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The sport of MMA can be outlandish at times. So much so that its practitioners get overly attached to the art of fighting, forcing them to be a part of the violent sport at a time they should probably hang up their gloves.
When fighters refuse to call it a career despite their growing age, their legacy, reputation, and records will always be at risk of being undermined.
Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, recently announced his comeback at age 44. Should the Russian lose, he will taste the seventh defeat of his MMA career, which doesn't sound bad at all considering that he has won 39 fights.
5 MMA legends who should have retired before turning 40
However, there are plenty of other fighters who tarnished their legacy by refusing to let go of MMA. In this article, we will take a look at five such competitors who should have retired from the sport before turning 40.
#5 Andrei Arlovski
At 42, Andrei Arlovski believes there is enough fire left in him to give top heavyweight contenders a run for their money. 'The Pitbull' is a 53-fight veteran and had reached the pinnacle of the UFC heavyweight division in 2005.
He won the heavyweight title after knocking out Paul Buentello inside 15 seconds of the first round, recording the fastest finish in a title fight at the time. The record stood intact for almost a decade, before Ronda Rousey submitted Cat Zingano at UFC 184.
Arlovski left the UFC and rejoined the promotion six years later. After registering four big wins under his belt, the 42-year-old challenged Stipe Miocic. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.
Arlovski then suffered four consecutive devastating losses at the hands of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Francis Ngannou and Marcin Tybura. Between 2016 and 2019, 'The Pitbull' competed in 13 UFC fights and won only three of them.
Despite struggling to keep up with the elite MMA fighters, the Belarusian decided not to hang up his gloves. Arlovski has lost 11 fights by way of KO/TKO, and sustaining any more damage at the age of 42 could prove disastrous for him.
#4 Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman was the UFC's first heavyweight champion. His relentless ground and pound skills helped him demolish legendary names like Brian Johnston and Dan Severn before he captured the inaugural UFC heavyweight title in 1997.
Coleman then succumbed to three straight defeats that had him cut from the UFC. When he joined Pride FC, he fought Fedor Emelianenko on two occasions at age 40 and 42. Coleman lost both fights via submission, and their second outing was enough to trigger his retirement.
Still, 'The Hammer' decided to return to the UFC three years later and defeated Stephan Bonnar when he was 45. Coleman's last fight was opposite Randy Couture in 2010, which he lost via submission.
#3 Ken Shamrock
Ken Shamrock competed in a multitude of MMA promotions. His aggressive nature and incredible submission game earned him the nickname of 'The World's Most Dangerous Man'.
Shamrock made his MMA debut in 1993. When he turned 40 in 2004, his fighting record stood at 26-8-2, which is more than impressive. With his formidable record in mind, the UFC pitted him opposite relatively younger fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin.
He fought Franklin at 41, and challenged Ortiz twice when he was 43. Shamrock failed to hang with his younger opponents as he lost nine of his 11 outings after he turned 40.
His last fight was against Royce Gracie at Bellator 149 in 2016. Both men were fighting each other for the third time. Shamrock lost the fight via TKO in the opening round.
At 57, Shamrock is currently running his own bare knuckle boxing promotion, Valor. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Shamrock spoke in detail about Valor Bare Knuckle.
#2 B.J. Penn
B.J. Penn should have called it a career when he lost his trilogy fight with Frankie Edgar in 2014. However, 'The Prodigy' continued his UFC run for five more years, ruining his professional record that now stands at 16-14-2.
Penn is considered one of the greatest lightweights of all time. He was the first UFC lightweight to defend his strap on three consecutive occasions. Thanks to his exploits inside the octagon, Dana White credits Penn behind the resurgence of the lightweight division that once looked incredibly mundane.
Unfortunately, though, Penn couldn't perform at his best in the later stages of his career. After securing his second win over Matt Hughes in 2010, the Hawaiian competed in eight UFC fights. He lost seven of them, and drew one.
#1 Anderson Silva
Despite losing 11 MMA fights, Anderson Silva is still widely regarded one of the greatest fighters of all time. During his prime years, 'The Spider' was on a tear. He defended his belt on ten occasions after winning the strap in 2006.
Except Chael Sonnen, no one came close to dethroning the Brazilian until he bumped into Chris Weidman in 2014. While showboating, Silva found himself on the receiving end of a stinging punch from Weidman that sent him to the canvas.
In the rematch, Silva sustained a horrific leg break injury. It would have been a wise decision if 'The Spider' had considered hanging up his gloves immediately, but he decided to have another shot at the title he held for almost six years.
More than a year after his injury, Silva challenged Nick Diaz at UFC 183. Although he won the fight, the decision was later ruled a no-contest after the former champ tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone.
After that, Silva competed in six UFC fights. He was able to win only one of them, against Derek Brunson.
