5 times that stepping out of retirement proved to be a bad idea for UFC legends
Like many other sports, MMA is a tricky game to get out of. That’s the case even when a fighter is clearly past their sell-by-date, which is often the situation in the world of the UFC.
Over the years we’ve seen a number of high-level UFC fighters – even former champions – choose to retire, only to go back on that decision later.
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That often turns out to be a horrendous idea. While Georges St-Pierre and Randy Couture both won UFC gold after returning from retirement, they remain the exceptions to the rule for the most part.
In general, it’s incredibly difficult for any fighter to get back into the groove after returning from retirement. This is even more apparent when that retirement lasts a while.
On that note, here’s a look at five times stepping out of retirement proved to be a bad idea for UFC legends:
#5. Miesha Tate – former UFC bantamweight champion
We begin with a former UFC bantamweight champion in the form of Miesha Tate. She returned to action earlier this year following four years away
‘Cupcake’ decided to hang up her gloves in late 2016 following a loss to Raquel Pennington. To tell the truth, her decision took most fans by surprise.
Tate had won the UFC bantamweight title in the early part of 2016 by defeating Holly Holm in a major upset. However, she then lost it in violent fashion to Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 200.
The loss clearly knocked Tate’s mojo badly, and she didn’t look like herself at all in her loss to Pennington. In fact, her performance was so flat that it was perhaps easier to believe her retirement was simply a snap decision in response to a bad loss.
However, ‘Cupcake’ stuck by her decision, and ended up starting a family during her time away from the octagon. Her children were born in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
In the early part of 2021, though, Tate announced her comeback. When she shellacked Marion Reneau in her first fight back, it looked like she’d made an excellent decision.
However, despite being in great physical shape in her recent fight with Ketlen Vieira, she was largely dominated en route to a decision loss. Essentially, she seemed miles away from any potential UFC title run.
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Tate’s post-fight interview suggested that she isn’t going back into retirement just yet. However, based on her loss to ‘Fenomeno’ – and the fact that she has got nothing left to prove – that might be the best idea for her.