Anthony Johnson
A major aspect of the MMA sports world is how long a fighter should keep going before they need to retire, but some athletes actually call it quits too soon. There are very few fighters on the planet who can truly say that they are UFC caliber, and it is a shame to see too much potential left on the table. I would to go over the people that I think should come out of retirement, and I hope you agree!
When it comes to UFC fighters that retired far too early, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is on the top of everyone’s list. While he is already 34 years old, Johnson is still able to compete and in his athletic prime, only losing to Daniel Cormier in a title bid in his last fight. If Rumble were to come back at Heavyweight, he would likely be able to knockout out the entire roster, and could possibly even give Jon Jones or Cormier a run for their money!
Forrest Griffin
Two-time UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin had a storied career in the 2000s, and finished strong with a trilogy win over fellow legend Tito Ortiz. In MMA, a recurring theme among fighters is that it is difficult to retire off of a win, because they know that they could still compete with the best in the world. I would love to see Forrest come out of retirement against someone close to his- perhaps Chuck Liddell or Dan Henderson- and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to do this before he is too old to compete.
Urijah Faber
Since his retirement in 2016, Urijah Faber has been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, coached his protege Cody Garbrandt into a champion, and even started pursuing a career in acting. However, everyone wants to see “The California Kid” take at least one more fight. His retirement fight against Brad Pickett in his hometown of Sacramento was far too dominant to retire off of, and there are so many storylines to be had if Faber decides to come back.
If he were to be given another title shot against former teammate TJ Dillashaw, the MMA community would lose their minds, and that would undoubtedly produce massive pay-per-view buys. Even just coming back to fight the new blood at either Bantamweight or Featherweight would generate massive buzz, and I truly hope that he decides to have at least one more fight before he reaches his 40s.
Dan Henderson
I hate suggesting that a 48 year old man should come out of retirement, but Dan Henderson is just too much of a legend to not end his career on a win. In his last fight, Henderson fough Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight title, and only lost by a razor thin decision. Perhaps fighting someone like the aforementioned Forrest Griffin, or perhaps Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, or even the likes of Royce Gracie in Bellator could lead to a fitting end for Hendo.
Miesha Tate
Miesha Tate is a former UFC champion, one of the first women to ever fight in MMA, and is still only 32 years old. Tate could easily keep fighting in the UFC, but being the Vice President of ONE Championship, I would really love to see her fight someone in her promotion. No matter who she gets matched up against, I think that “Cupcake” would win any fight she was given, and there’s no reason for her to throw away valuable years of her athletic prime.
Kenny Florian
Kenny Florian is 42 years old, has a cushy desk job as an analyst, a Porsche, a model wife, an yet never got what he really wanted: a UFC belt. Florian gave Jose Aldo one of the best fights the former champion ever had before he retired, and I truly believe that he could still beat some on the competition in the UFC. While it is likely too late for him to obtain a title, I think that “KenFlo” could likely submit most of the Featherweights on the roster, and I think some interesting rematches for him could be Gray Maynard, BJ Penn, or even Diego Sanchez!
Nick Diaz
It seemed like we would finally get to see Nick Diaz fight again after his two-year suspension for marijuana was over, but sadly after flirting with a few bouts, Diaz’s close friend and teammate Gilbert Melendez confirmed his retirement. However, this is nothing that can’t be undone. It may take a literal truckload of cash, but I think that potential bouts against Tyron Woodley, Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva interest him, and fans everywhere would lose their minds if he were to headline one last pay-per-view.
Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes just retired after his loss to top contender Alexander Volkanovski, however that was a very winnable fight for him, and he could still easily be at the top of the Featherweight division. Mendes is one of the few top contenders that champion Max Holloway has not fought, so after Volkanovski and Frankie Edgar, Holloway could have been looking at a potential fight with the perennial contender Mendes. I would like to see Chad come out of retirement and take a fight against someone on top, such as Renato Moicano or Cub Swanson, and I think that he could fight for the title in at least a year.
Michael Bisping
Michael Bisping is famous for having a disfigurement in his eye due to a torn retina from his fight with Vitor Belfort (who was on steroids at the time), and ultimately retired from MMA when he started experiencing vision problems in his other eye after his knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum. However, this is a man who beat the greatest Middleweight of all time in Anderson Silva, avenged his loss to Luke Rockhold via first round knockout in order to become champion, avenge his devastating knockout loss to Dan Henderson, headline Madison Square Garden against the greatest mixed martial artist of all time (Georges St. Pierre), and even headlined the UFC’s first ever event in China- all with one eye. Bisping could easily still be fighting, and I think that he could give prospects such as Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa a very hard time.
Ronda Rousey
Alas, we have arrived at our headlining suggestion. Ronda Rousey has found financial and commercial success as a professional wrestler, but she achieved her fame as one of the best women’s MMA fighters to ever do it, until she had her first professional loss.
From that point, Rousey decided to handle her loss like a petulant child, only coming out of retirement a year later to get knocked out by an even better opponent. I don’t like seeing such a good fighter go out on such a negative note, especially when I think that Rousey could beat anyone in the UFC aside from the champions. Ronda could absolutely smash Raquel Pennington, Ketlen Vieira, and any other regular contender at Bantamweight, and could possibly even beat Cris Cyborg or Kayla Harrison in super-fights.
