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While some fighters would claim otherwise, in the world of the UFC, ring rust is a real issue. Any fighter returning from a lengthy layoff has to contend with it to an extent.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of fighters who were somehow able to return to the UFC after a long time on the shelf and pick up wins, while others returned to devastating defeats.
Often, fighters in the former camp went onto even more success, while those in the latter often ended up hanging up their gloves altogether.
With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters who made successful comebacks after lengthy layoffs – and five who tasted defeat.
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Note: for the purposes of this article, fighters who announced their retirement and then returned have not been considered.
#5. Dominick Cruz vs. T.J. Dillashaw – UFC Fight Night 81
One of the fighters to dispute the existence of ring rust is former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. On two occasions during his octagon career, he’s given fans and observers good reason to believe that, too.
After badly injuring his knee in 2012, Cruz was stuck on the shelf for over two years before returning in September 2014, when he crushed Takeya Mizugaki via first-round TKO. While that win was impressive, though, it was put into the shade by what he later achieved.
Another severe knee injury put ‘The Dominator’ back out of action following his win over Mizugaki, but when he returned in January 2016, he was given a far bigger opportunity. This time, he was matched with T.J. Dillashaw in a fight for the bantamweight title he’d never actually lost inside the octagon.
Few people gave him a chance, as he’d literally fought once in four years, while Dillashaw was at the top of his game. However, Cruz stunned everyone by looking like he hadn’t missed a beat. He used his trademark footwork, timing and cardio to outpoint the champion and claim the title.
The victory made Cruz the first two-time bantamweight champion in the promotion’s history, and still stands as one of the most stunningly successful comebacks ever, too.
#4. T.J. Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen – UFC on ESPN 27
While his reason for spending time on the shelf was very different, T.J. Dillashaw followed the same path walked by his former rival Dominick Cruz in 2021, when he returned from a lengthy layoff to immediately insert himself into the upper echelon of the UFC bantamweight division.
In this case, Dillashaw’s absence from the octagon was not based on an injury, but was instead imposed by USADA, who slapped him with a two-year ban after he tested positive for the banned substance EPO after his 2019 defeat to Henry Cejudo.
The suspension was hugely embarrassing for Dillashaw, who was forced to relinquish his bantamweight title. Many fans suspected that he’d be a far less effective fighter upon his return.
However, the former champion didn’t seem to have lost a step when he faced top contender Cory Sandhagen in his return bout in July 2021.
While some media outlets did score the fight for ‘The Sandman’, Dillashaw ended up coming away with a split decision victory after a fantastic performance that saw him go toe-to-toe with his foe, surviving some nasty spots to do plenty of damage of his own.
Evidently, the two-and-a-half-year layoff had done him no harm. Dillashaw's next bout will see him compete against current bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling for the title that he never truly lost.
#3. Chad Mendes vs. Myles Jury – UFC Fight Night 133
Another fighter who returned from a controversial suspension to immediate success was former UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes, even if the success didn’t last all that long.
‘Money’ was recognized as one of the top 145lbers in the world during his prime, but 2015 saw him drop back-to-back fights to Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar, knocking him out of title contention. When he then tested positive for a growth hormone and was slapped with a two-and-a-half year ban, his career looked all but over.
Many fans suspected that Mendes would never return, but in the summer of 2018, his comeback was announced, leaving observers to question how much he had left to offer.
It didn’t take him long to silence the doubters. In his return bout with Myles Jury, Mendes showed more aggression than he’d done in a long time, and destroyed ‘The Fury’ with a swarm of brutal strikes in the first round.
The display seemed to suggest that he was ready for another run at the top, but unfortunately for him, he ran into future featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski in his next bout, suffering a second-round TKO loss. After this fight, he announced his retirement – and he has not competed in MMA since.
#2. Cat Zingano vs. Amanda Nunes – UFC 178
It’s probably fair to say that few fighters suffered as ill-timed an injury as Cat Zingano did in the summer of 2013. After beating Miesha Tate, ‘Alpha’ was positioned as the top contender to Ronda Rousey’s UFC bantamweight title and looked all set to coach alongside ‘Rowdy’ on the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter.
