5 UFC fighters who we may see the last of in 2023
With 2023 almost upon us, it’s worth considering what could lie in the future for some of the UFC’s big stars, including some former champions.
Right now, there are a number of fighters in the UFC who are probably at the tail end of their careers, so could some of them retire in 2023?
Over the years we’ve seen plenty of fighters hang on for far too long, so even these stars might end up carrying on into 2024. However, the chances are that the end is nigh for them.
Here are five UFC fighters who we may see the last of in 2023.
#5. Shogun Rua – former UFC light heavyweight champion
One fighter who we already know is planning to hang up his gloves is former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua. He has already announced his intention to retire after his upcoming bout with Ihor Potieria, which takes place in January.
Shogun, who turned 41 years old in November, has seemingly been edging towards the end of the road for years now.
Remarkably, 2023 will mark two decades since he made his debut in PRIDE, the promotion where he made his name. It’ll also mark 13 years since he claimed gold in the octagon by knocking out Lyoto Machida.
It’s fair to say that recent years have not been kind to the Brazilian. Since the start of 2019, he’s won just one fight – edging out old rival Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – and he’s currently on a two-fight losing streak.
Shogun has taken an insane amount of damage over the years, and coupled with the various surgeries he’s been through, it’s almost certainly the right time for him to step away. If anything, he probably should’ve considered it sooner.
As it is, though, he’ll go through with one last fight and may well suffer a third loss before he hangs up his gloves for good.
#4. Robbie Lawler – former UFC welterweight champion
Another former UFC champion who could look to hang up his gloves in 2023 is former welterweight kingpin Robbie Lawler.
Once considered to be one of the most feared men on the promotion’s roster, ‘Ruthless’ held the welterweight title from 2014 to 2016, defending it in classic bouts against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.
However, in recent years he’s fallen on hard times. Lawler has won just one of his last six bouts, defeating the aging Nick Diaz in 2021. Most recently, he suffered his first knockout defeat since 2016, falling to Bryan Barberena in July.
BAM BAM GETS IT DONE!!!!
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Prior to that bout, Lawler claimed that he wasn’t ready to retire just yet, claiming that he was still able to “hold his own” in training with some really good fighters. In fact, he was actually scheduled for another fight in December before suffering an injury.
Despite that, could 2023 be the year that marks the end of ‘Ruthless’? It’s definitely possible. The former champion looked downhearted following his loss to Barberena, and one more bad defeat, particularly if he’s stopped, could signal the end.
At the age of 40, Lawler certainly has nothing left to prove, and few fighters have taken the amount of damage that he has over the years. With that considered, hanging up the gloves after one more bout might be the best thing for him.
#3. Andrei Arlovski – former UFC heavyweight champion
Ignoring his hiatus from 2008 to 2014, the longest-tenured fighter on the UFC roster is easily Andrei Arlovski. The former heavyweight champion made his octagon debut way back in 2000. However, at the age of 43, could the end be nigh for ‘The Pitbull’? Heading into 2023, it’s definitely a possibility.
Arlovski still appears to be in excellent shape for a fighter of his age, but it’s safe to say that his skills aren’t quite what they were in his prime. He’s much slower than he was back then, he gets tired more quickly, and he isn’t as durable.
The native of Belarus can still overpower less experienced and less talented foes, as his four-fight win streak from 2021 to 2022 showed. When he’s come up against heavy hitters, though – as he did in his loss to Marcos Rogerio de Lima in October – he has tended to struggle.
#UFCVegas63DE LIMA WASTES NO TIME WITH THE SUBMISSION ON ARLOVSKI 😨 #UFCVegas63 https://t.co/kq4304MFNZ
In this instance, Arlovski could probably continue to fight for a little longer yet, assuming Dana White and company are happy to match him with lower-level foes. The fact is, though, that he’s getting no younger and at some point, he’ll have to walk away.
Another bad loss like the one he suffered to De Lima, then, could be the signal for him to hang up his gloves once and for all – and that loss could well happen in 2023.
#2. Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight & featherweight champion
It’d obviously be a huge blow to the UFC if it was to happen, but it wouldn’t be an outright surprise to see Conor McGregor walk away from MMA in 2023.
‘The Notorious’ remains the promotion’s biggest star, and nobody draws the fans in quite like he does. However, after suffering a serious leg injury in his clash with Dustin Poirier in 2021, plenty of fans have questioned exactly how much he’s got left in the tank.
An injury to Conor McGregor's leg forced a Doctor's Stoppage in the #UFC264 main event.
Dustin Poirier won via TKO. https://t.co/jsZVltGniI
From all reports, it looks like the Irishman is set for a return to action in 2023. If he can pick up his first win since his stoppage over Donald Cerrone in 2020, he could find himself back on track.
However, if he ends up losing in his return fight, then what reason would he have for continuing to compete in MMA?
His legacy has already been established, as he will always be the first fighter to claim two titles in the UFC simultaneously. What’s more, he’s made an insane amount of money over the years, in particular with his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.
With that considered, then, it’s highly likely that if things go badly for ‘The Notorious’ upon his return to the octagon, it might be the last we see of him in the promotion, and in MMA in general.
#1. Tony Ferguson – former interim UFC lightweight champion
Any fighter who ends up on a lengthy losing streak is probably in danger of losing their spot on the UFC roster. However, the promotion is always unlikely to cut a former champion, preferring to allow them to decide their own fate.
That could be the case with former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who has now lost five fights in a row. This week marked the first time that he was missing from the lightweight rankings in seven years. So could ‘El Cucuy’ decide to hang up his gloves in 2023?
As recently as October – albeit in a pretty crazy tweet – he suggested that he had no such intentions. Despite this, it’s easy to imagine his plans changing if he ends up suffering another loss in the early part of next year.
After all, Ferguson is 38 years old, has already suffered from mental illness in the past, and has taken a serious amount of damage. More to the point, it’s well-known that he has a young family waiting for him away from the promotion.
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With that considered, it’s definitely possible that ‘El Cucuy’ could walk away if he suffers his sixth loss in a row.