(Showboat all you like, Thomson, but God will still be on Bendo’s side come decision time. / Photo via Getty)
Josh Thomson is 35 and, if you ask us, should be coming off the biggest win in his career over Benson Henderson. But the UFC didn’t ask us, they asked three judges who gave the nod in UFC on FOX 10‘s main event to Henderson—a controversial decision which put many fans in a state of furious disbelief. Even UFC president Dana White disagreed, and even slighted Henderson’s fighting style.
Alas, a win—no matter how questionable—is still a win. Henderson will climb the ladder, while Thomson and the thumb he broke in the first round will fall down the chute. This is more than Thomson can seemingly bear.
“This might be it, man,” Thomson said at the post-fight press conference when asked about whether his time in MMA was almost over. The frustrations of fighting on the world’s largest stage spilled out of Thomson.
(Showboat all you like, Thomson, but God will still be on Bendo’s side come decision time. / Photo via Getty)
Josh Thomson is 35 and, if you ask us, should be coming off the biggest win in his career over Benson Henderson. But the UFC didn’t ask us, they asked three judges who gave the nod in UFC on FOX 10‘s main event to Henderson—a controversial decision which put many fans in a state of furious disbelief. Even UFC president Dana White disagreed, and even slighted Henderson’s fighting style.
Alas, a win—no matter how questionable—is still a win. Henderson will climb the ladder, while Thomson and the thumb he broke in the first round will fall down the chute. This is more than Thomson can seemingly bear.
“This might be it, man,” Thomson said at the post-fight press conference when asked about whether his time in MMA was almost over. The frustrations of fighting on the world’s largest stage spilled out of Thomson.
“You train this hard, for this long, for such a long camp, and I see my title shot just fucking disappearing, you know? Without getting emotional right now, it’s really irritating me.”
“I felt like I won. And I won with one hand. I beat the former UFC champion, who was a guy who’s been here for two years, and I beat him with one hand. That’s what I can’t stomach. I’m a better fighter, and that pisses me off.”
Nevertheless, Thomson said he would’ve contemplated retirement even if he had won.
“I’d still be in the same position…what’s the point of winning the title knowing that you’re not going to fight that much longer? I don’t want to do that to the UFC either. But like I said, I’ve got to sit down with them and just talk about the direction of how this all should go.”
Will retirement be a wise decision for Josh Thomson? It’s difficult to tell. At age 35, his time is definitely limited. However, as Thomson himself said, he took it to a former champ while basically one-handed. The 35-year-old that can do that might want to stick around for just a couple more years.
(Leben celebrates his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 in July 2011. It would be his last victory pose in the UFC. / Photo via Getty)
The last time we saw Chris Leben, he was telling his cornermen “I’m done” after a round’s worth of abuse by Uriah Hall at UFC 168. As it turns out, he wasn’t just done for the night — he was done, period. The TKO loss was Leben’s fourth straight defeat in the UFC, and it finally convinced him that there might be more to life than getting kicked in the head for a living.
“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride,” Leben said. “I’ve landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I’m starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things.
“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and re-evaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I’ve really retired from competing in MMA…
“I’m 33 years old now, which isn’t the oldest for a fighter. But like I tell people, it’s not how old you are, but it’s how long you’ve been doing it. And I’ve been doing this game for quite a while.
“I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. I would like to still have my head on my shoulders and have a brain when I’m raising kids and doing all the other stuff that I want to be part of. I think it might just be time for me to gracefully bow out.”
Leben, who recently took a job as a coach at Victory MMA & Fitness in San Diego, discussed how his fight against Uriah Hall was a harsh reminder that he’d gone as far in the sport as his skills would allow him, and could no longer be competitive on toughness alone:
(Leben celebrates his knockout of Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132 in July 2011. It would be his last victory pose in the UFC. / Photo via Getty)
The last time we saw Chris Leben, he was telling his cornermen “I’m done” after a round’s worth of abuse by Uriah Hall at UFC 168. As it turns out, he wasn’t just done for the night — he was done, period. The TKO loss was Leben’s fourth straight defeat in the UFC, and it finally convinced him that there might be more to life than getting kicked in the head for a living.
