5 UFC fighters who hung up their gloves before reaching their prime

#2. Jimmy Flick – former UFC flyweight contender

After an impressive octagon debut, Jimmy Flick abruptly retired

Dana White’s Contender Series has produced a number of excellent UFC fighters over the past few years, from a title challenger in Alex Perez to fan favorites like Ricky Simon and Geoff Neal. In 2020, it seemed like the series had unearthed another gem in the form of Jimmy Flick.

A hot prospect in the flyweight division with a seemingly deadly submission game, Flick held a record of 14-5 when he tapped out Nate Smith in his appearance on the Contender Series, earning himself a contract with the world’s biggest promotion in the process.

Just three months later, ‘The Brick’ made his official octagon debut, and it didn’t take him too long to make an impact. Flick needed just over three minutes to submit Cody Durden with a flying triangle choke – earning himself a $50k performance bonus in the process.

However, despite appearing to be destined for stardom, four months later, Flick announced his retirement – withdrawing from a fight with Francisco Figueiredo in the process.

According to ‘The Brick’, fighting in the UFC simply wasn’t his dream at that point, and he preferred to look towards a future spent with his family.

Nobody could really fault his decision, but it’s still fair to question what he could’ve achieved had he stuck around, particularly in a relatively thin division like flyweight. Based on the glimpses he showed, he could’ve been a contender.

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#1. Zabit Magomedsharipov – former UFC featherweight contender

Zabit Magomedsharipov looked like a surefire future title contender

If you rewind back to the end of 2019, there were few hotter prospects competing in the UFC than featherweight contender Zabit Magomedsharipov.

The latest great fighter to emerge from Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, ‘Za-Beast’ debuted in the octagon in September 2017. He immediately reeled off a series of impressive wins, culminating in a victory over Calvin Kattar in his first ever headline bout.

Magomedsharipov looked like a fighter with no weaknesses. He possessed fantastic wrestling skills, a wild, unorthodox and dangerous striking attack, as well as some highly venomous submissions. Essentially, he looked like a future champion.

However, before he could return in 2020, health issues reared their head. According to reports, an issue with his immune system meant that he couldn’t fight for a lengthy period of time, resulting in him dropping from the UFC’s rankings.

Incredibly, though, despite reports suggesting he was ready to return in 2022, it was announced last week that he would not be returning at all. Instead, after apparently grappling with the idea of balancing a fighting career with his religious beliefs, he’d decided to hang up his gloves to become a medical professional.

From a fight fan’s perspective, to call this disappointing would be an understatement. Most observers felt that the Dagestani would be a definite title challenger – if not a champion – in the future. Now, the only questions around him will be on what he might’ve achieved had he reached his prime in the octagon.