5 retired UFC fighters who waited too long to hang up their gloves

#2 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – former UFC light heavyweight contender

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira should've retired at the same time as his brother - five years before he actually hung up his gloves

Two of PRIDE’s most feared fighters in their primes, the Nogueira twins – Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogerio – entered into the UFC some years later and were probably slightly past their best when they did so. Still, both men saw some success, with Rodrigo winning the interim UFC heavyweight title in 2008.

But while he stepped into retirement in 2015 after taking a career’s worth of damage, Rogerio – fondly known as ‘Lil Nog’ – stuck around for a lot longer, five years to be exact. It was almost definitely the wrong call to make.

At the same UFC event that saw Rodrigo Nogueira retire, ‘Lil Nog’ was beaten by old rival Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. It would’ve been the perfect fight for him to hang his gloves up after, but he chose to continue and actually pulled off a stirring win over Patrick Cummins a year later.

Again, the win would’ve been an excellent note to retire on. But ‘Lil Nog’ hung on for four more fights, losing three of them and coming off on the wrong end of brutal knockouts in two of those losses.

SUPERMAN!!@Superman_Spann silences the Rio crowd and puts Lil Nog away in round 1! #UFC237 pic.twitter.com/KjiqceRpD0

— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2019

And when he finally stepped into the octagon for his final fight – a third bout with Rua – in 2020, he looked far older than his real age of 44 and couldn’t come close to replicating the skills he once showed in his youth.

Quite what possessed this Brazilian legend to continue to fight for so long is unknown, but it’s definitely arguable that it was a big mistake for him.

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#1 BJ Penn – former UFC lightweight champion

After numerous ill-advised comebacks, BJ Penn's UFC career ended on a major downbeat

It seems bizarre now, but when BJ Penn first announced his retirement in 2011 after he was defeated by Nick Diaz, it seemed too early for the Hawaiian to hang up his gloves.

Sure, Diaz had thoroughly beaten him up, but in the two fights prior to that, ‘The Prodigy’ had knocked out Matt Hughes and had even come close to defeating the UFC’s top welterweight contender Jon Fitch, coming away with a draw instead.

But nobody wanted to question Penn’s judgment, particularly when he stated his reason for retiring was that he didn’t want his daughter to see him looking black and blue.

However, ‘The Prodigy’ couldn’t stay away from the octagon for too long. 2012 and 2014 both saw him make comebacks – only to lose to Rory MacDonald and Frankie Edgar. Losses to both were nothing to be ashamed of, but a third comeback in 2017 saw Penn stick around for much longer.

What followed was one of the most disappointing runs in UFC history. ‘The Prodigy’, once considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, lost to Yair Rodriguez, Dennis Siver, Ryan Hall and Clay Guida – three fighters he’d have eaten alive in his prime.

And what was worse was that Penn showed no flashes of his old self in any of the fights, acting as a punching bag for Rodriguez and Siver and even being submitted for the first time in his lengthy career by Hall.

#UFC232: B.J. Penn vs. Ryan Hall full fight video highlights https://t.co/1KOhclDdWP pic.twitter.com/i8UNuGGY2q

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) December 30, 2018

Penn would essentially be forced into retirement by the UFC in 2019 as he was released from the promotion following a string of questionable behaviour outside the octagon, and thankfully he hasn’t fought since.

However, his sad and painful downfall still stands as a stark reminder of what can happen when a once-great UFC champion simply holds on for far too long.