Fighters Who Came Out of Retirement to Dominate the Octagon Again

As it is the case with most combat sports, retirement is the last stage in the career of any fighter in mixed martial arts (MMA). The physical contact involved in the game, the injuries that follow, and the stress that athletes undergo make retirement a good thing after years of competition. Nevertheless, there are certain fighters who cannot resist the lure of the Octagon. Such retirements are usually permanent, but there are cases where certain athletes come from retirement and struggle to regain their position in the sport or even top it.

It is not easy to come back to Octagon after some time away from the cage. Those who have come back from the shelf have to get past not just the effects of aging and ring inactivity but also a new generation of talent that keeps on appearing. Below is a list of some of the most famous UFC fighters that came out of retirement to rule the cage once more.

Georges St-Pierre (GSP)

It will be rather unfair not to include the names of the legends of this sport, such as Georges St-Pierre. Considered by many as the best fighter ever, GSP was the king of UFC’s welterweight for several years before retiring in 2013. This was the case when he was reigning as the welterweight champion and was successfully defending the title for the record ninth time. Due to personal problems and the need to leave the post of the champion, St-Pierre retired from MMA.

GSP had not competed in the Octagon for four years, and most people have thought that he retired from the fight. However, in 2017, St-Pierre emerged from retirement to stun the MMA fraternity once again. Not only was he returning to the cage, but he was doing so at a higher weight to take on Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title. The increase in weight class brought more excitement to his return to the cage since it was unknown how GSP would fare after coming back from a layoff and against a larger opponent.

In UFC 217, St-Pierre silenced all those doubts that people had. He knocked out Bisping in the third round by submission to become one of the most successful fighters in UFC history, as he has been a two-time champion in two different weight categories. It is quite a success that GSP returned after years, and even the weight gain did not affect his performance. He relinquished the middleweight title shortly after that because of health concerns, but his victory in the comeback fight cemented his place among the greatest fighters of all time.

Randy Couture

It is worth noting that Randy Couture has proved to be one of the best in UFC when it comes to making a comeback. Called “The Natural,” Couture succeeded age and expectations during his career, retiring and coming back two times to win the UFC title. Couture retired in 2006 after a third fight against Chuck Liddell for the UFC light heavyweight title. At the time, Couture was 43 years old, and many people thought that he was still in his prime.

But, in 2007, Couture was back in the Octagon, this time having shifted back to heavyweight to fight Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title. Sylvia was much larger than Couture, and this man had been retired, but he was the only winner in the ring for all the rounds and took the heavyweight title back at 44.

Couture fought in the UFC until his last time retiring in 2011 at the age of 47; this was due to records of being the oldest fighter to be the champion in the UFC and the only fighter to be holding titles in two different categories, that is, light heavyweight and heavyweight, for more than one time. His retirement and return several times to the ring make him a legend of MMA as one of the fighters with a lot of achievements.

Dominick Cruz

This paper will focus on Dominick Cruz and how the fighter has had his fair share of challenges in his career. Cruz, who was known for his unusual style of footwork and movement, was one of the most formidable bantamweight fighters in the MMA. However, injuries hampered his career, and after dethroning the champion bantamweight in 2010, Cruz had to relinquish the title in 2014 due to knee operations and a torn groin muscle. Most people began to question if he would be able to climb back to the pinnacle of the sport as he had been inactive for many years.

In 2016, Cruz returned to the octagon after a string of injuries that sidelined him for four years to challenge then bantamweight champion T. J. Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 81. Cruz was able to demonstrate the same slippery footwork and great technical skills that were present in him before he got injured for a long time. He won a split decision victory over Dillashaw in a very competitive fight to win the title back in the UFC bantamweight division, one of the greatest comeback stories in MMA history.

Although Cruz was to lose the title later that year to Cody Garbrandt, this win was one of the most memorable comebacks in UFC history and proved that Cruz was one of the greatest bantamweight fighters of all time.

B. J. Penn

J. Penn, or “The Prodigy,” is one of the best and most diverse mixed martial arts fighters to have fought in the UFC. Jens Penn is another former two-division champion who weighs light weight and welterweight. Penn is one of the best fighters in the sport due to his natural ability and heart. Penn first retired in 2011 after a series of losses, but he never lost the passion to compete.

