Father Time hates MMA fighters.
He hates almost all athletes, really (except NFL kickers), but he’s especially unkind to the select few who choose to fashion their careers inside a steel cage.
In basketball, when a player ages and slows down, he starts missing routine layups. He starts getting burned on defense. He can’t finish that breakaway dunk with the same pizzazz.
He turns into 2014 NBA Finals Dwyane Wade.
In MMA, however, an aging fighter’s shortcomings become painfully obvious once the door locks and the referee claps his hands.
The result is not an embarrassing, shrug-it-off-and-chuckle missed field goal; it’s unconsciousness. It’s humiliation. It’s frantic taps for help.
For the vast majority of fighters, age slows them down and beats them into retirement. It’s not pretty or glamorous.
That’s the fight game.
Other fighters, however, flip Father Time the bird and tell him to stay away for now. There’s work to be done, and, at 30 years old (and up), they’re just hitting their stride.
To honor those who defeated Mr. Time and put on their best performances after the age of 30, I present the following slideshow.
Click on to see who kicks off the list.