2023 MMA retirement tracker: A list of former UFC champions, legends and more who hung up the gloves

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.

2023 has seen an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

Leah Letson

MMA debut date: Nov. 22, 2014
Retirement date: Jan. 9, 2023
Age: 30
Record: 5-2
Notable win: Julija Stoliarenko
Source: Letson’s retirement

Claudio Silva

MMA debut date: Nov. 10, 2007
Retirement date: Jan. 16, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 14-4
Notable wins: Leon Edwards, Nordine Taleb, Danny Roberts
Source: Silva’s retirement

Mauricio Rua

MMA debut date: Nov. 8, 2002
Retirement date: Jan. 21, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 27-14-1
Notable wins: Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, Alistair Overeem, Quinton Jackson
Source: Rua’s retirement

Glover Teixeira

MMA debut date: June 7, 2002
Retirement date: Jan. 21, 2023
Age: 43
Record: 33-9
Notable wins: Jan Blachowicz, Quinton Jackson, Anthony Smith
Source: Teixeira’s retirement

Fedor Emelianenko

MMA debut date: May 21, 2000
Retirement date: Feb. 4, 2023
Age: 46
Record: 40-7 with one no contest
Notable wins: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Frank Mir, Chael Sonnen, Quinton Jakson
Source: Emelianenko’s retirement

Lina Lansberg

MMA debut date: Dec. 29, 2012
Retirement date: Feb. 19, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 10-8
Notable wins: Macy Chiasson, Tonya Evinger
Source: Lansberg’s retirement

George Sullivan

MMA debut date: Feb. 11, 2006
Retirement date: March 3, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 18-8
Notable wins: Greg Soto, Julian Lane, Mike Rhodes, Igor Araujo
Source: MyMMANews

Benson Henderson

MMA debut date: Nov. 18, 2006
Retirement date: March 10, 2023
Age: 39
Record: 30-12
Notable wins: Donald Cerrone (twice), Jim Miller, Clay Guida, Frankie Edgar (twice), Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Patricio Freire
Source: In-cage retirement after Bellator 292

Raphael Assuncao

MMA debut date: Jan. 23, 2004
Retirement date: March 11, 2023
Age: 40
Record: 28-10
Notable wins: Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, T.J. Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling, Marlon Moraes
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC Fight Night 221

Steven Peterson

MMA debut date: Aug. 4, 2010
Retirement date: March 25, 2023
Age: 32
Record: 19-11
Notable wins: Chase Hooper
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 43 loss

John Salter

MMA debut date: March 27, 2009
Retirement date: March 31, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 19-6
Notable wins: Dustin Jacoby, Kendall Grove, Chidi Njokuani
Source: In-cage retirement after Bellator 293 win

Jorge Masvidal

MMA debut date: May 24, 2003
Retirement date: April 8, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 19-6
Notable wins: Tim Means, Michael Chiesa, Donald Cerrone, Darren Till, Ben Askren, Nate Diaz
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC 287 unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Burns

Zak Cummings

MMA debut date: Nov. 28, 2007
Retirement date: April 15, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 25-7
Notable wins: Trevin Giles, Nicholas Dalby, Terry Martin
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 44 win over Ed Herman

Ed Herman

MMA debut date: May 10, 2003
Retirement date: April 15, 2023
Age: 42
Record: 26-16 with one no contest
Notable wins: Glover Teixeira, David Loiseau, Tim Boetsch
Source: In-cage retirement after UFC on ESPN 44 loss to Zak Cummings

Juan Espino

MMA debut date: Feb. 21, 2009
Retirement date: April 21, 2023
Age: 42
Record: 10-2
Source: Espino’s retirement

Ray Borg

MMA debut date: Aug. 11, 2012
Retirement date: April 21, 2023
Age: 29
Record: 16-5
Notable wins: Jussier Formiga, Louis Smolka, Ricky Bandejas
Source: Borg’s retirement

Chad Mendes

MMA debut date: Sept. 26, 2008
Retirement date: April 29, 2023
Age: 37
Record: 18-5
Notable wins: Cub Swanson, Darren Elkins, Clay Guida, Ricardo Lamas
Source: In-cage retirement at BKFC 41