“It’s been a fantastic, wonderful ride,” Leben said. “I’ve landed more strikes than anybody out there. Definitely highs and lows, ups and downs, but I think I’m starting to realize that, for me, it might be time to make that transition away from competing and get more on the coaching side of things.
“After [UFC 168], I wanted to go back and re-evaluate things, make sure that the decision wasn’t based purely on emotion. That it was really what I wanted to do. And now, yes, I can say, I’ve really retired from competing in MMA…
“I’m 33 years old now, which isn’t the oldest for a fighter. But like I tell people, it’s not how old you are, but it’s how long you’ve been doing it. And I’ve been doing this game for quite a while.
“I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me. I would like to still have my head on my shoulders and have a brain when I’m raising kids and doing all the other stuff that I want to be part of. I think it might just be time for me to gracefully bow out.”
Leben, who recently took a job as a coach at Victory MMA & Fitness in San Diego, discussed how his fight against Uriah Hall was a harsh reminder that he’d gone as far in the sport as his skills would allow him, and could no longer be competitive on toughness alone:
“That first five minutes was just absolutely horrible,” he said. “It was more of the same, as far as what my last couple opponents have been doing, to where nobody really wants to — and I understand why — but they’re not going to stand in front of me, toe to toe, and just swing like guys used to try before. Now I’ve got a guy with six or nine inches of reach advantage that’s definitely a better athlete than I am, that’s running away from me as fast as he can and is only going to hit me with these little shots. It was one of those things where, personally, I knew the only thing that was going to happen was two more rounds of that, until he really got me upset and I was rushing in and he hit me with that crazy spinning kick that he does…
“I really can’t be upset. I’ve had a wonderful career. And again, I didn’t start fighting until I was 21 years old. Back then you could actually get in the UFC, win and do well, just on being a tough guy. I was a tough guy, I had some techniques, and that always worked for me. But when you look at these guys now, like Uriah Hall, they’re just a different breed of athlete than I am. The game has been evolving and changing so much, so rapidly, that I’m actually pretty happy that I can say I was in it for as long as I was in it.”
Chris Leben’s lasting popularity is a lesson in what MMA fans value. He was a brawler, known for his powerful left hand, his granite chin, and his colorful hair. As the first “crazy drunk guy” on The Ultimate Fighter, he was arguably MMA’s first reality-television star, and the blueprint for all the inferior crazy drunk guys on TUF who followed him. (Sorry, but Junie Browning and Julian Lane aren’t fit to hold the Cat Smasher’s jock.)
If you only look at Leben’s highlights, his career comes damn near close to legendary. He was the first WEC middleweight champion, a title he earned by knocking out Mike Swick in 2004. He won his first five official fights in the UFC, then launched Anderson Silva’s career by getting his ass kicked by the Spider in a middleweight title eliminator. Leben appeared on the first six UFC Fight Night cards, helping to build that sub-brand on Spike TV. He knocked out Terry Martin while basically unconscious. He submitted Yoshiro Akiyama in an epic match at UFC 116, just two weeks after knocking out Aaron Simpson. He KO’d his hero Wanderlei Silva in just 27 seconds.
But to say that Leben “had his demons” would be a profound understatement. He struggled with addiction, and managed to cross off almost every box on the MMA fuck-up checklist. DUIs? Yep. Steroids? Uh-huh. Unapproved painkillers? Indeed. Bizarre excuses related to candy consumption? Oh yeah. After every self-imposed setback, Leben would claim that he had finally matured and was now in the best physical and mental shape of his life, which would lead directly into the next fuck-up. It made him an incredibly frustrating fighter to be a fan of.
After Leben’s split-decision loss to Andrew Craig at UFC 162 last July, UFC president Dana White was unsure whether to keep him in the company or not. If Leben was just another mid-level 185′er, three straight losses would have almost guaranteed his release. But White felt a kind of paternalistic loyalty to Leben, along with some fear of what might happen to him if he lost his spot in the UFC:
“I want Leben to get up everyday and be part of society and have to do something, whether it’s training or training other people, no matter what is” [White] said. “Chris Leben has the type of personality that can go off the deep very easily in a lot of negative ways. I really care about the kid. I like him a lot. I love him. So I’ve got to figure this thing out.”
