MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.
If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.
2023 has seen an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).
1
Leah Letson
MMA debut date: Nov. 22, 2014
Retirement date: Jan. 9, 2023
Age: 30
Record: 5-2
Notable win: Julija Stoliarenko
Source: Letson’s retirement
2
Claudio Silva
MMA debut date: Nov. 10, 2007
Retirement date: Jan. 16, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 14-4
Notable wins: Leon Edwards, Nordine Taleb, Danny Roberts
Source: Silva’s retirement
3
Mauricio Rua
MMA debut date: Nov. 8, 2002
Retirement date: Jan. 21, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 27-14-1
Notable wins: Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, Alistair Overeem, Quinton Jackson
Source: Rua’s retirement
4
Glover Teixeira
MMA debut date: June 7, 2002
Retirement date: Jan. 21, 2023
Age: 43
Record: 33-9
Notable wins: Jan Blachowicz, Quinton Jackson, Anthony Smith
Source: Teixeira’s retirement
5
Fedor Emelianenko
MMA debut date: May 21, 2000
Retirement date: Feb. 4, 2023
Age: 46
Record: 40-7 with one no contest
Notable wins: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Frank Mir, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jakson
Source: Emelianenko’s retirement
6
Lina Lansberg
MMA debut date: Dec. 29, 2012
Retirement date: Feb. 19, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 10-8
Notable wins: Macy Chiasson, Tonya Evinger
Source: Lansberg’s retirement
7
George Sullivan
MMA debut date: Feb. 11, 2006
Retirement date: March 3, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 18-8
Notable wins: Greg Soto, Julian Lane, Mike Rhodes, Igor Araujo
Source: MyMMANews
8
Benson Henderson
MMA debut date: Nov. 18, 2006
Retirement date: March 10, 2023
Age: 39
Record: 30-12
Notable wins: Donald Cerrone (twice), Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Frankie Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Patricio Freire
Source: In-cage retirement after Bellator 292
9
Raphael Assuncao
MMA debut date: Jan. 23, 2004
Retirement date: March 11, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 28-10
Notable wins: Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling, Marlon Moraes
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC Fight Night 221
10
Steven Peterson
MMA debut date: Aug. 4, 2010
Retirement date: March 25, 2023
Age: 32
Record: 19-11
Notable wins: Chase Hooper
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 43 loss
11
John Salter
MMA debut date: March 27, 2009
Retirement date: March 31, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 19-6
Notable wins: Dustin Jacoby, Kendall Grove, Chidi Njokuani
Source: In-cage retirement after Bellator 293 win
12
Jorge Masvidal
MMA debut date: May 24, 2003
Retirement date: April 8, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 19-6
Notable wins: Tim Means, Michael Chiesa, Donald Cerrone, Darren Till, Ben Askren, Nate Diaz
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC 287 unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Burns
13
Zak Cummings
MMA debut date: Nov. 28, 2007
Retirement date: April 15, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 25-7
Notable wins: Trevin Giles, Nicholas Dalby, Terry Martin
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 44 win over Ed Herman
14
Ed Herman
MMA debut date: May 10, 2003
Retirement date: April 15, 2023
Age: 42
Record: 26-16 with one no contest
Notable wins: Glover Teixeira, David Loiseau, Tim Boetsch
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 44 loss to Zak Cummings
15
Juan Espino
MMA debut date: Feb. 21, 2009
Retirement date: April 21, 2023
Age: 42
Record: 10-2
Source: Espino’s retirement
16
Ray Borg
MMA debut date: Aug. 11, 2012
Retirement date: April 21, 2023
Age: 29
Record: 16-5
Notable wins: Jussier Formiga, Louis Smolka, Ricky Bandejas
Source: Borg’s retirement
17
Chad Mendes
MMA debut date: Sept. 26, 2008
Retirement date: April 29, 2023
