Retiring is a hard thing to do…especially in MMA when you’re just plain not making enough to actually save towards it. Still, money isn’t everything…but having a fully functional brain is, and that’s something too few fighters actually appreciate. Some fighters just plain need to hang ’em up before it’s too late and get out while they still can.
So which UFC fighters need to retire? Check out our list.
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – 40 years old
The other Nogueira, aka Little Nog, has nowhere to go at this point. He’s coming off a win off Patrick Cummins…but what happens from there? He’s lost to every top-10 name he’s faced and even if he somehow posted a few more wins in a row, there’s no way he gets a title shot. Just hang ’em up! He’s making big bucks to fight in Brazil, where he’s a complete legend and beloved by everyone, but he’s at the stage in his career where he just doesn’t have anything else to prove. Anytime he pulls off another win when we’re hoping we’ll hang up the gloves, it’s great to see him win but you get that feeling like “Damnit, this means he’s going to keep going, doesn’t it?”
9. Gray Maynard – 37 years old
Gray Maynard has wins over a lot of great fighters, but he’s also got four straight losses behind him right now, three of them being scary knockouts. He’s set to return in a couple weeks…but there’s no real reason to continue fighting if his comeback doesn’t go well. He’s changing weight classes, and sometimes that’s all it takes to revitalize a career, but he’s only posted 1 victory in his last 7 fights so if he wants to make an argument to keep going, it’ll have to happen in his featherweight debut.
8. Frank Mir – 37 years old
Frank Mir has been a big name in the UFC for so long that it’s hard to believe he’s only 37 years old, relatively speaking. He’s staring down the barrel of a two-year suspension for a failed drug test, so maybe it’s time to just ride off into the sunset? He’s racked up some incredible victories over the years, and his late-career resurgence is incredible after all the time he missed from his motorcycle accident. He subbed a Nog, he’s another guy with nothing left to prove. He isn’t just taking easier big-name fights in the autumn of his career, he’s going in there with very dangerous guys. He’s still doing well – but it really comes down to how things shape up with the whole suspension issue.
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