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WICHITA, Kan. – Tim Boetsch is not calling UFC on ESPN+ 4 his retirement fight, but if it ends up being that, he said he’s could walk away from the sport comfortable.

Boetsch (21-12 MMA, 12-11 UFC) hasn’t been around the game much lately, anyway. “The Barbarian” returns from a career-long 329-day layoff on Saturday when he meets Omari Akhmedov (16-4-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) in a middleweight bout, and during that time off Boetsch has made moves.

It’s not what you would expected from a cage fighter, but Boetsch said he found success with a shaved ice business.

“My wife’s uncle owns the business and we decided to open one up and it absolutely killed it last year,” Boetsch told MMA Junkie. “I was a little nervous like, ‘Do people actually buy this stuff?’ Not sure going in, but they do. It went really well for our first season and we’re gearing up for our next one. As soon as some warm weather shows up, we’ll be back at it.”

Boetsch said the time commitment needed to get the business up and running prevented him from training with the intensity required to compete at the UFC level. He knew he would eventually come back to the octagon, but the timing had to be right for that to happen.

Then he was offered Akhmedov at UFC on ESPN+ 4, which takes place Saturday at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., and streams on ESPN+.

“I got the call to fight Omari and looked at his tape right away and it was one of those no-brainers like, ‘This is the perfect matchup for me,’” Boetsch said. “It’s going to be a great fight for the fans. A couple heavy hitters going in. I didn’t (know him). I looked him up and found out what he was all about pretty quick and I like the matchup a lot.”

At 38, Boetsch goes into his bout with Akhmedov with perspective. He’s alternated losses and wins over his past four fights and is not making any mention of trying to climb the rankings or make one last run at a UFC title. He openly admits his time in the sport is rapidly coming to an end, and with growing opportunity outside the cage, he finds himself in the midst of a balance act about when to walk away.

“I’m definitely thinking about the end game and have been for a while,” Boetsch said. “I’ve been blessed that – knock on something wood – I’ve never been hurt real bad in a fight and I’m walking away, potentially going to walk away, in pretty good health for a fighter who has been doing it this long. This is my 24th UFC fight so I’ve been in here a bunch of times and put it on the line a bunch of times. That’s definitely something I’m thinking about: When is the right time to step away? When everything is in line and I’ve got businesses to run and still in good health and still enjoying things and still able to remember my name.

“I just think, for me, when it’s time I’m going to know. Part of that is going to be: Am I still efficient and effective in the octagon? Can I still train hard? What’s going in camp? Is my body holding up? Do I have nagging injuries? I’m happy to report that I had an awesome camp, I got through it injury-free, which is rare for me because I’m normally banged up for fight week. … I just feel like it’s definitely time to start thinking about it soon. Maybe this is the last one. Maybe not.”

After what he considered to be a successful training camp, Boetsch said retirement plans could potentially come down to performance. Although not every result is indicative of the type of preparation put in – and even at times the better fight – Boetsch said it’s important to deliver something he can proud of on fight night.

Boetsch said when he does retire there’s “nothing that’s ever going to replace stepping in the octagon for the UFC,” but he is getting involved with another competitive venture that’s sure to make his post-fighting life more enjoyable.

“(I’m doing) competitive barbecue,” Boetsch said. “It’s definitely a new obsession of mine and it takes a lot of time when I’m not training. It’ll be nice too when you don’t have to worry about any weight cut or anything like that. Just smashing brisket and pork sandwiches. It’s nice.”

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