The UFC decided to give Leben one more match against Uriah Hall this past December, and the Crippler essentially quit mid-fight rather than absorb more brain trauma. As honorable and logical as that decision was, it’s something he never would have done five years ago. Clearly, Leben doesn’t want it anymore, which is the best reason to retire. And instead of forcing Dana White to publicly fire one of his most beloved employees, Leben is stepping away on his own terms.
With his UFC fame and reputation for hard-nosed performances, Chris Leben could have continued to draw crowds by sacrificing his body in smaller promotions; luckily, we don’t have to witness that. The era of getting by on toughness alone is over. Let’s remember it fondly.
(Thomas lands some leather on Josh Neer during their UFC Fight Night 13 bout in April 2008. / Photo via Getty)
When Din Thomas made his professional MMA debut in October 1998, Bill Clinton was president of the United States, Google had only existed for about a month, and Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones were both eleven years old. Over the course of his 15-year career, Thomas waged war with the biggest lightweight names of his era — including BJ Penn, Jens Pulver, Matt Serra, and Caol Uno — and re-launched himself into the MMA spotlight in 2006 with an appearance on TUF 4 and a subsequent string of wins over Rich Clementi, Clay Guida, and Jeremy Stephens.
UFC 168, Weidman vs Silva, could have driven the last nail in the coffin of any idea that anybody from my era could still be champion. Anderson Silva failed to re-claim his title after suffering the 2 [worst] losses of his career to the undefeated, Chris Weidman. Whether Silva manages to ever return to the Octagon or not, this fight was career ending. Josh Barnett, our last heavyweight hopeful was unsuccessful at moving closer to owning the UFC heavyweight title that he once owned. His plans were foiled by Travis Browne. This trend is not necessarily a testament of the evolution of the new UFC athlete, but provides further evidence that my colleagues from the Golden Age of MMA are now of the “Olden Age” of MMA.
(Thomas lands some leather on Josh Neer during their UFC Fight Night 13 bout in April 2008. / Photo via Getty)
When Din Thomas made his professional MMA debut in October 1998, Bill Clinton was president of the United States, Google had only existed for about a month, and Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones were both eleven years old. Over the course of his 15-year career, Thomas waged war with the biggest lightweight names of his era — including BJ Penn, Jens Pulver, Matt Serra, and Caol Uno — and re-launched himself into the MMA spotlight in 2006 with an appearance on TUF 4 and a subsequent string of wins over Rich Clementi, Clay Guida, and Jeremy Stephens.
UFC 168, Weidman vs Silva, could have driven the last nail in the coffin of any idea that anybody from my era could still be champion. Anderson Silva failed to re-claim his title after suffering the 2 [worst] losses of his career to the undefeated, Chris Weidman. Whether Silva manages to ever return to the Octagon or not, this fight was career ending. Josh Barnett, our last heavyweight hopeful was unsuccessful at moving closer to owning the UFC heavyweight title that he once owned. His plans were foiled by Travis Browne. This trend is not necessarily a testament of the evolution of the new UFC athlete, but provides further evidence that my colleagues from the Golden Age of MMA are now of the “Olden Age” of MMA.
Despite the sorrow that this harsh reality brings to me, any relevant fighter from the 90s, or the old-school, genuine fans that supported us, it certainly brings comfort to my decision to officially retire over this monumental weekend. I suppose, misery does love company.
