There’s something called the law of diminishing returns that proves there’s a point at which additional input no longer produces the same output. For instance when drinking, 2 beers makes you a little more outgoing and 5 beers makes you the life of the party. Then 7 beers makes you talk like Rocky Balboa and 10 beers makes you think you can throw punches like him. There’s always a point where you peak and you should probably step back, count your blessings, and call it quits. The same goes for fighting. Despite how far you’ve come and all you’ve accomplished, there will be a point where future fights will no longer add to your legacy but will just contribute to the already significant amount of trauma your body has endured. Here’s a look at 5 fighters who have hung up their gloves and we hope it stays that way for good.
CHUCK LIDDELL
The Iceman started his MMA career way back at UFC 17. If you ask someone who doesn’t even watch MMA, chances are they know who Chuck Liddell is. The guy put together separate win streaks of 10 and 7 fights and was Light Heavyweight Champ of the UFC for 2 years. Any time he stepped in the cage, you knew for a fact he would swing his fists at his opponent until one of them dropped. Eventually, that fighting style took its toll and Chuck finished his career with 3 straight knockout losses. Chuck is still working for the UFC but now he has and office and a desk. From time to time, he hints at a comeback, most recently suggesting he could “still give Jon Jones trouble.” Now I’d never doubt The Iceman, I would just rather not see him try to prove it.
ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA
Big Nog is another legend in the sport. The guy is an encyclopedia when it comes to jiu jitsu, holding an astonishing 21 MMA wins by submission. He was never a particularly dominant heavyweight champion in any organization but his slick submission skills made every fight exciting, even if it went the distance. His career ended on a 3-6 run, including a painful to watch submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 140. Still, he had a 2 year long 13 fight win streak with victories over a who’s who of combat sports such as Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, and Semmy Schilt. There is nothing left to prove, Big Nog, enjoy retirement.
Randy Couture
Captain America has a pretty awesome resume. Whether it’s serving in the US Army, competing for a spot on the US Olympic wrestling team, or becoming a three time NCAA Division I All-American, the guy is all around pretty darn impressive. On just three weeks notice, he took his first MMA fight ever against an opponent that outweighed him by almost one hundred pounds. Sure enough, he tapped the guy out in one minute. He is the first UFC fighter to hold belts in two different divisions, plus he holds the record for most title bout and titles reigns. At 52 years old, Randy Couture should be enjoying the sweeter side of life and not getting kicked in the face.
Jens Pulver
As one of the original pioneers of the lighter weight classes, Jens Pulver started fighting professionally back in 1999. He became the UFC lightweight champion in 2001 and even defended the belt against BJ Penn in 2002. His back and forth war with Urijah Faber for the WEC featherweight belt in 2008 was an amazing performance. Unfortunately, that was the first of a six fight skid for Little Evil. There were rumors of Pulver coming back to fight in 2015 that never came to fruition and that’s OK. We hope Jens can sleep soundly with his titles of husband, father, trailblazer, and UFC champion.
Forrest Griffin
You know what? Sometimes you get so lucky that you just “step into golden sh*t.” Forrest Griffin is a born fighter. I mean, the guy fought Jeff Monson, Dan Severn, Chael Sonnen, and Jeremy Horn before he was even on The Ultimate Fighter. It was skill that got him to the finale of that first season of TUF but it was dumb luck that he was pitted against Bonnar who was willing to play rock’em sock’em robots on national television. Griffin went on to become UFC light heavyweight champ and even walked away from the sport on a win that earned him Fight of the Night honors. With all of that said, Forrest Griffin is one of the realest dudes to step into the octagon. Even though none of us could ever do it, thanks for being that guy that made us think, “hey, maybe I could do this too.” Hope you’re living the high life, Forrest.
