The concept of quitting is a taboo subject in mixed martial arts.
But in the heat of the battle in the Octagon, even some of the toughest human beings on the planet can be brought to their physical and mental breaking point.
To prove it, in this article, we’ll tell the stories of 10 UFC fighters who came to the painful conclusion that they had no other option left but to cast the stigma aside and quit on their stool.
Chris Leben
Leben is one of the toughest fighters to have ever set foot in the Octagon, which made it all the most shocking when he waved the white flag following the first round of his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in late 2013.
The already bloodied Leben, who had a reputation for possessing a granite chin and having the ability to take ungodly amounts of punishment, was attempting to take the fight to Hall in the dying seconds of the opening round when he suddenly ate a lightning-quick right hook flush to the face that floored him with a few more shots connecting cleanly on the mat before the bell saved him.
Leben rose back to his feet like a zombie afterwards and staggered back to his corner dazed and confused, asking his corner if the fight had been stopped.
They assured him that wasn’t the case, but that fact didn’t seem to put his mind at ease.
”I’m done man, I’m done,” Leben suddenly said. “Stop it.”
It was a poignant moment to see such a battle-hardened warrior admit that he had nothing left, and even more so in hindsight given that it would later emerge that Leben really was done.
After all the wars he’d been in over the years, both inside and outside of the cage, ‘The Crippler’s’ memorable career came to an end that night.
Almost a quarter of a century since UFC 1 ushered in the age of mixed martial arts (MMA), we’ve now reached the stage where some of the sport’s early pioneers have gone on to raise children of their own who decided to follow in their footsteps. However, as you’ll see in the pages that follow, […]
Almost a quarter of a century since UFC 1 ushered in the age of mixed martial arts (MMA), we’ve now reached the stage where some of the sport’s early pioneers have gone on to raise children of their own who decided to follow in their footsteps.
However, as you’ll see in the pages that follow, it’s not always easy for these next-generation fighters to get out from under their famous fathers’ shadows and deal with the weight of expectation that inevitably falls on their shoulders as they look to make their own mark in the sport.
Nevertheless, among these ten fighters stand a few who have so far lived up to the hype, and could yet become future stars in the sport that their fathers helped build.
Randy Couture / Ryan Couture
A true legend of the sport, Randy Couture is one of the UFC’s most decorated fighters, having won the heavyweight title on three separate occasions, the light-heavyweight title twice, and not to mention also having been an interim champ at 205 pounds and UFC 13 heavyweight tournament winner.
With such a formidable career, it was always going to be tough for Couture’s son Ryan to live up to his father’s legacy when he set out to forge his own path in the sport.
As such, the next-generation Couture hasn’t reached the same level of success or fame, but nevertheless he has managed to build a career in the sport that’s seen him fight for the likes of the UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator, compiling an 11-5 record so far that includes includes wins over established veterans like KJ Noons and Conor Heun.
When asked what advice he’d give to others sons of famous fighters, the now 35-year-old said it’s all about managing expectations.
“They should be trying to achieve their own goals and be happy with that,” Couture told BloodyElbow. “If they’re doing it out of some need to achieve the same level of success as that person, whose footsteps they’re following, then they’re setting themselves up for frustration.”
UFC 213 kind of stumbled over itself, swallowed up by the hoopla surrounding a war between Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson and a carousel of withdrawing headliners. Initially positioned to headline International Fight Week, the event landed with som…
UFC 213 kind of stumbled over itself, swallowed up by the hoopla surrounding a war between Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson and a carousel of withdrawing headliners. Initially positioned to headline International Fight Week, the event landed with something of a thud despite a few watchable fights.
One of the main reasons the event sputtered was the incredibly late withdrawal of women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, herself only thrust into the spotlight when Cody Garbrandt bailed on a bout with TJ Dillashaw last month. Nunes pulled herself from a title defense only hours before she was to lock horns with Valentina Shevchenko as a result of sinusitis.
The decision was polarizing based on what fans, media and other fighters were saying once her pulling out was announced. Some felt she should have fought, while others felt she was within her rights to drop off the card at the last minute, but there was no person in the sport who wasn’t voicing an opinion.
Regardless of where a person stands on the legitimacy of a champion pulling out hours before a fight, its happening afforded an opportunity to look back over the course of UFC history and consider some similar instances, where big names were booked for big fights but never made it to the cage.
Nunes’ actions weren’t unprecedented entirely, but given the late notice of her withdrawal, it will go down as one of the more unique and shocking circumstances in which an athlete didn’t make the walk.
Here are five other famous times when someone didn’t show up for work as a result of pulling out.
UFC 213 kind of stumbled over itself, swallowed up by the hoopla surrounding a war between Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson and a carousel of withdrawing headliners. Initially positioned to headline International Fight Week, the event landed with som…
UFC 213 kind of stumbled over itself, swallowed up by the hoopla surrounding a war between Justin Gaethje and Michael Johnson and a carousel of withdrawing headliners. Initially positioned to headline International Fight Week, the event landed with something of a thud despite a few watchable fights.
