Farewell, fighters: A list of former UFC champs and more MMA notables who retired in 2022
MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently fighters from the era that helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves to move on to the next chapters in their lives.
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.
In 2022, there was an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are retired, and we have a list of those who opted to walk away last year.
Mark Hunt
Mark Hunt
MMA debut date: June 20, 2004
Retirement date: Jan. 10, 2022
Age: 48
Record: 13-14-1
Notable wins: Derrick Lewis, Frank Mir, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop
Source: Hunt’s retirement
Dhiego Lima
Dhiego Lima
MMA debut date: Feb. 5, 2010
Retirement date: Feb. 9, 2022
Age: 33
Record: 15-9
Notable wins: Court McGee, Chad Laprise, David Michaud
Source: Lima’s retirement
Andre Soukhamthath
Andre Soukhamthath
MMA debut date: Sept. 10, 2011
Retirement date: March 4, 2022
Age: 34
Record: 14-10
Notable wins: Jonathan Martinez, Luke Sanders
Source: Soukhamthath’s retirement
Roxanne Modafferi
Roxanne Modafferi
MMA debut date: Nov. 10, 2003
Retirement date: Feb. 12, 2022
Age: 40
Record: 25-20
Notable wins: Maycee Barber, Andrea Lee, Marlos Coenen
Source: Modafferi’s retirement
Paul Daley
Paul Daley
MMA debut date: June 29, 2003
Retirement date: May 13, 2022
Age: 39
Record: 43-18-2
Notable wins: Martin Kampmann, Jorge Masvidal, Lorenz Larkin
Source: Daley’s retirement
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Joanna Jedrzejczyk
MMA debut date: May 19, 2012
Retirement date: June 11, 2022
Age: 35
Record: 16-5
Notable wins: Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Jessica Andrade
Source: Jedrzejczyk’s retirement
Zabit Magomedsharipov
Zabit Magomedsharipov
MMA debut date: May 9, 2012
Retirement date: June 15, 2022
Age: 31
Record: 18-1
Notable wins: Calvin Kattar, Jeremy Stephens
Source: Magomedsharipov’s retirement
Felice Herrig
Felice Herrig
MMA debut date: Feb. 21, 2009
Retirement date: June 15, 2022
Age: 38
Record: 14-10
Notable wins: Cortney Casey, Alexa Grasso
Source: Herrig’s retirement
Eddie Wineland
Eddie Wineland
MMA debut date: April 12, 2003
Retirement date: June 19, 2022
Age: 38
Record: 24-16-1
Notable wins: Brad Pickett, Takeya Mizugaki
Source: Wineland’s retirement
Valerie Loureda
Valerie Loureda
MMA debut date: Feb. 16, 2019
Retirement date: June 29, 2022
Age: 24
Record: 4-1
Source: Loureda’s retirement
Sarah Kaufman
Sarah Kaufman
MMA debut date: June 6, 2006
Retirement date: June 30, 2022
Age: 37
Record: 22-5
Notable wins: Liz Carmouche, Alexis Davis, Leslie Smith
Source: Kaufman’s retirement
Jessica Eye
Jessica Eye
MMA debut date: June 5, 2010
Retirement date: July 2, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 15-11
Notable wins: Katlyn Chookagian, Viviane Araujo, Leslie Smith
Source: Eye’s retirement
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone
MMA debut date: Feb. 11, 2006
Retirement date: July 2, 2022
Age: 39
Record: 36-17
Notable wins: Charles Oliveira, Eddie Alvarez, Edson Barboza
Source: Cerrone’s retirement
James Krause
James Krause
MMA debut date: Nov. 28, 2007
Retirement date: Aug. 1, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 28-8
Notable wins: Michael Johnson, Daron Cruickshank, Sergio Moraes
Source: Krause’s retirement
Uriah Hall
Uriah Hall
MMA debut date: Oct. 29, 2005
Retirement date: Aug. 10, 2022
Age: 38
Record: 17-11
Notable wins: Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman, Gegard Mousasi
Source: Hall’s retirement
Robin Van Roosmalen
Robin Van Roosmalen
MMA debut date: Feb. 19, 2016
Retirement date: Aug. 12, 2022
Age: 33
Record: 2-0
Source: Van Roosmalen’s retirement
Nina Nunes
Nina Nunes
MMA debut date: Sept. 11, 2010
Retirement date: Aug. 13, 2022
Age: 37
Record: 11-7
Notable wins: Claudia Gadelha, Cynthia Calvillo, Angela Hill
Source: Nunes’ retirement
Rory MacDonald
