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Fighters in the UFC are known to avoid retirement unless they are forced to do so. If they achieve championship status, the money and fame act as major reasons to keep on with their careers. Fighters usually hang up their gloves because of serious injuries or a series of losses symbolizing a failure to return to their prime.
However, there is a rare brand of UFC fighters who have reached the peak of their careers just to let it all go.
Legends like Brock Lesnar, Anderson Silva and Daniel Cormier retired after facing consecutive defeats towards the rear end of their UFC careers. However, some fighters retired as UFC champions, leaving their fans in utter disbelief and wanting more.
In this article, we look at five UFC fighters who retired as champions.
#5 - Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock (23-10-2) was the first fighter to hold the UFC middleweight championship (later renamed the UFC light heavyweight title). He made his UFC debut in 1997 against Kevin Jackson, who was an undefeated Olympic gold medalist at the time.
Despite being a huge underdog in his UFC debut, Frank Shamrock defeated Kevin Jackson via armbar in 16 seconds of the first round. He went on to defend his title four times in the UFC, the last of which came against Tito Ortiz, who Shamrock later named as his toughest challenge. He was praised by many, including then UFC owner Bob Meyrowitz, as the greatest competitor in the promotion's history.
With a 5-0 record and as the reigning UFC middleweight champion, Frank Shamrock announced his retirement in 1999. He later returned to MMA and fought for promotions like K-1, WEC, Strikeforce and EliteXC.
#4 - Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten is a former UFC heavyweight champion and a three-time King of Pancrase heavyweight champion. Excited from his career in Pancrase and coming off a 19-match winning streak, Rutten made his UFC debut in 1999 against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
Bas Rutten was on the receiving end of Kohsaka's vicious ground and pound but somehow managed to score a dramatic KO in the last minute of the fight. The win against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka earned Rutten a title fight against Kevin Randleman at UFC 20.
After an evenly contested blood bath, Bas Rutten was awarded the win over Randleman via unanimous decision. Although the decision was considered controversial, it made him the UFC heavyweight champion.
Bas Rutten later vacated his title to move down to middleweight and become the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two divisions. However, that ended up being his last fight as Rutten suffered a series of injuries while training. He was forced to retire from MMA as per the doctor's orders.
Rutten returned to MMA in 2006 for one last fight. Going against Ruben Villareal, the former UFC heavyweight champion won via TKO (kicks).
#3 - Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo is a former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion. He is only the fourth fighter in the MMA promotion to hold championship titles in two divisions simultaneously. He is also the youngest American Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, which he won at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He made his UFC debut in 2014 against Dustin Kimura in the bantamweight division. In 2018, he defeated Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 227. Henry Cejudo vacated the title after defending it against TJ Dillashaw five months later to move back into the bantamweight division and conquer gold.
A year later, Henry Cejudo defeated Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 to become the bantamweight champion. However, 'Triple C' shockingly announced his retirement after defending his bantamweight title at UFC 249 against Dominick Cruz. The announcement was met with some skepticism as it was considered an attempt to bargain his salary with UFC president Dana White.
#2 - Georges St-Pierre
Georges St-Pierre (26-2) is a three-time former UFC welterweight champion and a former UFC middleweight champion. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. He has the second-most wins (13) in title fights in UFC history and has nine title defenses to his name.
Georges St-Pierre's title reign in the UFC lasted 2,237 days and is the third-longest in the MMA promotion's history. He made his UFC debut in 2004 against Karo Parisyan. He has only lost twice in his MMA career, against Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. He avenged these losses later in his career.
In 2013, GSP won his ninth welterweight title defense against Johny Hendricks in a controversial decision. Despite being thrashed for most of the fight, St-Pierre won the contest via unanimous decision, an event that UFC president Dana White heavily criticized. At the UFC 167 post-fight conference, St-Pierre said he was stepping away from fighting "for a little bit." A month later, he vacated his title and then went on to retire as the reigning welterweight champion.
Georges St-Pierre returned to the UFC to take on middleweight champion Michael Bisping in 2017. At UFC 217, he defeated Bisping via rear-naked choke to become the middleweight champion. He vacated the title after 34 days due to a medical condition called ulcerative colitis.
#1 - Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) is a former UFC lightweight champion. He made his promotional debut in 2012 and won the lightweight championship against Al Iaquinta in 2018. He became a superstar when he submitted one of the most popular fighters on the planet at UFC 229, Conor McGregor.
Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his title three times: against McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. After defeating Gaethje at UFC 254, Khabib announced his retirement citing the passing away of his father and mentor, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
UFC president Dana White tried to persuade 'The Eagle' to make a comeback, but his efforts went in vain. In March 2021, it was officially announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov had retired as the undisputed and undefeated UFC lightweight champion and the #1 UFC pound-for-pound fighter.
