The Korean Zombie only realized mid-fight with Max Holloway that his durability and chin were no longer there.

Zombie suffered a third-round knockout defeat to Holloway in their UFC Singapore headliner late last month. He proceeded to retire from MMA shortly afterwards which just about everyone would agree was the right move.

However, the Pohang native had actually planned to retire after one last fight in Korea — that was until things became clear to him after the Holloway defeat.

“The funny thing is, after this fight, I remember every single second of this fight,” Zombie said on his YouTube channel (via MMA Fighting). “Every moment I was knocked down. When I was knocked down for the first time during the second round, I remember thinking, ‘What did I get hit by?’ During the third when the fight was over, I quickly came back but the ref stopped the fight. So, I remember thinking, ‘The fight’s over.’

“At that moment when Max was helping me up, that is when I clearly realized that it was time for me to go. As far as MMA technique goes, I don’t think I have a problem. I believe my physical abilities are better than ever. But when I look back at the fight, the punches I took aren’t supposed to knock me down or wobble me. But I got wobbled during the first, knocked down during the second, and was hit with precision in the third.”

Zombie, of course, was known for fighting like a zombie as he had a granite chin and would keep coming forward.

But once he realized he couldn't take punches as well anymore, that's when he threw caution to the wind which resulted in him getting knocked out. All that said, his career still ended in a fitting way.

“Having these thoughts mid-fight, I thought ‘My chin isn’t there anymore. My durability isn’t there anymore,’” he added. “I actually talked to Dustin [Poirier] the other day, I felt that my chin is not the same with the 23-year-old me when I fought Dustin in the past. Being constantly wobbled and knocked down — I mean, even with top-notch technique it’s impossible to not get hit at all in MMA. That’s when I decided it was for me to go.

“… Frankly speaking, I think I could have done better. But I don’t regret doing it. It was a good fight. I went out like a zombie.”