5 most heartbreaking retirements in UFC history

#2 Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping

UFC Fight Night: Overeem v Harris

Michael Bisping had a long and fulfilling career in the UFC. He owns several incredible promotional records and clinched the middleweight title after years of near misses by knocking out Luke Rockhold in January 2016.

But the way Bisping's career wound down was saddening. He struggled with vision issues that started when he fought Vitor Belfort in January 2013, even memorizing the eyesight chart's letters in order to pass the commission's health and safety tests.

After Georges St-Pierre choked out Bisping to clinch the middleweight title in November 2017, the time seemed ripe for 'The Count' to walk away from the sport. In fact, he had been expected to retire even earlier. But he refused to walk away from the sport he loves, and took on Kelvin Gastelum just 21 days after losing to GSP.

Bisping was viciously knocked out by Gastelum and would never fight again. He announced his retirement in May 2018, saying that he had started facing issues with his good eye as well.

An MMA legend like Bisping deserved a meaningful farewell, and it was heartbreaking to see him retire on the back of two painful losses so close together.

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#1 Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC 254: Khabib v Gaethje

While the others on this list were arguably past their prime when they retired, Khabib Nurmagomedov just seemed to be getting started. 'The Eagle' had defended his lightweight title for the third time against Justin Gaethje in October 2020 and had several years left at the top level.

But Khabib, who had lost his father in July 2020, chose to walk away from the sport while still on top. He insisted that he couldn't compete again without his father and spoke about honoring a promise he made to his mother.

The Dagestan-born fighter is one of the greatest of all time and retired undefeated, but the sight of him weeping in the octagon with no fans in attendance struck a nerve. Khabib has often been linked to a comeback, but he appears to be well and truly retired. And while his MMA career is unmatchable in its own right, his retirement was immensely sad.