"The UFC, the NBA, MLB, it's all like this" - Brendan Schaub recalls his unceremonious departure from the UFC after retirement
Brendan Schaub has spoken candidly about the manner in which he was treated after he left the UFC and retired from mixed martial arts.
Brendan Schaub is best known these days for his podcast work, interviews and his rise to prominence as a comedian. He isn't everyone's cup of tea but he's certainly popular. That popularity has allowed him to stay relevant years after he walked away from the sport of MMA.
The legacy of Brendan Schaub in the UFC is mixed and varies depending on how much fans have seen of his work. In general, though, he had a solid enough run in what was a fairly stacked heavyweight division.
Upon deciding to retire, Schaub was sent correspondence by the UFC - and it wasn't particularly friendly:
“I don’t know when these guys are gonna realise - this is a business. It is a cutthroat business. Professional sports? It is cut-f***ing-throat. UFC, NBA, MLB, it’s all like this, man. A lot are like this, unless you’re a big time dude, tip of the spear guy that was winning a million fights for them and making them all this money. When I retired, and I’d say I did pretty well in the UFC, when I retired I got an email that said ‘cool, just so you know if you ever come back we still own your ass’. It’s like, cool man, yeah, that’s all I got.”
“I was complaining about the Reebok deal and throwing shade at Dana so I didn’t expect much, but I got an email, man.”
Check out Schaub's comments here:
The end of Brendan Schaub in the UFC
The biggest wins that Brendan Schaub enjoyed in the UFC included Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop. Alas, after the latter of those two wins, he proceeded to go 2-4 with his last fight being a TKO loss at the hands of Travis Browne.
That happened in December 2014, and ten months later, Schaub took part in a podcast with Joe Rogan and formally announced that he'd be walking away from MMA to pursue a career in comedy.