Father time catches as much as everybody in skilled sports. A player like LeBron James, who’s in his twenty second season within the NBA and still going strong, is the exception and never the norm. Most of the time, athletes lose their athleticism and regress to some extent where they should retire before they ever need to. Sudden regression is commonest within the UFC, because it could take only one punch to negatively alter someone’s profession.
A knockout defeat can affect someone’s mental state a lot that they’re never the identical fighter within the octagon again. Moreover, athletes who’ve already been knocked out are more vulnerable to future knockouts because their chin is not what it once was. There may be numerous upcoming talent on the UFC’s roster at once, but that implies that loads of aging legends have one foot out the door, too. A few of one of the best UFC fighters ever are still employed by the premier MMA promotion, but their best days are clearly within the rearview mirror. So, try the gallery to see which UFC fighters are officially washed up.
UFC 314 featured one of the stacked fight cards in recent memory. The fundamental event of the evening was between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. Fans were anxious that Volkanovski, who’s a fan-favorite, was vulnerable to losing and would then officially reach washed status because he had lost three of his last 4 bouts. Nonetheless, the best 145-pounder ever recaptured the Featherweight Championship that he previously lost to Ilia Topuria, a fighter who has since moved as much as lightweight.
One other legendary fighter on the cardboard with an enormous fan base as a result of his always-entertaining style was Michael Chandler. Nonetheless, Chandler suffered a less completely satisfied ending within the co-main event against Paddy Pimblett. Chandler fights with reckless abandon and has unmatched knockout power, which led to him becoming considered one of the best Bellator fighters ever and resulted in him winning his first three UFC matches.
He received a title shot at UFC 262, but he hasn’t performed like an elite fighter against stiffer competition. He lost that fight to Charles Oliveira, and he has since suffered defeats to Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, in addition to a second loss to Oliveira. Then, at UFC 314, he lost to Pimblett.
The truth is, Chandler’s only victory since 2021 was against Tony Ferguson, a fellow UFC legend who was so washed up by the point he fought Chandler that he’s now out of the promotion. While Chandler’s front-kick knockout win over Ferguson was legendary, it was considered one of eight straight losses for the fighter nicknamed El Cucuy.
Fans justified Chandler’s losing ways on the proven fact that he was fighting so many fellow legends, and so they thought he could get a “fraud-check” victory over the somewhat unproven Pimblett. Nonetheless, Paddy the Baddy dominated Chandler. Iron Mike throws tons of punches, but he only landed 11 significant strikes to Pimblett’s 80, despite the fact that Pimblett is thought for his ground game.
Chandler is now 38 years old, and never only is a title run that he has all the time predicted well out of the image, but it surely is tough to see him ever capturing one other victory unless he fights significantly down the rankings. He is not ok to beat contenders, and he is not spry enough to be up-and-comers. So long as Chandler fights with the low IQ that he is thought for, he’ll all the time be vulnerable to losing, no matter who he’s lined up across from.
No person has had an even bigger impact on the UFC than Conor McGregor, which is why he has an even bigger fan base – and more haters – than some other fighter in MMA history. He’s by far the most-known athlete within the history of the game, and he had a really iconic run at the highest. It’s time for fans to simply accept that he just isn’t only washed up but that he just may never fight again, though.
McGregor’s prime was nearly a decade ago. He captured featherweight gold in 2015 at UFC 189, and he became the primary champ-champ ever at UFC 205 lower than a 12 months later. McGregor outgrew the game and pursued other ventures, though, which took away from his prime. The Notorious One lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 before capturing his last win in 2020 at UFC 246 against Donald Cerrone.
Since then, McGregor has lost twice to Dustin Poirier, once via knockout and once due to a health care provider’s stoppage at UFC 264. The last time we saw McGregor within the octagon was after that leg break, and that was on July 10, 2021. The years since then have been crammed with guarantees of a return that never got here to fruition, in addition to unlucky out-of-the-octagon allegations.
McGregor was purported to fight Chandler – who he coached against in The Ultimate Fighter – in 2024, but he pulled out of the bout due to a toe injury (per Yahoo Sports), something that prime McGregor would have never done. For whatever reason, the UFC hasn’t been capable of reschedule a fight for McGregor against Chandler or a unique opponent, despite the proven fact that the complete fighting community would watch it. With each passing day, it seems increasingly likely that politics, partying, boxing, or anything besides fighting within the octagon, will probably be what McGregor chooses to do over coming back to the UFC.
