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5 MMA legends who should have retired before turning 40

Anderson Silva (left); B.J. Penn (right).
Anderson Silva (left); B.J. Penn (right).

The sport of MMA can be outlandish at times. So much so that its practitioners get overly attached to the art of fighting, forcing them to be a part of the violent sport at a time they should probably hang up their gloves.

When fighters refuse to call it a career despite their growing age, their legacy, reputation, and records will always be at risk of being undermined.

Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, recently announced his comeback at age 44. Should the Russian lose, he will taste the seventh defeat of his MMA career, which doesn't sound bad at all considering that he has won 39 fights.


5 MMA legends who should have retired before turning 40

However, there are plenty of other fighters who tarnished their legacy by refusing to let go of MMA. In this article, we will take a look at five such competitors who should have retired from the sport before turning 40.


#5 Andrei Arlovski

UFC Fight Night Santos v Teixeira: Weigh-Ins
UFC Fight Night Santos v Teixeira: Weigh-Ins

At 42, Andrei Arlovski believes there is enough fire left in him to give top heavyweight contenders a run for their money. 'The Pitbull' is a 53-fight veteran and had reached the pinnacle of the UFC heavyweight division in 2005.

He won the heavyweight title after knocking out Paul Buentello inside 15 seconds of the first round, recording the fastest finish in a title fight at the time. The record stood intact for almost a decade, before Ronda Rousey submitted Cat Zingano at UFC 184.

Arlovski left the UFC and rejoined the promotion six years later. After registering four big wins under his belt, the 42-year-old challenged Stipe Miocic. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Arlovski then suffered four consecutive devastating losses at the hands of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Francis Ngannou and Marcin Tybura. Between 2016 and 2019, 'The Pitbull' competed in 13 UFC fights and won only three of them.

Despite struggling to keep up with the elite MMA fighters, the Belarusian decided not to hang up his gloves. Arlovski has lost 11 fights by way of KO/TKO, and sustaining any more damage at the age of 42 could prove disastrous for him.

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