5 UFC legends who hung up their gloves in 2022
2022 has seen a number of new stars emerge in the UFC. For a handful of legends, the year has marked the end of the road.
Luke Rockhold retired from the UFC in August. He was the former middleweight champion. His career ended on a three-fight losing streak. He had many injuries and had been at odds with the promotion. The future of the middleweights is uncertain. There are 5 UFC legends who will retire in 2022. They are: Luke Rockhard, Michael Bisping, Chris Weidman, Randy Couture, Neil Cerrone and Michael Kaffir.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk retired from MMA in June 2022. She held the UFC strawweight title for two-and-a-half years and made five successful defenses. After losing her title to Rose Namajunas in 2017, she won two more fights and lost four. Her final loss was her first fight in over two years. She took an extended break following her war with Weili Zhang in March 2020.
Frankie Edgar retired in November. He was the former UFC lightweight champion. Edgar suffered three knockout defeats in his prior four bouts. His career ended with him being knocked unconscious by a violent knee from Chris Gutierrez. He probably should have retired after his final title shot against Max Holloway in the summer of 2019. The lasting memory of Edgar will be his epic lightweight title reign from 2010 to 2012. It will also be hard for most fans to erase the final images of him knocked out from their memories.
T.J. Dillashaw announced his retirement in 2022. He will turn 37 in February. His two reigns as bantamweight champion were excellent, but his failed drug test in 2019 will always hang over him. He is a brilliant, and badly flawed former champion. The most recent one to retire in the UFC is Conor McGregor. It is not a common for former champions to do so in their 40s.
TJ Dillashaw has decided to retire. The UFC was notified about a week ago.
Jose Aldo retired from the UFC in 2022. He was the former featherweight champion. Aldos is one of 5 UFC legends who retired in that year. He is still considered the greatest featherweights of all time. His retirement was probably the right one. It's doubtful he will return in 2023. If he does, he may take fights in other combat sports. The Brazilian is expected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year, as he deserves it.
