5 UFC fighters who retired in 2018

#5 Johny Hendricks

Johny Hendricks' decline was both sudden and dramatic, leading to his 2018 retirement

Johny Hendricks’ final UFC fight actually came in late 2017 – a TKO loss to rising star Paulo Costa – but like Michael Bisping, ‘Bigg Rigg’ didn’t actually announce his official retirement from MMA until June 2018. The former UFC Welterweight champion claimed that he’d simply had enough of the “grind” of the sport, and had accomplished enough in his career to feel content.

Few others fighters had such a quick decline as Hendricks, who won the vacant Welterweight title in 2014 by defeating Robbie Lawler. He’d lost a controversial decision to longtime champ Georges St-Pierre in his previous fight, and many felt that ‘Bigg Rigg’ would be the man to carry the division forward following GSP’s leave of absence.

That wasn’t to be, though – Hendricks lost the title to Lawler in his first defense and then went on a horrible slide, winning just 2 of his final 7 bouts, a run that also saw him miss weight on 3 occasions despite moving up to 185lbs in 2017. It simply looked like everything that once made Hendricks – his punching power, durability, stamina and wrestling – simply evaporated overnight.

Worryingly, just months after announcing his retirement, Hendricks was back in action, albeit not in MMA. In October he announced a transition into the world of bare-knuckle boxing – but was promptly knocked out by MMA journeyman Dakota Cochrane in his debut in the sport. Hopefully, for his own health, Hendricks will now step away from combat sports for good.