TORONTO - Fighting was very good to Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout.

The 31-year-old lightweight from London, Ont., recalls asking his bank for $20,000 in cash when he wanted to buy a Dodge Avenger after one of his better UFC paydays. The bank demurred and Stout had to write a cheque.

For someone who used to drive a 1995 Chrysler Cirrus, a hand-me-down from his grandmother, it was a good day. As good as when he used another bonus cheque to pay for a new concrete driveway for his parents among other home improvements.

But more recently, those paydays have come at a cost.

Once known for having an iron chin, Stout (20-12-1) was knocked out in his last three fights. While fine in the gym, Stout realized he was suddenly vulnerable in the cage.

"It's kind of a tough thing to wrap your brain around," Stout said Thursday, one day after announcing his retirement. "Physically you feel like you can still do it but that punch lands and it's night, night."

"I used to walk through those punches and not even flinch," he added. "All of a sudden I couldn't do that any more."

Stout's nine previous losses came via decision (six) or submission (three). He went almost 11 years as a pro before he was stopped by punch.

Then — bang, bang, bang — it happened at the hands of K.J. Noons (in 30 seconds), Ross (The Real Deal) Pearson (six minutes 33 seconds) and, most recently, Frankie Perez (54 seconds).

Stout, who has not had any concussion issues, says he was healthy and motivated for those last three fights.

"All the training in the world's not going to make your chin better," he said.

"Really what it comes down to is I just don't want to risk my health," he addedd. "I have a daughter (Logan) to think about now and I want to have a good quality of life in the future and I'm not going to risk my health for a paycheque."

Stout fought 20 times in the UFC, second only to former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (21) among Canadians. Stout collected seven fight bonuses from the organization, six for fight of the night and one for knockout of the night.

He debuted in the UFC in March 2006 when he won a split decision over Spencer (The King) Fisher. The two went on to fight two more times, each garnering a win.

Their trilogy helped Stout earn a reputation as a busy, hard-nosed fighter who usually put on a show.

''We love fighters like Sam Stout,'' UFC president Dana White said in 2008. ''Sam comes out and lets them go."

Stout, whose overall UFC record was 9-11, leaves ranked third in the modern UFC in significant strikes landed with 995, according to FightMetric, behind Frankie Edgar and Michael Bisping.

He ranks 10th in total fight time with three hours 58 minutes 22 seconds.

A former kickboxer, Stout emerged from London with the likes of Mark (The Machine) Hominick and Chris (The Polish Hammer) Horodecki.

Trainer Shawn Tompkins, who became Stout's brother-in-law, helped all three reach the top level of MMA.

Stout and Tompkins were something to behold in the cage, with Stout instantly converting Tompkins' verbal commands into actions like their two brains were linked. But that bond was broken in August 2011 when Tompkins, just 37, died of an unexpected heart attack.

Stout had been on a roll at the time, sandwiching wins over (Handsome) Matt Wiman, Joe Lauzon, Paul Taylor and Yves Edwards around a split decision loss to Jeremy (Lil' Heathen) Stephens.

Stout won four performance bonuses totalling US$255,000 from the UFC during that run from April 2009 to June 2011.

"I just felt I was on top of the world at that stage of my life," said Stout.

After Tompkins' death, Stout lost six of his last nine fights.

In the near future, Stout plans to help fighters at the London gym he co-owns but says he won't make training a career.

"I always said I love MMA but I don't want it to be my entire identity," he said. "I want to branch out, I want to do other things."

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