Yet instead of pondering over “what ifs”, “should’ves”, and “could’ves”, I appreciate and celebrate my time spent, devotion given, and influence I had on MMA. Fighting BJ Penn at the Meadowlands at UFC 32 in the UFC’s first show on Pay Per View since it had been banned for years, was an immeasurable experience. Being a part of the first ever sanctioned UFC fight in Las Vegas history against Fabiano Iha at UFC 33 is something that only Mr. Iha and I can claim (Dana White later joked to me that UFC 33 was the event that made him want to kill himself). Being invited to participate on The Ultimate Fighter season 4: The Comeback was life changing and I met some of the greatest guys I’ve ever known. My list goes on…
Reminiscing over a professional MMA career that has spanned close to 15 years, I acknowledge that none of it could have been as meaningful or possible without Dan Lambert, Dana White, the Fertitta Brothers, Joe Silva, Burt Watson, and the UFC. Their work, dedication, and vision has impacted and shaped the evolution of MMA on every level worldwide.
As I move forward and pursue other avenues of life, I will continue to support the UFC and their new, evolved athletes like Tyron Woodley and Dustin Poirier, and of course, perhaps our last great promising title contender from the Golden Age, Robbie Lawler. [Ed. note: I guess Vitor Belfort is chopped liver?]
It has been announced, I am sad to say that my fight career is over. I have been having kidney problems that have gotten much worse recently and just found out that my kidney function has dropped to 47%. If I continue to train, fight, and cut weight then I run the risk of permanent damage. I have been advised by my Specialist to retire and move on and that is what I will be doing. This is not how I wanted to go out, but I have to believe that God has another path for me. Thanks to all of you who supported me throughout my career.
After compiling a 6-2 record with appearances in Bellator, Legacy Fighting Championship, and Strikeforce, Melancon was called up to the big leagues earlier this year, and scored a vicious first-round knockout of Seth Baczynski in his Octagon debut at UFC 162. Less than two months later, he returned to action as an injury replacement against Kelvin Gastelum, and was quickly submitted by rear-naked choke. Melancon was scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night 33 next month, but withdrew from the fight shortly before issuing his retirement statement.
We have no other information about Melancon’s condition, although kidney issues have long been associated with intense weight-cutting in combat sports. Luckily, the 31-year-old isn’t without career options. Melancon holds a Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and has worked part-time as a home health physical therapist during his MMA career. We wish Brian the best of luck in his life after fighting.
It has been announced, I am sad to say that my fight career is over. I have been having kidney problems that have gotten much worse recently and just found out that my kidney function has dropped to 47%. If I continue to train, fight, and cut weight then I run the risk of permanent damage. I have been advised by my Specialist to retire and move on and that is what I will be doing. This is not how I wanted to go out, but I have to believe that God has another path for me. Thanks to all of you who supported me throughout my career.
After compiling a 6-2 record with appearances in Bellator, Legacy Fighting Championship, and Strikeforce, Melancon was called up to the big leagues earlier this year, and scored a vicious first-round knockout of Seth Baczynski in his Octagon debut at UFC 162. Less than two months later, he returned to action as an injury replacement against Kelvin Gastelum, and was quickly submitted by rear-naked choke. Melancon was scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night 33 next month, but withdrew from the fight shortly before issuing his retirement statement.
We have no other information about Melancon’s condition, although kidney issues have long been associated with intense weight-cutting in combat sports. Luckily, the 31-year-old isn’t without career options. Melancon holds a Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and has worked part-time as a home health physical therapist during his MMA career. We wish Brian the best of luck in his life after fighting.
(Admit it. You’re gonna miss that face. | Photo via MMAWeekly)
UFC lightweight Paul Taylor has retired from MMA competition after the most recent of a long string of injuries forced him out of at least his fourth fight in the last three years. Taylor hasn’t fought since his knockout win against Gabe Ruediger in February 2011.
“All his old injuries flared up in training,” a source close to Taylor told Fighters Only. “He’s very disappointed not to be fighting on the Manchester card but there’s nothing he can do, these injuries just won’t go away.”
Taylor ends his career with an overall record of 11-6-1 (with 1 NC), and a 4-5 tally in the UFC. But despite his journeyman’s record, Taylor was a consistently exciting fighter, winning three Fight of The Night bonuses since he began his Octagon run in 2007. (In particular, his UFC 75 battle against Marcus Davis remains one of the greatest one-round fights in UFC history.) Taylor was also key part of the organization’s promotional efforts in his native Britain. Taylor fought six times for the UFC in the UK.