However, before Zingano could capitalize on the potential star-making opportunity, disaster struck and she blew her knee out, resulting in her spending well over a year on the shelf.
When she returned in late 2014, rather than being handed an instant title shot, she instead found herself faced with highly-ranked contender Amanda Nunes in what looked like a tricky bout.
In the early going, it looked like Zingano simply wasn’t ready to return, as ‘The Lioness’ took her down and hammered her with ground-and-pound for the entirety of the first round. However, after looking angry and emotional as she headed to her corner, she soon turned the tide.
Zingano landed a throw on Nunes in the second round that planted her on her back. From there, the fight changed entirely. ‘Alpha’ smashed her to pieces with elbows in the second round and then continued her assault in the third until the fight was stopped.
The win gave Zingano her title bout and while she came up short in that fight, her win over Nunes was still remarkable considering the time she’d spent on the shelf. In fact, it was the only loss suffered by ‘The Lioness’ in a seven-year period.
#1. Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis – UFC 241
Few fighters have returned from lengthy layoffs quite as successfully as Nate Diaz has over the years. The Stockton-based fighter was actually remarkably active in his early UFC career, making 19 appearances in the octagon between 2007 and 2013. However, after his win over Gray Maynard in November 2013, he began to compete far more sporadically.
For the most part, Diaz’s absences were all self-enforced ones, largely due to his belief that the UFC wasn't willing to pay him enough money or give him opportunities at big-time fights.
His first stint on the shelf saw him return to a defeat at the hands of Rafael dos Anjos, but after sitting out for another year, he returned to defeat Michael Johnson. He then embarked on his two fights with Conor McGregor, becoming a far bigger star in the process.
However, after his split decision loss to ‘The Notorious’ in the summer of 2016, Diaz embarked on his longest absence to date, staying away from the octagon for three years.
His return took most fans by surprise, as largely out of nowhere, he was announced to be facing former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in the summer of 2019. Given the length of his layoff, it was easy to assume that his best days were past him.
Remarkably, though, Diaz produced one of his best-ever performances against ‘Showtime’, dominating him in all areas en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision. The fight was living proof that for someone like Diaz, who clearly hadn’t let himself get out of shape, ring rust wasn’t a thing at all.
While the previous five fighters all thrived after a lengthy layoff, the following five found things much harder and ended up suffering devastating defeats.
#5. Luke Rockhold vs. Paulo Costa – UFC 278
The most recent example of a fighter who returned to the UFC after a long layoff and suffered a bad defeat is former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
He spent a period of just over three years away from the octagon, ostensibly to recharge his batteries after suffering a pair of bad KO losses in his previous two bouts. He was unable to recapture his old magic in his return bout with Paulo Costa.
Prior to the clash, many fans wondered exactly how much Rockhold would have left in the tank anyway given he was returning at the age of 37 and had only won one fight – a 2017 stoppage of David Branch – since losing his title to Michael Bisping in the summer of 2016.
As it turned out, the answer was that while he still had plenty of heart and toughness, he simply no longer possessed the physical ability to compete at the highest level.
Rockhold was outstruck by ‘The Eraser’ from the off. While he was able to survive the Brazilian’s barrages, he appeared to tire out early on, and was unable to capitalize on a third-round knockdown he somehow scored despite being exhausted.
The bout ended with him losing a unanimous decision and, to nobody’s surprise, the former champ announced his official retirement afterwards, clearly recognizing that his best days were far behind him.
#4. Frank Mir vs. Marcio Cruz – UFC 57
When then-UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in late 2004 – breaking his femur – it looked like his career as a top-level MMA fighter would probably be over.
As it turned out, the submission expert would recover remarkably from the injury and go onto have a Hall of Fame-worthy career in the octagon, but his initial return bout following nearly two years on the shelf didn’t go well at all.
The UFC appeared to have matched him with a fair opponent in the form of Marcio Cruz, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace who’d made just one appearance in the octagon – a submission win over the overmatched Keigo Kunihara. Most fans expected Mir to get right back into the winner’s circle.
