But, in a sport that is not for the faint-hearted, he certainly stamped his mark on the world’s biggest mixed martial arts competition.
Te Huna (34) was the first New Zealander to compete in the UFC.
He predominantly fought as a light heavyweight from 2010 until March this year when he retired with a five win-five loss record with UFC a 16 win-nine loss record overall.
The Darfield born and Dunstan High school old boy was in Dunedin on Thursday night, when he held a seminar at the Olympic Fight Centre in Mosgiel.
Te Huna said he was proud of his career and felt he had helped pave the way for future New Zealand fighters and for others to "achieve their dreams."
While retiring was a bitter pill to swallow for many elite athletes, for him the decision was easy because it was all about his health, he said.
Te Huna said after his knockout loss to Steve Bosse in March the standard post-fight brain scan showed he had a brain bleed.
A subsequent visit to a Sydney neurologist diagnosed lesions.
"Things changed automatically from there and I knew instantly that was it because that is an injury you can’t mess around with."
Te Huna said after about 20 years competing in combat sports he had only been concussed twice in more than 100 fights but he estimated he had suffered 20-25 concussions during training.
"Sometimes I left [training] thinking ‘how did I get here in the first place’."
He felt fine but the next 10-20 years would be "telling."
"The best thing I can do is stay active."
Te Huna had no regrets because he had met people and experienced things others only dream of.
"I went from watching Mike Tyson videos as a young man to seeing him sitting in the front row watching me."
Te Huna said injury awareness, winning the mental game and self belief were three key areas of knowledge he hoped to pass on in his seminars.
The Penrith-based part-time bricklayer has been to nine New Zealand cities and many more in Australia, where he will continue to offer seminars when he returns.
He implored fighters to communicate and listen to training partners and coaches and be open about injuries.
Te Huna said the proudest moment of his career was his debut UFC win via a third round technical knockout of Igor Pokrajac.
"Everyone has that question mark over them in their first fight and to come back from some pretty big adversity and prove that I belonged there was pretty special."
He rated his unanimous decision win over Joey Beltran as his best because he won with broken bones in his left foot and hand.
The Beltran win came when Te Huna was at his peak.
He won five from six between February 2010 and May 2013, before things changed and Te Huna lost his next four fights.
Te Huna put the drop in form down to injuries and said changing fight camps or weight divisions rather than concentrating on himself had not helped.
He hoped a trade union, such as the Professional Fighters Association, which was formed last month, could gain some traction, so fighters starting out in the UFC or those in the middle range could get paid fairly.
But, until a big name fighter backed it and others followed, he doubted much would change.
Te Huna said when the UFC signed a sponsorship deal with Reebok in December 2014 fighters like himself lost out while the top tier prospered.
"I went from a making $100,000 a year to $7500."
Fighting had not made him rich but it had made him "comfortable."
