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To fight in the UFC is the end-goal of most MMA fighters. Martial artists from countless combat sports backgrounds, be it wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, to kickboxing and Taekwondo, shed their blood, sweat and tears to make it into the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion.
Once they do, they aim higher. If signing with the UFC is their goal, capturing a world title in the promotion is their dream. Unfortunately, a myopic need to continue fighting, no matter the roadblocks encountered, is needed to realize such a dream. This causes some fighters to stick around past their prime.
While this is common in high-level sports, it's more worrisome in MMA. It's even worse when the fighters who continue fighting long past their prime inevitably find themselves on long losing streaks. Yet, whether it's due to denial or an emotional inability to let things go, they refuse to retire despite suffering defeat after defeat.
#5 B.J. Penn, former UFC lightweight/welterweight
B.J. Penn is a legend of the sport. He is a pioneer of Hawaiian MMA and one of the rare few to have held UFC gold in two separate divisions, having won the welterweight strap in his first stint with the promotion, before capturing the lightweight title several years later.
While he is hailed by some of his peers as arguably the greatest fighter of all time, the manner in which he left the sport tarnished his legacy. 'The Prodigy' was on an 8-fight winless streak consisting of one draw and seven consecutive losses. Towards the end of his career, he was refusing all calls to retire.
At no point during his lengthy losing streak did Penn entertain the idea of retiring, and even reasoned that it was fine for him to continue fighting as he wasn't being knocked out in every bout. Fortunately, the UFC forced his retirement by releasing him from the promotion.
#4 Sam Alvey, former UFC middleweight/light heavyweight
Many have questioned exactly how Sam Alvey was allowed to remain a UFC fighter, given the amount of consecutive losses on his record. The promotion is notoriously ruthless and has released fighters for losing as little as three fights in a row. 'Smile'n' tasted defeat far more times than that.
In late 2018, he found himself on the wrong end of a historic 9-fight winless streak, made up of 8 losses and one draw. Fans wondered if Alvey championing the promotion's controversial pay structure kept him on its roster for longer than he otherwise would have been.
Nevertheless, he refused to retire despite failing to win a single fight across five years. In 2022, he was inevitably released. He subsequently signed a contract to fight Cameron Graham at B2 Fighting Series 183 on the regional scene, finally scoring a win, but it came against a fighter who had five wins and 11 losses.
#3 Antônio 'Bigfoot' Silva, former UFC heavyweight
At one point in time, Antônio Silva was a mainstay in the UFC heavyweight division, having once fought for the title in a crushing loss to all-time great Cain Velasquez. He is perhaps best-known for humbling Alistair Overeem at UFC 165 with a thunderous third-round knockout after the Dutchman underestimated him.
Unfortunately, 'Bigfoot's' career took a turn for the worst in late 2015. It marked the beginning of a long losing streak, during which the hulking Brazilian was handed 8 consecutive losses. But examining his run from May 2013 onward reveals an even worse rough patch, from then till now, he went 1-11 (1).
In short, he won once, lost 11 times and had one no-contest. His solitary win is what split his 11 losses, leaving him with an 8-fight losing streak. Despite losing so many fights, he refused to retire from MMA. While he later announced his retirement in December last year, he walked back on his words on June 18.
#2 Renan Barão, former UFC bantamweight
Renan Barão had one of the most spectacular declines ever seen in MMA. But back in February 2014, life was good. He was the UFC bantamweight champion, on a 32-fight unbeaten run—consisting of 31 wins and one no-contest—and was hailed by Dana White as arguably the world's pound-for-pound best fighter.
That all changed after a pair of lopsided TKO losses to T.J. Dillashaw, to whom he lost his divisional strap. He was never the same after that. While he rebounded from his first loss to Dillashaw with a submission win to earn a rematch, their second bout was just as one-sided, and he subsequently lost to Jeremy Stephens.
Though he, again, bounced back with a win, it only papered the cracks. Barão lost his next five fights and was released by the UFC in December 2019. Despite his 5-fight losing streak, he never retired and instead signed a contract with Taura MMA. He was booked for several fights but never made it into the cage each time.
Now, he is scheduled to face Sean Soriano in a bare-knuckle MMA fight at Gamebred Bareknuckle 5 on September 8.
#1 Tony Ferguson, UFC lightweight
It is eerie that retired lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, to whom Tony Ferguson was constantly linked for years, predicted his rival's downfall. The two men had concurrent rises in the UFC lightweight division, with 'El Cucuy' becoming an interim champion, while 'The Eagle' captured undisputed gold.
Ferguson mounted a legendary 12-fight win streak that left his foes looking like victims of carnage. Unfortunately, for him, it all came to a depressing end when he faced Justin Gaethje in his second-ever interim title fight. Only this time, 'El Cucuy' didn't emerge victorious. He was dealt a brutal five-round beating.
The loss began Ferguson's downward spiral. Now, three years later, he is on a six-fight losing streak. Before his recent loss to Bobby Green, he made the head-scratching statement that he, at 39 years old, was in his prime. He has ignored all calls to retire, and the promotion might have to step in if he suffers a seventh loss.
