'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The UFC has been home to some great champions over the years, but naturally, even the best fighters get old and eventually have to hang up their gloves.
There are a number of former UFC champions still on the promotion’s roster, but could any of them call time on their MMA careers in 2022? It seems highly likely.
While it’s unlikely that any of them will cause the impact former UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov did when he retired in 2020, whenever a former UFC titleholder steps away, it’s big news.
With that in mind, here are five former UFC champions who could retire in 2022.
#5. Jose Aldo – former UFC featherweight champion
It seems crazy to suggest that Jose Aldo, who is set to headline this weekend’s UFC Fight Night card against the dangerous Rob Font, might end up retiring before 2022 is out. However, it isn’t as unlikely as you might think.
Sure, if Aldo defeats Font this weekend, he could well end up competing at the top of the UFC bantamweight division again. There’s even a slight chance he could capture an unlikely title shot next year, depending on whether or not Petr Yan holds the title.
However, should the Brazilian legend lose to Font, particularly if he ends up being stopped, then the narrative would change entirely.
Aldo is, of course, 35 years old and, more to the point, he’s been fighting at the top for a long time. He made his UFC debut just over a decade ago, but his rise to fame in WEC came way before that. His actual MMA debut came back in 2004.
While his incredible skills meant that he didn’t take a lot of damage in the early stages of his career, that’s begun to change in recent years. Aldo suffered a horrific beating at the hands of Yan in 2020, for instance, and prior to that he’d also suffered nasty knockout defeats at the hands of Max Holloway and Conor McGregor.
While the Brazilian can still clearly beat lower-level fighters, Pedro Munhoz and Marlon Vera, for instance, if he can’t compete at the top level, then he may decide to walk away next year for the good of his health.
In Aldo’s eyes, he most likely has nothing left to prove inside the UFC’s octagon and in that sense, he’s absolutely correct.
#4. Rafael dos Anjos – former UFC lightweight champion
Rafael dos Anjos is one of those fighters who seems to have been around in the UFC forever. While that isn’t quite the case, he’s certainly one of the promotion’s most tenured fighters, having debuted back in November 2008.
‘RDA’ is now 37 years old and while he hasn’t lost all of his skills in the octagon by any means, it’s probably safe to say that he peaked during his run as UFC lightweight champion back in 2015. That title reign came to an end at the hands of Eddie Alvarez in 2016.
While dos Anjos has picked up some big wins in the years that have followed, he’s also suffered his fair share of major losses, too, primarily at welterweight.
November 2020 saw him triumphantly return to 155 pounds with a strong win over Paul Felder, but he hasn’t fought since. Right now, it feels like his career is at a crossroads.
It seems unlikely that he can get past the division’s most dangerous fighters anymore and that means that, at best, he’s now a high-level gatekeeper. While there’s nothing wrong with occupying a spot like that, it’s worth questioning whether continuing to fight is the best thing for the Brazilian.
After all, dos Anjos is closer to 40 years old than he is to 30 now. With almost 20 years of MMA experience behind him, Father Time could arrive for him at any point.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him hang up his gloves at some point in 2022.
#3. Robbie Lawler – former UFC welterweight champion
Many fans expected that former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler would hang up his gloves a couple of years ago. The fact that ‘Ruthless’ is still competing in the octagon is surprising enough in itself.
Less than a decade ago, Lawler was undoubtedly one of the most feared welterweights on the planet. After returning to the UFC in 2013, he cut a path of destruction through the likes of Josh Koscheck and Jake Ellenberger, before beating Johny Hendricks to claim the UFC welterweight title in late 2014.
‘Ruthless’ then put on some of the most epic welterweight title bouts of all time, defending against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit before finally being dethroned by Tyron Woodley in 2016. Since then, it’s fair to say he’s fallen on hard times.
Lawler’s only wins since dropping the title have come against Donald Cerrone and Nick Diaz. In-between, he also lost four bouts in disappointing fashion.
Lawler did impress in his win over Diaz in 2021, but it’s probably fair to say that Diaz is as far past is prime as ‘Ruthless’. If the UFC match Lawler with a high-level 170lber, it’s likely he’ll come out second-best.
Therefore, at the age of 39, it’s probably best for Lawler altogether if he chooses to step away from the UFC in 2022. His title reign will always be fondly remembered and he’ll go down as a genuine legend. However, given the punishment he’s absorbed over the years, enough must be enough now.
#2. Andrei Arlovski – former UFC heavyweight champion
Of all the former champions still competing in the UFC today, Andrei Arlovski is easily the most tenured in the promotion.
‘The Pitbull’ made his octagon debut way back in 2000 in the depths of a period known as the UFC’s ‘Dark Ages’, prior to the Zuffa buyout of 2001 that essentially saved the company. Arlovski wasn’t an instant hit, losing his first two UFC bouts, but he eventually climbed to the top of the mountain, winning the UFC heavyweight title in 2005.
From there, the Belarusian-American cemented himself as one of the best heavyweights of his generation. After departing the UFC in 2008, he returned in 2014 and ended up putting together a surprisingly strong run that saw him on the verge of title contention.
That didn’t quite pan out, but ‘The Pitbull’ still survived a five-fight losing streak. He’s now settled into a role as a solid gatekeeper. In fact, he’s won his last two fights.
However, the fact remains that Arlovski is 42 years old now and with over 20 years of fighting under his belt, he’s taken plenty of damage over that time.
Realistically, Arlovski is the last survivor of a bygone era in the UFC and there’d be absolutely no shame in him stepping away during 2022. He’s got nothing left to prove and it probably won’t be long before he begins to struggle against the lower-level fighters he’s been beating recently.
Given that he seems to have a potential pro-wrestling career with AEW ahead of him should he choose that route, 2022 might be the best time for ‘The Pitbull’ to hang up his gloves for good.
#1. Stipe Miocic – former UFC heavyweight champion
Given that he only lost the UFC heavyweight title in 2021 and is still ranked as the No.2 fighter in the division, behind only current champ Francis Ngannou and interim champ Ciryl Gane, it seems crazy to suggest that Stipe Miocic could retire in 2022.
Look past that, though, and it makes a lot more sense than you might imagine.
Miocic turns 40 years old next summer and while he didn’t look terrible in his loss to Ngannou, he did suffer the kind of knockout that could easily change a fighting career for the worse.
More importantly, it’s hard to see exactly where Miocic goes in the UFC from this point. It doesn’t seem right for the promotion to attempt to use him as a gatekeeper to build up younger fighters, but it’s also unlikely that he’ll climb back into title contention, particularly if Ngannou continues his run as champ.
It isn’t like Miocic needs to keep fighting, either. Despite his massive success with the UFC, it’s well-known that he moonlights as a firefighter in his home city of Cleveland, Ohio. Should he hang his gloves up, he could easily continue in that role and dedicate himself to it full-time.
Essentially, the former UFC heavyweight champ simply doesn’t seem like the kind of fighter who will stick around and suffer nasty losses to younger fighters, so don’t be surprised if he decides to step away from the octagon in 2022.