One of the main reasons the event sputtered was the incredibly late withdrawal of women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, herself only thrust into the spotlight when Cody Garbrandt bailed on a bout with TJ Dillashaw last month. Nunes pulled herself from a title defense only hours before she was to lock horns with Valentina Shevchenko as a result of sinusitis.
The decision was polarizing based on what fans, media and other fighters were saying once her pulling out was announced. Some felt she should have fought, while others felt she was within her rights to drop off the card at the last minute, but there was no person in the sport who wasn’t voicing an opinion.
Regardless of where a person stands on the legitimacy of a champion pulling out hours before a fight, its happening afforded an opportunity to look back over the course of UFC history and consider some similar instances, where big names were booked for big fights but never made it to the cage.
Nunes’ actions weren’t unprecedented entirely, but given the late notice of her withdrawal, it will go down as one of the more unique and shocking circumstances in which an athlete didn’t make the walk.
Here are five other famous times when someone didn’t show up for work as a result of pulling out.
The mixed martial arts (MMA) world was dealt an incredibly disheartening blow this afternoon when it was revealed that former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes was in serious condition after being airlifted to a nearby hospital following a collision with an oncoming train in his home state of Illinois. Dana White gave some initial details of the […]
The mixed martial arts (MMA) world was dealt an incredibly disheartening blow this afternoon when it was revealed that former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes was in serious condition after being airlifted to a nearby hospital following a collision with an oncoming train in his home state of Illinois.
Dana White gave some initial details of the accident, stating that Hughes family was en route to be with the 43-year-old MMA star, describing what seemed to be very daunting injuries.
Hughes’ official condition remains uncertain at this point, but some specifics of the accident were released by Marcia Martinez of The State Register-Journal. Apparently Hughes had driven his truck directly onto the tracks where a train was passing, resulting in a collision with the passenger side of his vehicle:
“Hughes, 43, was taken to a Springfield hospital by helicopter. His condition was not immediately available, but Illinois State Police described his injuries as serious.
Illinois State Police said Hughes was heading east on Beelers Trail about 10:45 a.m. and crossed the railroad tracks directly in front of the train. The train struck the passenger side of the truck.
The crossing was marked only with a sign, state police said.
Officers with the Illinois State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit are investigating the crash.”
Officers will investigate the unfortunate circumstance while Hughes’ family, friends, and his legions of fight fans pray for recovery from the decorated former champion, who is regarded as one of the best welterweights to ever compete in the sport of MMA.
Hughes dominated the UFC welterweight division for the better part of a decade when he exploded into the octagon by winning the belt with his now-historic KO win over Carlos Newton in 2001. Hughes went on to defend that championship five times before losing it to then-rising star BJ Penn, only to win it back when “The Prodigy” vacated it with his legendary armbar submission over a still-rising Georges St-Pierre at UFC 50 in 2004.
The Illinois wrestling powerhouse defended the belt two more times against Frank Trigg and Penn, setting up a rubber match in one of Hughes’ final UFC bouts. His rivalries with St-Pierre, Penn, and Trigg undoubtedly ranked as the most heated in the UFC at their time, and produced some truly historical moments in the semi-early days of the rapidly developing combat sport.
Overall, the dominant grappler boasted a 16-6 overall record in the UFC including T/KOs and five submissions in one of the greatest MMA careers we’ve ever witnessed.
Hughes retired in 2011 and took on a job with the UFC under previous promotional owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, and was recently talking about returning to fight if he somehow got the right match-up, even teasing a rematch with fellow legend Royce Gracie, whom he demolished when he was in his prime in the pioneer’s return to the octagon in 2006.
Chronicling Hughes’ amazing career as a whole truly makes the tragedy of his unfortunate scenario even more heart-wrenching, so myself and all of the LowKick team send nothing but the best out to Matt, his family, his friends, and all of his fans. We’ll keep you updated on any new developments surrounding the matter.
Mixed martial artists have been fighting a lot outside the cage recently.
It seems like every time you turn around, some fighters are getting themselves into confrontations under dubious circumstances.
Back on May 12, UFC lightweights Michael Chiesa an…
Mixed martial artists have been fighting a lot outside the cage recently.
It seems like every time you turn around, some fighters are getting themselves into confrontations under dubious circumstances.
Back on May 12, UFC lightweights Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee got themselves tossed out of the fight company’s summer schedule kickoff press conference after comments Lee made about Chiesa’s mom led to on-stage fisticuffs.
One week later, Bellator’s Paul Daley and Michael Page got into it in the crowd at SSE Arena in London following Daley’s lopsided submission loss in a welterweight bout against Rory MacDonald.
Then Cris “Cyborg” Justino (a women’s featherweight) punched strawweight fighter Angela Magana at the UFC’s company-sponsored fighters’ retreat on May 21.
All this unsanctioned violence—sometimes goofy, sometimes ugly—got us thinking: What are the wildest incidents of MMA fighters getting physical outside the confines of the ring?
Turns out, there are a lot them—and we mean a lot. So many, in fact, that none of these most recent examples even made the cut on this list.
So, what are MMA’s wildest out-of-the-cage brawls of all time? Read on to see if your favorite (or least favorite?) made the list…