Prior to his Fight Night event in Feb. against Nassourdine Imavov, Israel Adesanya had fought in 12 straight title bouts. That’s tied for the sixth most in UFC history, only trailing Jon Jones, Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, and Anderson Silva, the latter of which Adesanya actually beat.
Clearly, Adesanya is considered one of the best UFC fighters ever. He has eight title victories and a nine-fight winning streak to his name. Adesanya’s best days are long gone, though. The Last Stylebender has lost 4 of his last five fights, and he might must put down the gloves soon.
The primary of those 4 losses was against Alex Pereira at UFC 281. Adesanya avenged that loss at UFC 287, but Pereira still has the higher end of the rivalry due to their fights in kickboxing, and Pereira’s star power has grown brighter than Adesanya’s ever was within the years since they first fought within the UFC.
Moreover, after getting revenge against Pereira, Adesanya has lost three straight fights. The primary appeared like a fluke, as Sean Strickland’s victory was considered one of the craziest UFC upsets ever, but it surely could have been an indication that Adesanya was past his prime. Adesanya also lost to current Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis, and he most recently was knocked out by Imavov. It’s unclear what’s next for Adesanya, but it surely is secure to say he’ll probably never hold the gold again.
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Kamaru Usman won each of his first 15 UFC fights, and he put himself within the welterweight G.O.A.T conversation in the method. The Nigerian Nightmare successfully defended his belt five straight times, but bad knees have failed him within the twilight of his profession.
Usman lost to Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in an unlucky fashion, as Usman was dominating the fight, but Edwards caught him with a fifth-round knockout via leg kick that went down as considered one of the best knockouts and among the best comebacks in UFC history. That was the primary of what has turn out to be three straight losses.
Usman wasn’t capable of get redemption against Edwards at UFC 286, and he most recently lost to Khamzat Chimaevt. Usman didn’t fight in 2024, and it’s unclear when or if he’ll fight again. The welterweight division is stacked, and considering Usman’s knees are failing him, it would be tough for him to ever get back to the highest.
Colby Covington’s mouth keeps him relevant, but everybody knows that he’s washed up. The UFC’s ultimate bad guy has been all bark and no bite for quite a while now. The truth is, Covington has only won two fights since 2019. Those wins got here against Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, each of whom were at the top of their careers and in the midst of what would turn out to be four-fight losing streaks.
Covington’s losses during that point got here against Usman on two occasions and Leon Edwards. All three of those fights were championship bouts where Covington didn’t raise his hand, illustrating that he is not built for the very best level of the UFC. Covington’s loss to Edwards was a notable dud, and while Covington claimed it was the results of injury, he still did next to nothing for 25 minutes in that match.
Even after the championship fights, Covington most recently lost to Joaquin Buckley on Dec. 14, 2024. There was a time when Covington could back up the talk, but those days are long gone.
Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo was a featherweight legend in WEC before there was even a 145-pound belt within the UFC. He was the UFC’s inaugural Featherweight Champion way back to 2010, and he even held the belt in 2016. Despite that, Aldo continues to be going strong, but he’s now a bantamweight, and he definitely goes as strong as he once was.
After his reign of terror was led to 2016 by McGregor at UFC 194, after which for good by Max Holloway at UFC 212 and 218, Aldo has gone 6-5. He has lost to Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, Petr Yan, Merab Dvalishvili, and Mario Bautista during that stretch, and his victories have not been against championship-level fighters.
Aldo ought to be applauded for having such an extended and successful profession, and fans are completely satisfied that he did come back from retirement, but Aldo is simply a shell of his former self.
Henry Cejudo is considered one of 4 simultaneous two-division champions in UFC history, and he was also an Olympic gold medalist, hence the nickname Triple C, which is brief for Triple Champion. Cejudo retired with possession of the bantamweight title after his UFC 249 victory in 2020.
Many have speculated he did so so as to get leverage to get more cash from the UFC. That has proven to be a nasty decision. Cejudo didn’t return to the octagon until 2023, and he has lost all three of his fights since returning to the corporate. Those losses have been against Aljamain Sterling, Dvalishvili, and Song Yadong. Now, it is perhaps time to make a retirement that’s official and lasting.