Jim Wallhead

MMA debut date: April 8, 2005
Retirement date: April 29, 2023
Age: 39
Record: 32-12
Notable wins: Frank Trigg, Joey Villasenor, Mateusz Figlak (to win Cage Warriors interim welterweight title)
Source: In-cage retirement at Cage Warriors 153

Alistair Overeem

MMA debut date: Oct. 24, 1999
Retirement date: June 1, 2023
Age: 43
Record: 49-19 with 1 no contest
Notable wins: Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum (twice), Mark Hunt (twice), Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, Vitor Belfort
Source: Appearance on Dubai morning show

Marlon Moraes

MMA debut date: April 14, 2007
Retirement date: June 8, 2023
Age: 35
Record: 23-13-1
Notable wins: Jose Aldo, Raphael Assuncao, Aljamain Sterling, John Dodson
Source: In-cage retirement at 2023 PFL 4

Amanda Nunes

MMA debut date: March 8, 2008
Retirement date: June 11, 2023
Age: 35
Record: 23-5
Notable wins: Julia Budd, Germaine de Randamie (twice), Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Raquel Pennington, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Julianna Peña
Source: In-cage retirement as dual women’s featherweight and bantamweight champion at UFC 289 after sixth defense of 135-pound title

Stevie Ray

MMA debut date: June 27, 2010
Retirement date: June 23, 2023
Age: 33
Record: 25-13
Notable wins: Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon, Michael Johnson, Anthony Pettis (twice)
Source: Ray Instagram post

Robbie Lawler

MMA debut date: April 7, 2001
Retirement date: July 8, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 30-16
Notable wins: Chris Lytle, Frank Trigg, Melvin Manhoef, Josh Koscheck, Rory MacDonald (twice), Jake Ellenberger, Matt Brown, Johny Hendricks (for UFC welterweight title), Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, Nick Diaz
Source: Lawler pre-fight announcement and post-win confirmation in the cage at UFC 290

Kevin Lee

MMA debut date: March 31, 2012
Retirement date: July 11, 2023
Age: 30
Record: 19-8
Notable wins: Mansour Barnaoui, Michael Chiesa, Edson Barboza, Diego Sanchez
Source: Lee announcement on Instagram

Carlos Candelario

MMA debut date: Jan. 3, 2015
Retirement date: July 31, 2023
Age: 32
Record: 8-3
Notable wins: Ronaldo Candido on Dana White’s Contender Series, 2017
Source: Candelario announcement on Facebook

Chan Sung Jung

MMA debut date: June 24, 2007
Retirement date: Aug. 26, 2023
Age: 36
Record: 17-8
Notable wins: Mark Hominick, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Bermudez, Renato Moicano, Frankie Edgar
Source: In-cage announcement after UFC Fight Night 225 main event knockout loss to Max Holloway.

Jake Hager

MMA debut date: Jan. 26, 2019
Retirement date: Sept. 20, 2023
Age: 41
Record: 3-0
Notable wins: None
Source: Hager’s retirement announcement

Daniel Weichel

MMA debut date: May 12, 2002
Retirement date: Sept. 23, 2023
Age: 38
Record: 42-15
Notable wins: Pat Curran, Emmanuel Sanchez, Desmond Green
Source: In-cage interview after Bellator 299 loss

Nohelin Hernandez

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxL5pP2SNne/

MMA debut date: Aug. 20, 2016
Retirement date: Sept. 14, 2023
Age: 29
Record: 12-6
Notable wins: Martin Day, Manny Vazquez
Source: Instagram post

Angela Lee

MMA debut date: May 22, 2015
Retirement date: Sept. 29, 2023
Age: 27
Record: 11-3
Notable wins: Mei Yamaguchi (twice), Istela Nunes, Xiong Jing Nan, Stamp Fairtex
Source: ONE Fight Night 14 broadcast

Olivier Aubin-Mercier

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0O-eC_ryrN

MMA debut date: Oct. 21, 2011
Retirement date: Nov. 29, 2023
Age: 34
Record: 21-5
Notable wins: Clay Collard, Shane Burgos, Natan Schulte, Drew Dober
Source: Instagram post

Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie