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This March will see Jon Jones attempt to become the UFC heavyweight champion. To do so, he’ll have to overcome both his opponent and a three-year layoff from competition.
Over the years, fighters who were able to return from lengthy layoffs to win gold in the UFC have been few and far between, to say the least.
While some fighters have claimed that ring rust isn’t an issue, many others have suffered with it, often meaning that gaining titles off the back of time on the shelf is impossible. A handful, though, proved that for them, impossible is nothing.
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Here are five UFC fighters who returned from lengthy layoffs to win titles in the octagon.
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#5. Jon Jones – former UFC light heavyweight champion
If Jon Jones is able to return from over three years away to defeat Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title, it’ll actually be the second time he’s pulled such a feat off.
‘Bones’ actually returned from well over a year on the shelf to beat Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant light heavyweight crown in late 2018, showing little ring rust whatsoever in the process.
Like his most recent absence, Jones’ time away from the octagon from 2017 to 2018 was entirely self-inflicted. His latest layoff came due to a spat with Dana White and company over his pay. Back then, though, he was forced out of action after being suspended by USADA for the use of banned substances.
Jones defeated Daniel Cormier in one of his greatest-ever showings in July 2017 to regain the 205-pound crown, but then tested positive for turanibol afterwards.
Due to the positive test being his second infraction, USADA were quick to throw the book at him. However, after making some concessions, ‘Bones’ was back 15 months later.
While his return was controversial due to the UFC being forced to move their entire event from Nevada to California in order to get Jones licenced, nobody could argue with the way he shellacked Gustafsson, stopping him in the third round.
If he can produce such a performance against Ciryl Gane in March, it’ll be hard to deny Jones’ overall greatness.
#4. Tyron Woodley – former UFC welterweight champion
Many people overlooked it at the time, but when Tyron Woodley upset Robbie Lawler to claim the UFC welterweight title in the summer of 2016, it was the first time he’d set foot in the octagon in well over a year.
Woodley’s rise to title contention at 170 pounds began in 2013, when he exploded onto the UFC scene with violent knockouts of Jay Hieron and Josh Koscheck. By early 2015, he’d also beaten the likes of Kelvin Gastelum and Carlos Condit.
‘The Chosen One’ found himself paired against former champion Johny Hendricks in a number one contender’s bout that October, but just one day before their fight, Hendricks was sidelined after a weight cutting issue.
That essentially made Woodley the top contender by default. Surprisingly, he was happy to sit aside and wait for then-champ Lawler to deal with Condit before taking his shot at greatness.
By the time the eventual title fight came around, then, Woodley’s last bout, against Gastelum, had come in January 2015 – some 18 months beforehand.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Woodley showed no ring rust, while Lawler appeared to be wearing the scars from the two violent bouts he’d been involved in while his challenger sat out. One big right hand later, and ‘The Chosen One’ was the new champion.
#3. Randy Couture – former UFC heavyweight champion
When Randy Couture decided to hang up his gloves in early 2006 at the age of 42, nobody was really surprised.
After all, ‘The Natural’ had achieved astonishing feats during his UFC career, winning both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles, both on two occasions. When he entered the promotion’s Hall of Fame later that year, it felt like the capper to a great career.
At that point, nobody would’ve believed that Couture would return and continue to fight at the top level for almost five more years, winning another title in the process.
It was just over a year after his retirement that rumors began to swirl around about a potential return. Suddenly, it was announced that not only would ‘The Natural’ be returning to action, but he’d also be facing Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title.
It felt like a monumental challenge for Couture. Not only had he been fighting at 205 pounds for the previous four years, but he would also be giving up a ton of size to the 6’8”, 265-pound Sylvia, who was in his fighting prime.
At the age of 43, it looked like a step too far for the legend.
Of course, everyone knows what happened next. Couture produced a virtuoso performance, beating ‘The Maine-iac’ in all areas en route to a dominant five round decision win.
The victory made him the oldest fighter to ever capture a title in the octagon, something Glover Teixeira will be hoping to equal this weekend.
For Couture to achieve this coming off a year on the shelf, though, was nothing short of miraculous at the time. It remains one of the UFC’s greatest-ever achievements.
#2. Georges St-Pierre – former UFC middleweight champion
When Georges St-Pierre stepped away from competition in November 2013, relinquishing his UFC welterweight title in the process, he didn’t confirm his retirement from MMA.
For all intents and purposes, though, as the months passed, it didn’t look like ‘GSP’ was planning a comeback. After all, the Canadian had ruled over the 170-pound division with an iron fist for seven years when he stepped away, and it felt like he needed a break.
Remarkably, though, in mid-2017, just over four years after his absence began, St-Pierre announced his return to action. Not only was he coming back, but he’d be moving up to 185 pounds for the first time to take on Michael Bisping for the middleweight title.
Many fans scoffed at this idea. Not only did they believe that St-Pierre would be past it, but they also claimed that he didn’t deserve a title shot, having never fought at the weight before.
As he’d always done previously in his career, though, ‘GSP’ proved his doubters wrong. Despite spending four years on the shelf, the Canadian showed no ring rust once his bout with Bisping began.
Despite suffering a bad cut, St-Pierre ended up dominating, eventually dropping ‘The Count’ before finishing him off with a rear-naked choke.
St-Pierre did not do his legacy many favors by outright refusing to defend his newly won title, relinquishing it just months later to head into retirement for good this time.
However, the fact that he returned from such a layoff to claim gold remains a truly exceptional feat for any fighter to achieve.
#1. Dominick Cruz – former UFC bantamweight champion
The fighter who perhaps suggested more than any other that ring rust was a myth of sorts is former UFC bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz.
Unlike Jon Jones, Randy Couture and Georges St-Pierre, who chose to spend time away from competition before their big returns, Cruz’s hiatus from 2014 to 2016 was not at all self-inflicted.
Instead, ‘The Dominator’ was perhaps the most injury-prone fighter in the promotion’s history, with a laundry list of issues keeping him out.
His initial reign as bantamweight champion, in fact, ended with a serious knee injury in 2011. When he returned in 2014 to destroy Takeya Mizugaki, it looked like he was back on track, only to suffer more injuries later that year.
By the time Cruz claimed to be healthy enough to return in January 2016, it looked like an impossible task for him to regain his title.
Not only had he fought just once in the previous five years, but he was also faced with new champion T.J. Dillashaw, who’d looked more dominant against high-end fighters than Cruz himself had ever done.
Remarkably, though, Cruz’s adage that he wouldn’t show any ring rust rang true. He fought a brilliant tactical fight against Dillashaw, using his movement and footwork to outwit him standing for a five round decision.
The fact that ‘The Dominator’ somehow didn’t appear to have lost a step despite a 14-month layoff and various major surgeries was absolutely astonishing. It marks Cruz out as the best example of a fighter who returned from a long time on the shelf to claim gold in the octagon.
