MMA Retirement: When is enough, enough?

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

Whose place is it to tell a fighter when enough is enough?

Everyone is forthcoming with retirement advise on a weekly basis, but when is enough really enough?

Case in point was this past Sunday night when Dan Henderson brutally knocked out Shogun Rua.

Rua dominated for two and a half rounds, knocking Henderson down, mounting him and clearly winning the fight. Winning the fight until a H-Bomb detonated on his nose that is.

What we learned coming out of that fight is that Shogun may very well be back to his best.

Coming off of his spectacular knock out of James Te Huna there were many questions relating to Shogun. Well, for over twelve minutes he put on a clinic. He looked fantastic. Hurting Henderson, taking him down. He looked threatening again.

Henderson, well, he didn't look so great. He was sluggish, he got caught with far too many punches for anyones liking. Shogun was dropping him at will and there only seemed one winner.

That is why both men still have a future with the UFC.

Firstly Henderson. When you carry the power that he does you can do this for as long as you choose. Speed and agility desert you first, power lasts the longest. What is clear is that Henderson doesn't belong in fights leading to a title shot.

At 43-years-old and having just signed a six fight contract recently, it could be that time to throw him into purely fun fights. 

Salivate at the prospect of Henderson vs Sonnen, Henderson vs Silva. Even Henderson vs Franklin.

The thought of Henderson mixing it with Gustafsson, Teixeira and the likes isn't exactly enticing.

Shogun on the other hand at 32-years-old should still have years in him. It's the wars he's been through and beatings he has taken that has people calling for his retirement.

However, excluding the result and solely looking at his performance there is no good reason not to go on. Anyone hit with the punch he was hit with would have gone down as was evident by his nose being smeared all over his face.

What it may take to revitalise his career is the same route that Lyoto Machida took, a trip down to middleweight.

He looked in fantastic condition for his last two fights, probably the best shape we've seen him in so cutting to 185-pounds isn't entirely out of the question.

There lies some old rematch as well as new, fresh challenges. Machida, Munoz, Bisping, Le, Belfort, Rockhold, Jacare. Even potentially Anderson Silva.

Whilst the title picture seems just out of reach for Henderson it does leave it slightly open for Shogun should he opt for a change of scenery and a move down to middleweight, despite being knocked out.

Whilst both their routes now seem uncertain, one thing that is certain is that you don't tell guys like Henderson and Shogun when to retire. Both have earned the right to decide that for themselves.

Brian Stann The real "All American"

Brian Stann announces his retirement from MMA

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

When I heard the news Brian Stann had retired I was hit with mixed emotions. The first being rather saddened by the news, as I felt he had a lot more to offer to the sport and the fans. But after giving it a few hours for the news to sink in and reflect on his decision, its the sort of honourable thing Stann would do. Knowing he couldn't put his family through any more heartache for the sake of the sport and a few more $$$$ and possibly long term health problems.

Brian Stann in an interview with Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour" announced his retirement from MMA. Brian Leaves the UFC with the most precious thing in life that money can't buy, his health intact!
The key decision in making the announcement was wanting to leave the sport with his health in check. Having a young family and wife to support there is only a certain amount of fights you can have like the one he had vs Wanderlei Silva before the damage takes it's toll.

Stann speaking to Ariel Helwani 

"I played football from second grade on and after football I went to Iraq and was involved in several explosions, then there was my eight year MMA career that's a long time. There's only so long that  I can roll the dice and be successful, for me the risk isn't worth it"

Brian isn't just an ordinary MMA fighter, he made his way to MMA via a very successful career in the Military and is a former captain in the US Marines. On May 8th 2005 Stann's unit was ambushed, Stann and his Marines held out for 6 days under heavy attack until air and tank support arrived on May 14th 2005. All 42 of Stann's platoon managed to survive the ordeal! For his courage and bravery, Stann was awarded the "Silver Star' the nations third highest award for courage in combat

In 2006 Stann signed with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) whilst still serving on active duty, using leave to train and fight. By March 2008 he had won the WEC light heavyweight belt, winning all his 6 fights inside the first round. Only to lose the belt on the first defence to Steve Cantwell.

