5 former UFC stars who found success outside of MMA 

​

Anderson Silva (left), Thiago Alves (right) [Photo credit: @bareknucklefc on Instagram]

MMA is an unforgiving sport. More often than not, veteran MMA fighters leave the sport only after their bodies and legacies have sustained irreversible damage. For that reason, post-retirement success stories in combat sports are few and far between.

Unfortunately, this holds true even for those who were talented enough to make it to the most prestigious MMA promotion: the UFC. For every Georges St-Pierre, there are a handful of fighters who were left physically compromised without the glory and riches that to go along with it.

But some UFC fighters just aren't willing to let their fighting careers end on a bitter note. Even when a graceful exit from the UFC was out of their reach, the fighters that we'll talk about today earned their redemption elsewhere. Listed below are five former UFC stars who found success after leaving the octagon.

#5 Ronda Rousey: MMA to Pro-Wrestling

Ronda Rousey [Photo credit: @rondarousey on Instagram]

Ronda Rousey, at her peak, was MMA's biggest star – a feat that's exceedingly impressive given her heyday coincided with the likes of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. Unfortunately, Rousey's downfall was as abrupt as her rise to superstardom.

After amassing 12 consecutive pro-MMA stoppage wins, Rousey was seemingly an unstoppable force in the UFC's women's bantamweight division. For that reason, Rousey, along with her millions of supporters, thought Holly Holm would become just another name on her long list of victims. But they were dead wrong.

Rousey was shellshocked by Holm's high-level striking, something she didn't have to deal with during her previous MMA fights. A kick to the head in round two sent an unconscious Rousey crashing into the mat. And just like that, her historic reign had come to an end.

'Rowdy' tried to recover from her first defeat against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. However, the Brazilian proved too fierce for the former champion, mauling Rousey to score the TKO win in the first round. And that was the last time Rousey stepped foot in the octagon.

Rousey rose from the ashes like a phoenix when she entered the world of pro-wrestling in 2018. She made a surprise appearance at WWE's Royal Rumble event. She went on to win the company's Raw Women's title before returning to retirement after main eventing WrestleMania 35.

​