5 UFC fighters who walked away while still at the top

#2: Georges St-Pierre – former UFC welterweight & middleweight champion

Georges St-Pierre was able to walk away from the UFC while still at the top on two occasions

Few fighters are able to walk away from the UFC while they are still at the top, but only one – Georges St-Pierre – was able to do it twice. 'Rush' vacated UFC titles on both occasions and avoided heading into retirement off the back of a loss.

When he first departed the promotion in 2013 – essentially citing burnout and stress, rather than any physical ailment, as his reasons – St-Pierre was in the midst of arguably the greatest title run in UFC history.

The Canadian claimed the UFC welterweight strap from Matt Serra in 2008 after avenging his earlier title loss to 'The Terror'. 'GSP' then defended his gold against nine fighters, including Jon Fitch, Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz.

UFC President Dana White remained frustrated by St-Pierre’s refusal to give Johny Hendricks a rematch, but few fans could begrudge the longtime champion for initially stepping off the mountain top.

However, four years later, GSP was back – this time as a bulked-up 185lber – to challenge then-UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

St-Pierre produced another virtuoso performance to become a two-division world champion. While some fans criticized the way in which 'GSP' walked away after – vacating the title – it was hard to blame his choice.

After all, he’d proven all there is to prove inside the octagon – his two departures while at the very top of the mountain only add to his legend.

#1: Khabib Nurmagomedov – former UFC lightweight champion

Khabib Nurmagomedov's decision to retire at the top of his game only added to his legend

The most recent fighter to depart the UFC and hang up his gloves while still at the peak of his powers is former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

‘The Eagle’ decided to step away from the octagon following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October. To be fair, 'The Eagle' had good reason. Reportedly, Nurmagomedov's father and coach died of COVID-19 earlier in 2020, and the unbeaten champ promised his mother that his next fight would be his last.

Understandably, Khabib’s decision drew a largely mixed reaction both from fans and the UFC.

Despite putting together a UFC record of 13-0 and an overall MMA record of 29-0, there was definitely the feeling that ‘The Eagle' was still in prime fighting form when he stepped aside.

Sure, he’d defeated Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, but he still had plenty of viable challengers left.

Could Nurmagomedov have broken the UFC’s record for the most successful title defenses – a record that currently stands at 11? Quite possibly. If nothing else, he could easily have gone down as the greatest 155lber of all time.

However, on the other hand, it’s probably fair to say that if his heart was not in the game following the death of his father, the native of Dagestan probably made the correct decision.

The fact he did walk away whilst undefeated only added to the powerhouse wrestler's legend as a fighter who simply posed a question no octagon opponent could answer.