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#4. UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture
Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture had a decorated career inside the octagon. He was the first-ever UFC fighter to win a championship in two divisions. Couture is a three-time UFC heavyweight champion and two-time UFC light heavyweight champion.
Like Dan Henderson, Couture was a high-level wrestler. The UFC Hall of Famer is a former NCAA All-American wrestler and Pan-Am gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling.
What makes Couture’s MMA career even more impressive is that he began at 33-years-old. His first experience was winning the UFC 13 Heavyweight tournament. His career lasted 14 years and he remained competitive until his final fight. Couture was riding a three-fight winning streak prior to his final UFC bout against Lyoto Machida. Among those wins was Brandan Vera, Mark Coleman, and boxing legend James Toney.
At 48-years-old, Couture could’ve continued competing if he wanted to but he felt the Machida fight was the perfect time to retire. Couture has since transitioned to acting and played a main role in The Expendables franchise.
#3. Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is arguably one of the greatest fighters of all time. He was dominant at both heavyweight and light heavyweight and only suffered losses in title fights to Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones.
Cormier made his MMA debut in 2009 and it didn’t take long for him to be considered one of the best in the sport. In 2010, Cormier took advantage of a massive opportunity in Strikeforce, winning the heavyweight Grand Prix as an alternate. During that Grand Prix, Cormier defeated Jeff Monson, Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva, and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett.
Cormier eventually became UFC heavyweight champion with a win over Stipe Miocic. When Cormier’s bout with Brock Lesnar didn’t come to fruition, he retained his UFC heavyweight championship against Derrick Lewis. Cormier lost the title to Miocic in their rematch at UFC 241. Cormier proved he was still a top heavyweight at 40-years-old. However, he retired and took his talents to the broadcasting side of the sport full-time.
Despite UFC President Dana White being skeptical of Cormier retiring, he ended up confirming it after UFC 252. Cormier is now an MMA analyst and show host at ESPN as well as a commentator for the UFC.