His first attempt at retirement was short-lived, as he made several more comebacks to the UFC with not as much success as in his earlier years. But one of the most memorable came back was in 2007, when he decided to jump to the welterweight division and KO Matt Hughes to capture the UFC welterweight title. That fight was a clear example of how Penn was able to dominate his opponent, and it was a good reminder of Penn’s skills.

Despite the fact that Penn had a troubled career in his later years and didn’t compete for the last time until he retired, he will always be remembered as one of the founders of the sport and one of the few fighters who managed to win titles in different weight divisions. That he was able to make an early comeback to win the welterweight gold after competing in the lightweight division is a testimony of his prowess.

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo’s journey to the UFC is an Olympic gold medalist who became one of the best champions in the history of MMA. Cejudo won the flyweight championship in 2018 when he knocked out Demetrious Johnson and also won the bantamweight championship, making him a two-division champion.

However, after successfully defending the bantamweight title in 2020, Cejudo decided to retire from the MMA at the age of 33, stating that he wanted to pursue other things in life. Some of the fans and analysts did not believe that he was serious when he decided to retire since it could be a temporary decision.

As expected in 2023, Cejudo made those suspicions come true by coming back to the UFC. In particular, to regain his title and consolidate his position in the bantamweight division, he faced the reigning bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. While he lost in a split decision in a very exciting fight, Cejudo’s performance proved that even though he was inactive for several years, he is still on the level of the best fighters in the weight class.

Matt Hughes

Matt Hughes was the king of the UFC welterweight division in the early 2000s, and he successfully defended the welterweight title for several years from the best fighters in the division. Hughes retired in 2008 after his title was stripped from him and he was defeated by several young, better-shaped fighters.

But, in 2009, Hughes planned to stage a comeback. His next fight was at UFC 112, where he was faced with Renzo Gracie, and after a good fight, Hughes knocked him out through a TKO. Hughes then fought in the next three bouts, winning two of them before finally calling it quit in 2011. His run at the post-retirement was not able to win him another title, but the fact that he was able to compete at the elite level after retiring from the sport speaks volumes about the man’s character.

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber, also known as “The California Kid,” is the pioneer of lighter weight classes in the MMA. Faber retired in 2016 from the cage with a win over Brad Pickett after a successful stint in the WEC and then in the UFC. He appeared satisfied with this decision and was more or less engrossed in his career as a trainer and a teacher of young fighters.

But, in 2019, Faber decided to come back to the Octagon at the age of 40 to fight bantamweight prospect Ricky Simon. Even though they were huge underdogs and Faber had not competed in almost three years, he stunned the MMA world by knocking Simon out in the first round. His return win was a declaration that age was just a number and that he still has a lot to offer inside the Octagon.

Although Faber was unable to achieve another title run, he proved that he was still a force to be reckoned with by coming back and knocking out a top prospect at his age.

Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz was one of the UFC’s first true stars; his career was full of ups and downs. Ortiz, who had defended the light heavyweight title for several years, started to lose his edge, and by 2012, Ortiz had retired from MMA after a series of losses. Some thought that this was the final chapter of Ortiz’s career, as he has complained about his body and the sport.

But Ortiz was unknown to make a comeback in 2014 with the Bellator MMA organization. Ortiz returned to the cage, and not only did he win the fights, he also got a first round submission win over the former UFC middleweight champion Chael Sonnen in 2017. His post-retirement success can be considered the second wind that helped him to have a great end to his career as a professional fighter.

Conclusion

MMA is full of surprises, and some of the greatest fighters in the sport have shown that retirement is not permanent. Stars like GSP, Randy Couture, Dominick Cruz, etc. have proved that one can return from retirement to the cage and again be an absolute beast in the UFC. Whether they returned to capture their belts or to show that they have not forgotten how to fight, these fighters made their mark in history by not giving up and the spirit of a good competition.

These MMA legends came back from retirement to fight again, and that is one of the most difficult things an athlete can do, especially in the unpredictable sport of mixed martial arts.