrick Holohan has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts at age 27.
Holohan on Monday issued a statement via Facebook in which he explained that he is being forced to walk away from the sport due to Factor XIII deficiency, an extremely rare bleeding disorder wherein the body is unable to properly form blood clots.
“It came to the UFC’s attention from a third party and I can no longer pass the medical requirements to compete,” wrote Holohan. “Only 1 in 5 million people are diagnosed so I knew that it was so rare, organisations wouldn’t understand or take the chance with me as I have found out now, I never explained in full to John [Kavanagh] or my team the actual risks cause I didn’t think there was excess risk.