Since signing with the UFC his record was a very average (6-5) , in August 2010 Stann made his debut in the Middleweight division not quite getting to the level that would earn him a title shot, though he was one tough cookie who was very dangerous and feared by many fighters.

He will be remembered most for two notorious fights he was involved in.

Firstly versus Alessio Sakara , where after knocking him down and landing heavy blows and clearly knowing Sakara was out cold, he decided to stop landing any more blows to prevent further damage, and instead motioned the ref over to stop the fight. A truly class act.

And secondly and more recently in March moving back up to light Heavyweight, headlining his now final bout against Wanderlei Silva where he lost in a ferocious back and forth battle ending in Stann being knocked out in the second round. A fight that will surely be in contention for fight of the year, and etched in people's minds for years to come! And possibly a major factor why Stann decided its time to called it a day.

He later added

"I'm still going to be involved as much as the UFC allow me, but as far as competing anymore, as sad as it makes me, its not the best thing for me, as a husband and father, which is ultimately for me and by far the most important thing in my life, and most important job i have"

Stann won't go down as one of the best ever fighters we have see, though he might go down as the nicest and most honourable fighter inside the octagon. A man that oozed class and touched many hearts from all over the world.

Knowing when to bow out at the right time isn't something fighters are renowned for especially at 32 years old. though in this case It's perfect timing for "The All-American" who ends his MMA career (12-6).

Brian Stann will now serve as a broadcast commentator for ACC Football on Fox Sports South.

For everything he has achieved inside and outside of the octagon, I Sir, salute you!!

Forrest Griffin Retires from MMA

Forrest Griffin announces retirement

by Jack Broadey @J3ck_b

At the press conference after UFC 160 there was a little bit of a shock as Griffin announced his retirement. He has dealt with a lot of injuries lately but the announcement was still surprising and unexpected.It is however the correct move.

Forrest has nothing left to prove and will not fight for a title again. He realised he had to retire when he watched Silva v Stann according to the man himself. In his opinion if he could no longer put on a fight of that quality he had no business to continue fighting.

Griffin last fought at UFC 148 in July of last year defeating long term rival Tito Ortiz. Ortiz also retired after that battle. Griffin will be inducted into the UFC hall of fame. He helped make the sport go mainstream by appearing on the first season of 'The Ultimate Fighter.'

Griffin made it through to the finale and defeated Stephan Bonnar in the live finale in a fight that will go down in history as the fight that shaped the UFC into what it is today. Griffin went on to coach a season of 'TUF' himself fighting the opposing coach and UFC Light Heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson at the end of the season.

Griffin cemented his legacy defeating Rampage to become the Light Heavyweight UFC champion. Griffin retires at the right time with his health intact and will be given a job in the UFC back office. He deserves every success in his retirement and will be remembered as a great fighter who despite his limitations worked hard to get to the very top.

Shane Carwin announces retirement

Former UFC Interim Champ Shane Carwin Announces Retirement

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Shane Carwin has today announced his retirement after a long injury lay off. He battled back from numerous injuries to try and get back in the octagon to no avail.

He will mostly be remembered for his failed attempt at winning UFC gold against Brock Lesnar. He did his utmost to tear the belt away dominating Lesnar in the 1st round before succumbing to the much more athletic Lesnar after punching himself out, and a more lenient ref would no doubt mean we would be looking back on ex champion Carwin instead of just failed contender.

That's not strictly true either as Carwin did manage to win himself the interim championship whilst Brock Lesnar was dealing with a serious illness. The performance to win himself the belt is what most people will remember Carwin by. He brutally had his way with Frank Mir in devastating fashion smashing Mir with those 4XL gloves until Mir was knocked unconscious.

He will be sorely missed as he was a truly amazing man to look at physically and you guarantee anytime he got in a cage violence was going to ensue. He bought it every single time win or lose and he had dynamite in his fists. He had his health issues but battled gamely to try and return. It wasn't to be but he provided us with some lasting memories.