However, the former champion looked bloated, rusty and ill-prepared for a comeback. After attempting to blitz the Brazilian with strikes, Mir found himself trapped underneath the grappling ace instead.
From there, Cruz stunned everyone, forgoing any submission attempts to simply pound Mir into submission, resulting in referee Herb Dean having to rescue him before the first round was up.
The bout was the worst possible way for Mir to have returned to the octagon, and at the time, it was hard to believe he’d ever get back to his best.
#3. Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes – UFC 207
When then-UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was stunningly defeated by Holly Holm in November 2015, it seemed inevitable that the promotion would book an immediate rematch, giving ‘Rowdy’ a chance to regain her crown.
However, when it became clear that the former champion had taken the knockout loss harder than anyone could’ve expected, it looked like the promotion might’ve seen the last of her altogether.
It was just over a year later that she finally returned, but while her first fight back was for the title that she had once been synonymous with, it wasn’t against Holm. Instead, Rousey faced Amanda Nunes, who’d claimed the title in the summer.
Many fans expected Rousey to simply run through the Brazilian as she’d done to all of her opponents pre-Holm. While she appeared to be in phenomenal shape, she simply didn’t seem prepared for the ferocity that ‘The Lioness’ could bring.
Nunes hurt her with her first flurry of punches, and didn’t let up from there, stopping her via TKO in just 48 seconds. It was an embarrassing return for one of the UFC’s biggest-ever stars, even if her layoff had been substantial.
Whether Rousey could’ve been better prepared had she moved training camps remains a question mark years later. Either way, she retired from MMA entirely after the fight, and has shown no interest in returning since.
#2. Mike Swick vs. Alex Garcia – UFC 189
Once considered one of the world’s best welterweights, Mike Swick had been on the shelf for nearly three years when he returned to face prospect Alex Garcia in the summer of 2015.
Swick had been on the verge of a welterweight title shot in late 2009, but a pair of losses to Dan Hardy and Paulo Thiago derailed him. From there, a misdiagnosed stomach disease left him on the shelf for a substantial period.
‘Quick’ returned for two fights in 2012, but another string of injuries landed him on the shelf again, and for all intents and purposes, it seemed unlikely that he’d make another return to the UFC.
When his bout with Garcia was announced, then, most fans were surprised and immediately wondered whether the veteran could work his way back into title contention by defeating the prospect. However, the answer, firmly, was no.
Swick looked like a shadow of his former self as he was bullied by ‘The Dominican Nightmare’ from the offset of the bout. After being taken down and punished for the entire three rounds, he lost a clear-cut decision and retired just days later.
Essentially, he’d probably have been better off simply hanging up his gloves before taking the fight, which was a stark reminder of how quickly time can pass in the world of the UFC.
#1. Cain Velasquez vs. Francis Ngannou – UFC on ESPN 1
In the eyes of many fans, Cain Velasquez remains the greatest heavyweight ever seen in the UFC, despite the fact that his two title reigns saw him produce just two successful defenses.
However, it’s probably safe to say that his 2019 comeback was about as disastrous as even the most cynical of his fans might’ve feared.
Prior to his clash with Francis Ngannou, Velasquez hadn’t fought since the summer of 2016. Even his bout back then – a TKO of Travis Browne – was his only appearance in the octagon in nearly four years.
Quite who thought it would be a good idea to match him with ‘The Predator’, who was coming off a brutal knockout of Curtis Blaydes and looked like the most dangerous knockout artist in the division in years, then, was anyone’s guess.
Had Velasquez been on his best form, then perhaps the fight could’ve been a fair one, but as it was, the former champion was simply too banged up after so many injuries and such a long time on the shelf.
He attempted to close Ngannou down early, but as he looked to rush his opponent, he got clipped and his knee buckled. That was all the invitation that ‘The Predator’ needed to nail him with a quick flurry, sending him down and out.
Essentially, all of Velasquez’s preparation for the fight had turned out to be for naught, as he not only suffered a devastating knockout, but also ended up injured again in the process. Sadly for him – and his fans – it would be the final time he’d step into the octagon altogether.