Age: 37
Record: 18-5
Notable wins: Cub Swanson, Darren Elkins, Clay Guida, Ricardo Lamas
Source: In-cage retirement at BKFC 41
18
Jim Wallhead
MMA debut date: April 8, 2005
Retirement date: April 29, 2023
Age: 39
Record: 32-12
Notable wins: Frank Trigg, Joey Villasenor, Mateusz Figlak (to win Cage Warriors interim welterweight title)
Source: In-cage retirement at Cage Warriors 153
19
Alistair Overeem
MMA debut date: Oct. 24, 1999
Retirement date: June 1, 2023
Age: 43
Record: 49-19 with 1 no contest
Notable wins: Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum (twice), Mark Hunt (twice), Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, Vitor Belfort
Source: Appearance on Dubai morning show
20
Marlon Moraes
MMA debut date: April 14, 2007
Retirement date: June 8, 2023
Age: 35
Record: 23-13-1
Notable wins: Jose Aldo, Raphael Assuncao, Aljamain Sterling, John Dodson
Source: In-cage retirement at 2023 PFL 4
21
Amanda Nunes
MMA debut date: March 8, 2008
Retirement date: June 11, 2023
Age: 35
Record: 23-5
Notable wins: Julia Budd, Germaine de Randamie (twice), Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Raquel Pennington, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Julianna Peña
Source: In-cage retirement as dual women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion at UFC 289 after sixth defense of 135-pound title
22
Stevie Ray
MMA debut date: June 27, 2010
Retirement date: June 23, 2023
Age: 33
Record: 25-13
Notable wins: Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon, Michael Johnson, Anthony Pettis (twice)
Source: Ray Instagram post
23
Robbie Lawler
MMA debut date: April 7, 2001
Retirement date: July 8, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 30-16
Notable wins: Chris Lytle, Frank Trigg, Melvin Manhoef, Josh Koscheck, Rory MacDonald (twice), Jake Ellenberger, Matt Brown, Johny Hendricks (for UFC welterweight title), Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, Nick Diaz
Source: Lawler pre-fight announcement and post-win confirmation in the cage at UFC 290
24
Kevin Lee
MMA debut date: March 31, 2012
Retirement date: July 11, 2023
Age: 30
Record: 19-8
Notable wins: Mansour Barnaoui, Michael Chiesa, Edson Barboza, Diego Sanchez
Source: Lee announcement on Instagram
25
Carlos Candelario
MMA debut date: Jan. 3, 2015
Retirement date: July 31, 2023
Age: 32
Record: 8-3
Notable wins: Ronaldo Candido on Dana White’s Contender Series, 2017
Source: Candelario announcement on Facebook
26
Chan Sung Jung
MMA debut date: June 24, 2007
Retirement date: Aug. 26, 2023
Age: 36
Record: 17-8
Notable wins: Mark Hominick, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Bermudez, Renato Moicano, Frankie Edgar
Source: In-cage announcement after UFC Fight Night 225 main event knockout loss to Max Holloway.
27
Jake Hager
MMA debut date: Jan. 26, 2019
Retirement date: Sept. 20, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 3-0
Notable wins: None
Source: Hager’s retirement announcement
28
Daniel Weichel
MMA debut date: May 12, 2002
Retirement date: Sept. 23, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 42-15
Notable wins: Pat Curran, Emmanuel Sanchez, Desmond Green
Source: In-cage interview after Bellator 299 loss
29
Nohelin Hernandez
MMA debut date: Aug. 20, 2016
Retirement date: Sept. 14, 2023
Age: 29
Record: 12-6
Notable wins: Martin Day, Manny Vazquez
Source: Instagram post
30
Angela Lee
Join us in congratulating "Unstoppable" Angela Lee on a legendary career 🙏 #ThankYouAngela pic.twitter.com/QxFdBo3EYa
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 30, 2023
MMA debut date: May 22, 2015
Retirement date: Sept. 29, 2023
Age: 27
Record: 11-3
Notable wins: Mei Yamaguchi (twice), Istela Nunes, Xiong Jing Nan, Stamp Fairtex
Source: ONE Fight Night 14 broadcast
31
Olivier Aubin-Mercier
MMA debut date: Oct. 21, 2011
Retirement date: Nov. 29, 2023
Age: 34
Record: 21-5
Notable wins: Clay Collard, Shane Burgos, Natan Schulte, Drew Dober
Source: Instagram post