Rory MacDonald
MMA debut date: Oct. 15, 2005
Retirement date: Aug. 13, 2022
Age: 33
Record: 23-10-1
Notable wins: B.J. Penn, Tyron Woodley, Demian Maia, Douglas Lima
Source: MacDonald’s retirement
Erick Silva
Erick Silva
MMA debut date: June 4, 2005
Retirement date: Aug. 20, 2022
Age: 38
Record: 20-11
Notable wins: Josh Koscheck, Jason High, Charlie Brenneman
Source: Silva’s retirement
Luke Rockhold
Luke Rockhold
MMA debut date: July 24, 2007
Retirement date: Aug. 20, 2022
Age: 38
Record: 16-6
Notable wins: Chris Weidman, Lyoto Machida, Michael Bisping
Source: Rockhold’s retirement
Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva
MMA debut date: Nov. 1, 1996
Retirement date: Aug. 31, 2022
Age: 46
Record: 35-14-1
Notable wins: Quinton Jackson, Michael Bisping, Kazushi Sakuraba
Source: Silva’s retirement
Alessio Di Chirico
Alessio Di Chirico
MMA debut date: Dec. 9, 2011
Retirement date: Sept. 6, 2022
Age: 33
Record: 13-7
Notable wins: Joaquin Buckley, Julian Marquez
Source: Di Chirico’s retirement
Leonardo Santos
Leonardo Santos
MMA debut date: June 29, 2002
Retirement date: Sept. 9, 2022
Age: 42
Record: 18-6-1
Notable wins: Kevin Lee, Stevie Ray, Efrain Escudero
Source: Santos’ retirement
Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo
MMA debut date: Aug. 10, 2004
Retirement date: Sept. 18, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 31-8
Notable wins: Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber, Marlon Vera, Chad Mendes
Source: Aldo’s retirement
Ilir Latifi
Ilir Latifi
MMA debut date: May 17, 2008
Retirement date: Oct. 1, 2022
Age: 39
Record: 16-8
Notable wins: Ovince Saint Preux, Aleksei Oleinik, Tyson Pedro
Source: Latifi’s retirement
Khama Worthy
Khama Worthy
MMA debut date: June 2, 2012
Retirement date: Oct. 25, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 19-10
Notable wins: Luis Pena, Devonte Smith
Source: Worthy’s retirement
Jason Witt
Jason Witt
MMA debut date: March 1, 2013
Retirement date: Oct. 30, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 19-9
Notable wins: Bryan Barberena, Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Source: Witt’s retirement
Sergey Khandozhko
Sergey Khandozhko
MMA debut date: July 30, 2011
Retirement date: Nov. 1, 2022
Age: 30
Record: 27-6-1
Notable wins: Dwight Grant
Source: Khandozhko’s retirement
Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar
MMA debut date: July 10, 2005
Retirement date: Nov. 12, 2022
Age: 41
Record: 24-11-1
Notable wins: B.J. Penn, Charles Oliveira, Yair Rodriguez, Urijah Faber
Source: Edgar’s retirement
Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Zhalgas Zhumagulov
MMA debut date: Sept. 7, 2014
Retirement date: Nov. 19, 2022
Age: 34
Record: 14-8
Notable wins: Ali Bagautinov, Tagir Ulanbekov, Tyson Nam
Source: Zhumagulov’s retirement
Brandon Vera
Brandon Vera
MMA debut date: July 6, 2002
Retirement date: Dec. 2, 2022
Age: 45
Record: 16-10
Notable wins: Frank Mir, Krzysztof Soszynski
Source: Vera’s retirement
Scott Holtzman
Scott Holtzman
MMA debut date: Feb. 10, 2022
Retirement date: Dec. 3, 2022
Age: 39
Record: 14-6
Notable wins: Jim Miller, Alan Patrick
Source: Holtzman’s retirement
T.J. Dillashaw
T.J. Dillashaw
MMA debut date: March 26, 2010
Retirement date: Dec. 5, 2022
Age: 36
Record: 17-5
Notable wins: Cory Sandhagen, Cody Garbrandt, Renan Barao
Source: Dillashaw’s retirement
Johnny Bedford
Johnny Bedford
MMA debut date: Sept. 23, 2006
Retirement date: Dec. 21, 2022
Age: 39
Record: 23-14-1
Source: Bedford’s retirement
Antonio Silva
Antonio Silva
MMA debut date: March 6, 2005
Retirement date: Dec. 27, 2022
Age: 43
Record: 19-14-1
Notable wins: Alistair Overeem, Travis Browne, Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski
Source: Silva’s retirement
Melvin Manhoef
Melvin Manhoef
MMA debut date: Dec. 2, 1995
Retirement date: Dec. 28, 2022
Age: 46
Record: 32-17-1
Notable wins: Mark Hunt, Kazushi Sakuraba, Ian Freeman
Source: Manhoef’s retirement
