5 UFC legends who retired after a loss

#4 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira lost to Stefan Struve in his final UFC bout

One of the greatest Heavyweights in MMA history, it’s safe to say that we never really saw the best of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the UFC. Sure, ‘Minotauro’ provided a handful of classic moments – his incredible fight with Randy Couture, his comeback win over Tim Sylvia – but for the most part, he was a shadow of the amazing fighter he’d been for years in PRIDE.

Nogueira still had a pretty impressive 11 fights in the Octagon, though – and ended up hanging his gloves up in 2015 after one final loss to Stefan Struve. It was the nadir of Nogueira’s career – the final defeat in a run of three losses that represented the worst run on his ledger – although unlike his previous two losses, he managed to last the distance with the giant Dutchman.

It was certainly the right time for Nogueira to retire, too – it was heavily rumored that he’d lost the sight in one of his eyes due to the accumulation of damage he’d taken over his career, and he’d suffered some other serious injuries too, most notably to his hips and to his right arm, which was snapped by Frank Mir in 2011. After retiring, Nogueira was offered a job with the UFC in Public Relations, and was then inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame – a fitting end to such a legendary career.