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Every year in the UFC it seems we lose a handful of legendary fighters to retirement; some of them hang on way too long and leave the fans begging for them to hang up their gloves, while others shock the whole MMA world by stepping away seemingly in their prime.
2019 saw the likes of Alexander Gustafsson, Ben Askren, Jimi Manuwa and Cain Velasquez step away from the fight game, with a number of other less notable fighters also hanging it up, but there can be no doubt that others will join them this year.
Here are 5 UFC legends who could hang up their gloves in 2020.
#1 Andrei Arlovski
Former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has appeared to have been on borrowed time in the promotion for some time now; he’s picked up just 1 win in his last 6 fights, and even went 0-5 from the start of 2016 to late 2017 before surprisingly resurrecting his career with 2 victories in a row.
Arlovski has been written off plenty of times before. Many fans called for him to hang up his gloves after his career took a slide in the early part of the last decade, and nobody really expected him to make it back to the UFC – let alone find himself in title contention at the start of 2016 after a stunning series of wins.
Now though, ‘The Pitbull’ finally feels like he’s reaching the end of his storied career. He’s 40 years old now and while he still hits hard, the speed that once marked him out as a truly dangerous Heavyweight has waned, and his chin is now easily crackable by the UFC’s heaviest hitters.
As of writing, Arlovski has no further fights scheduled, but assuming he does return in 2020, his next Octagon appearance could be his last.
#2 Robbie Lawler
One of the UFC’s most popular fighters in recent years, Robbie Lawler’s Welterweight title reign from 2014 to 2016 was one of the most epic in promotional history, and his insane fights with Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, and Carlos Condit will never be forgotten. At the age of 37 though, it’s likely we’re probably seeing the tail end of his career.
‘Ruthless Robbie’ has not won a fight since his July 2017 victory over Donald Cerrone, and while his loss to Ben Askren came under controversial circumstances, there was no controversy in the way that Colby Covington comfortably defeated him in what was basically a pure striking match in the summer of 2019.
Worryingly for Lawler, he looked slow and gunshy during that fight, never really threatening to explode with the violence that fans had come to expect from him. The likelihood is that ‘Ruthless Robbie’ has simply absorbed too much punishment over his 19-year career – and so 2020 would probably be a smart point for him to call it a day and hang up his gloves.
#3 Anderson Silva
One of the most legendary UFC fighters of all time, Anderson Silva’s Middleweight title reign from October 2006 to July 2013 is widely recognized as being perhaps the most successful one in MMA history. But 7 years on from his dethroning at the hands of Chris Weidman, it’ll probably come as a shock to most fans to find out that ‘The Spider’ is still ranked as the UFC’s #15 Middleweight.
Why? Because unfortunately, the Brazilian legend hasn’t won a fight since February 2017 – and that win, a controversial decision over Derek Brunson, remains his only official victory since that pivotal loss to Weidman all those years ago. At the age of 44, Silva isn’t just past his prime – he’s miles away from it.
Sure, 2019 saw him go three rounds with current UFC Middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, but that fight had the feel of an exhibition to it, and in his last fight, Silva was stopped by Jared Cannonier, who badly hurt his leg with low kicks.
‘The Spider’ has suggested he’s got one more fight in him, but in all honesty, it should really be his last. He’s got no more to prove, so why should he continue to harm his legacy by losing again?
#4 Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is just one fight removed from holding the UFC Heavyweight title, and while he was viciously knocked out by Stipe Miocic in that fight, losing his crown in the process, it’s hardly like he’s past his prime. In fact, ‘DC’ would probably be considered a betting favorite against around 90% of the UFC’s Heavyweight and Light-Heavyweight roster.
However, the former Olympic wrestler has always stated that he wished to retire from active MMA competition when he turned 40 years old – and ‘DC’ actually reached that milestone last March. He had hoped for one last mega-fight with Brock Lesnar prior to that date, but when the fight with the current WWE superstar fell apart, he chose to defend his title against Miocic – to devastating consequences.
Current reports suggest Cormier will face Miocic for the title in a trilogy fight at some point in 2020, and while ‘DC’ will undoubtedly be looking to reclaim the gold and take revenge over his rival, the likelihood is that win or lose, he’ll hang up his gloves afterwards.
Would it be dangerous to Cormier’s health for him to continue? I’d say no – he’s still in tremendous condition and could likely compete for a few more years – but it just seems difficult to imagine him breaking his own promise to retire at the age of 40.
#5 Chris Weidman
It seems like just yesterday that Chris Weidman knocked out Anderson Silva to end one of the UFC’s most epic title reigns, but the former Middleweight champion has fallen on hard times since losing the title that he won to Luke Rockhold in December 2015. Since that loss, ‘The All-American’ has won just one more fight.
Outside of that victory over Kelvin Gastelum, Weidman has been defeated in 4 Octagon appearances, all by KO or TKO, and his lack of activity alone tells its own story. The New York native has been cursed by injuries for years – even dating back to his title reign – and now it appears that his durability is gone altogether.
The last time we saw Weidman in action, he moved up to 205lbs for the first time, hoping to re-ignite his career – only to be knocked out by Dominick Reyes in under two minutes. A move to Light-Heavyweight may have helped him a few years ago, but now it appears to be far too late.
‘The All-American’ is expected to return at some point in 2020, but should he lose again – and to be quite frank, even if he were to win – he ought to consider hanging his gloves up for good, if only for his own health.
