Niko Price Wins Retirement Fight but Leaves Door Open to Return
Niko Price stopped Leon Shahbazyan in the first round on Saturday, then declined to treat the win as a final one. The fight at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas had been framed as his chance to retire with a victory.
Price finished Shahbazyan by TKO with punches at 1:58 of Round 1 on the card headlined by Allen versus Duncan at the Meta APEX.
The result improved Price to 17-11 with two no-contests and snapped a four-fight losing streak. It was his first win since returning from a brief retirement that followed a submission loss to Michael Chiesa earlier in 2026.
Michael Bisping asked Price’s family how it felt to watch him compete in what had been billed as a retirement bout.
“I don’t know, it’s awesome,” came the reply. Bisping answered that it truly was, then turned to the fighter. “Congratulations to you, your family. Nico, if it is the last time, it’s been a pleasure, sir. We’ll see you again or not?”
“Might see me again, you never know,” he said. In the same interview he added that if the UFC called, he might answer, and he directed the remark toward matchmaker Sean Shelby. Bisping pressed the point and asked whether he was not retiring. Price’s response stayed the same: you never know.
The finish itself was the vintage version of The Hybrid that the promotion had given him the opportunity to show one more time. He pressed forward from the opening bell, landed clean punches along the cage, took top control, and finished with ground-and-pound.
Shahbazyan, who entered 0-2 in the UFC, could not find an answer. Price’s wife and daughter joined him in the cage afterward as a video package played.
Price had announced he would retire after the Chiesa loss, then accepted a call to return for this matchup. The booking gave him a chance to end a skid that left him 3-7 in his previous ten fights dating back to July 2021.
A ten-year UFC veteran, he has long been a fan favorite for his willingness to scrap, but the recent record made a permanent exit the logical assumption once he stepped away the first time.
Walking back the retirement after a first-round win changes the immediate picture without erasing the larger one. Price is 37 years old and has already said goodbye once. The door he left open is conditional on the UFC calling again, not a declaration that he is actively seeking another bout.
Shelby was the person he named, which keeps the next decision with the matchmaker rather than with a signed contract.
Price walked out of the Meta APEX as a winner who had just treated a supposed farewell as something he might revisit. Until a new opponent is announced, the only confirmed fact is that Saturday’s stoppage of Shahbazyan did not include a firm goodbye.
