IT’S not the end of his in-ring career - but there will be no more Mixed Martial Arts bouts for renowned Milford fighter David ‘one more’ Round following his defeat to Andy DeVent at the Tanko FC show in Manchester on Saturday night.

DeVent took the middleweight contest by submission after locking in a rear naked chokehold, to avenge his loss to the Milford man at OMMAC 13 in 2012.

After the bout Round, 30, who on the night became the first UK fighter to compete at five different weight levels, confirmed he would now be focussing on his K1 career.

“I was going to retire from MMA in September but then the fight with Andy came up,” he told Telegraph Sport.

“Me and him go way back and it was an honour for him to ask to fight me again - I expected him to come at me like he did and he's really evolved as a fighter.”

Round revealed he knew beforehand it would be his last MMA bout, but to his credit, insisted it did not hamper his build-up.

"It didn't affect me at all mentally - I still prepared and trained as normal," he said.

Round’s next K1 fight will be in London this February, and unsurprisingly for a man who has forged a reputation of ‘fighting anyone anywhere’, he said he leaves MMA with no regrets.

“I’ve loved every moment and to go out making a bit of history by fighting at five different levels was nice. Had I won, I would have been the first UK fighter to win in five different weight classes as well.

"For someone from a small town, I think I’ve done alright.

"But I'm a stand up fighter, and you could see in MMA that no one wanted to stand up with me - and I want to show what I can do in K1 fights now."

And this week his manager, Chris Clarke of the Fight Agency, paid a glowing tribute.

“A true UK MMA legend has retired from the game,” he said.

“David ‘one more’ Round is very much a man of ‘anyone, any time, any place’.

“He has fought the who’s who of UK mixed martial arts. Not many fighters in the game manage to compete and win in four different weight classes.

“During his career, he has been lucky enough that the game has taken him to Sweden, Denmark and Bulgaria as well as the length and breadth of the UK. On Saturday, he took to the stage for his final competitive match against top middleweight Andrew ‘The Lions Paw’ Devent in a rematch years in the making. 

“He bowed out on the losing end, but a winner nonetheless throughout a fantastic career.”

And Round, who made one of his entertaining trademark entrances on Saturday, fittingly added: "I'm not done  - there will always be one more."

Round also asked to issues his gratitude to sponsors LPA Impact, Granicol Ltd, Bad Boy Supplements, L Greggain & Co Ltd, Steve Evans at Studio 9 Custom Tattoo, Training Mask, Matthews Brothers, Stuart Lloyd Carpentry and Sweet Treat.