'Now is the time' - Wood to retire after UFC 299

Trailblazing Scottish UFC star Joanne Wood will retire from the sport after this weekend's bout with Ukraine's Maryna Moroz, saying: "I just feel now is the time."

The 38-year-old, who was Scotland's first professional female MMA fighter, brings the curtain down on her career on the UFC 299 card in Miami.

Wood aims to go out on a high and expects to "cry straight after".

"It sure is my last fight," she told BBC Scotland.

"I want to retire on a good note and feeling good. I feel like when you know you know, so it is definitely going to be my last fight in the octagon.

"I don't want to be going out there and not having the skill, that fight in me - I have still got all those things, so I want to retire on that note, I don't want to be forcing myself to do this.

"I can say, 'That is it, I am done and my body is still good, I could keep fighting but I choose not to.'

"I am ready to lay it all out there and excited at the thought of it being my last one. I am going to do this fight and then I can let it flow and I am sure I will cry straight after."

After starring on the kickboxing scene, 'JoJo' made her pro MMA debut in 2012.

The fighter from Irvine, who is now based in Las Vegas, believes the showdown with Moroz on Saturday is the perfect way to round off a career in which she has put together a record of 16 wins and eight losses.

"I love the fight, I didn't ask for this fight but I feel this is a full-circle moment," Wood said.

"She gave me my first loss and it is the perfect ending, perfect fight. Go out there and get some revenge and then ride off into the sunset.

"I am still going to train, I love MMA and have a lot of team-mates still fighting, so I am going to still be in the gym every day training with them."

The MMA landscape has changed since Wood first entered the fray 12 years ago, with a number of female fighters now making their mark and sharing the limelight at the top level.

"Dana White [the UFC president] said there weren't going to be any female fighters in the UFC," said Wood.

"That changed, so anything is possible and I am really proud to be part of the growth in female MMA and I can just see it getting better and better, more opportunities.

"I remember the first year I was like, 'I don't know if I am going to be able to do this.' To go from that thought to go to where I am now at the end of my career, I am like, 'Wow, it actually happened.'"