Like Shane Carwin, Paul Taylor had enough talent and heart to have a much longer career in mixed martial arts, but his body simply didn’t cooperate. Enjoy retirement and be well, “Relentless” Paul.
(Admit it. You’re gonna miss that face. | Photo via MMAWeekly)
UFC lightweight Paul Taylor has retired from MMA competition after the most recent of a long string of injuries forced him out of at least his fourth fight in the last three years. Taylor hasn’t fought since his knockout win against Gabe Ruediger in February 2011.
“All his old injuries flared up in training,” a source close to Taylor told Fighters Only. “He’s very disappointed not to be fighting on the Manchester card but there’s nothing he can do, these injuries just won’t go away.”
Taylor ends his career with an overall record of 11-6-1 (with 1 NC), and a 4-5 tally in the UFC. But despite his journeyman’s record, Taylor was a consistently exciting fighter, winning three Fight of The Night bonuses since he began his Octagon run in 2007. (In particular, his UFC 75 battle against Marcus Davis remains one of the greatest one-round fights in UFC history.) Taylor was also key part of the organization’s promotional efforts in his native Britain. Taylor fought six times for the UFC in the UK.
Like Shane Carwin, Paul Taylor had enough talent and heart to have a much longer career in mixed martial arts, but his body simply didn’t cooperate. Enjoy retirement and be well, “Relentless” Paul.
I’m retiring from MMA today cracked my rib and can’t fight sept 20, Bellator said they can’t find me a fight till the next tournament and I can’t afford not fighting that long and need a job, sorry if I let anyone down but it isn’t paying the bills
Making a living as a low-to-mid-level UFC fighter is hard enough when you’re fighting consistently. But if we’re going to talk about lost wages, we have to mention the fines and suspensions that Riddle received from his two separatepositive marijuana tests, which he caught following his victories over Chris Clements (which originally earned him Submission of the Night honors at UFC 149) and Che Mills. Both of those wins were overturned to no-contests, leaving Riddle with a lifetime record of 7-3 with 2 no-contests, which would have been a more respectable 9-3 if he didn’t smoke so much damn weed.
Riddle’s latest setback was the last straw for him financially, and he’ll now try to enter general population and get a non-fighting job. (A “regular, you know, job, job-type job,” as Mr. Blonde would say.) But enough doom and gloom. Let’s look at Matt Riddle’s achievements…
(Riddle’s doctor described the injury as occurring “right about in the toadstool-area.” Photo via Sherdog)
I’m retiring from MMA today cracked my rib and can’t fight sept 20, Bellator said they can’t find me a fight till the next tournament and I can’t afford not fighting that long and need a job, sorry if I let anyone down but it isn’t paying the bills
Making a living as a low-to-mid-level UFC fighter is hard enough when you’re fighting consistently. But if we’re going to talk about lost wages, we have to mention the fines and suspensions that Riddle received from his two separatepositive marijuana tests, which he caught following his victories over Chris Clements (which originally earned him Submission of the Night honors at UFC 149) and Che Mills. Both of those wins were overturned to no-contests, leaving Riddle with a lifetime record of 7-3 with 2 no-contests, which would have been a more respectable 9-3 if he didn’t smoke so much damn weed.
Riddle’s latest setback was the last straw for him financially, and he’ll now try to enter general population and get a non-fighting job. (A “regular, you know, job, job-type job,” as Mr. Blonde would say.) But enough doom and gloom. Let’s look at Matt Riddle’s achievements…
– He was the original Uriah Hall. Riddle’s knockout of Dan Simmler during the elimination round of TUF 7 was at the time considered to be the nastiest KO in Ultimate Fighter history, mostly because of the sounds Simmler was making afterwards.
– His 1,350 strikes landed in the UFC puts him at #8 on the all-time list, between Chael Sonnen (1,452) and Nate Diaz (1,343). Seriously. Matt Riddle of all people. And in terms of strikes attempted, my God, it has to be in the trillions.
