He entered the UFC via the Ultimate Fighter series and would get wins over the likes of a young Max Holloway and Clay Guida.With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the best fighters to retire over the last couple of years. As Tapology users create their own lists, the consensus rankings will update in real-time. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira was born in Salvador, Brazil.

He did want to fight Khabib Nurmagamedov before retirement, but the UFC refused to budge. As Tapology users create their own lists, the consensus rankings will update in real-time. However, his acting career and podcast are blossoming, while he’s a regular face on ESPN. It’s crazy how many big names have finally walked away like a changing of the guard. Still just 32, he’s definitely got more to offer in the light-heavyweight division – or even at heavyweight. Still, though, Evans was a phenomenal fighter on his day and remains heavily involved in the sport.His legacy speaks for itself.

The Canadian is a legendary figure.Injuries decimated him late on, with a damaged retina almost leaving him blind in one eye. A true pioneer of Oceanian martial arts.One of the sport’s ultimate nice guys, Britain’s Jimi Manuwa retired on the same night as his friend and fellow light-heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson.

However, the 45-year-old did depart from the UFC in 2018 and has not signed with any other promotion since then.The former US marine may not be the most decorated fighter on this list but he was a true warrior in his own right. He’s beaten the likes of Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, and Michael Bisping in his day.Arguably the greatest UFC fighter and definitely the top welterweight of all time, St. Pierre officially retired in 2018 after coming back from a four-year hiatus to win the middleweight title.

Better known as Minotauro, is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist known for his technical mastery of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. An all-action fighter, Manuwa is a former UMMA champion and joined the UFC back in 2012.Once again the end for former wrestler came after three straight ignominious defeats. He wasn’t ready to stop before his health forced him to walk away.One of the biggest names in MMA never to fight for the UFC, Muhammad Lawal, AKA King Mo retired this year after losing to Jiří Procházka back in April. Ranking Contributors. A former Strikeforce light heavyweight and RIZIN heavyweight grand prix champion, King Mo definitely had talent.Before Jon Jones came along, Rashad Evans was the man. He then very narrowly avenged his brutal KO loss to Dan Henderson in a successful title defence in front of a home crowd in Manchester, UK. For Top Retired Fighters, the 100 most-recently updated member lists will be included.- Create a free Tapology account to beginCreate an account and see fewer ads on Tapology.- Get Website Support, Advertising, Other inquiries. The UFC Hall-of-Famer had a long and distinguished career. The number of former fighters dealing with CTE and other debilitating conditions is no joke.He came close to a title shot once, but would be brutally knocked out five times in his UFC career, including a ludicrous head kick by Alexander Rakic. One of the most unfortunate endings to a career on this list, Mirko Filipovic, better known as ‘Cro-Cop’ was forced to retire after suffering a mini-stroke last year. He managed to snatch the middleweight championship from Luke Rockhold in the twilight of his career, beating Anderson Silva on a run to the top. A former PRIDE and K-1 Grand Prix Champion, he never quite did it at UFC level.Other fighters have retirement forced upon them. Maybe he’ll come back after allowing his mind to heal. Georges St. Pierre. AUS. While he definitely took too much damage at the end of his career, he was a savage who fought the best of the best at welterweight.Of all the fighters on this list, Gustafsson feels like the one who could still do something dramatic if he stuck around. Abdel Azim, Mohamed. He was a K-1 World Grand Prix champion though and his no-look walk-away KOs became iconic. Abdallah, Mohammed. When you take excessive damage at the tail-end of your career you’ve really got to be careful because it can affect you for the rest of your life. AUS. He won the heavyweight section of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is a former light-heavyweight champion. Send him a Tweet.Submit a dispute regarding a bout's result. AUS. AUS. Abdelli, Anis. His last eleven fights would see only two victories and he finally retired in 2018 after losing to Bryan Barbarena.

Abdel Kawy, Atef. Arguably the greatest UFC fighter and definitely the top welterweight of all time, St. Pierre officially retired in 2018 after coming back from a four-year hiatus to win the middleweight title.

Abdallaoui, Hichame. Every combat sports athlete has a career lifespan.