6 UFC Fighters Who Should Follow Rich Franklin into Retirement in 2014
Legendary UFC multiweight Rich Franklin made news last week, announcing that his next showing in the Octagon would be his last. He's been a middleweight champion, a solid contender at 205 and has always been willing to fight anyone at any weight between the two. And now he knows it's time to hang 'em up.
That's more than some guys know when they get on the wrong side of the hill.
Considering age, recent performances and the general eye test, here are six dudes who should follow Franklin's lead.
Wanderlei Silva
1 of 6
There is likely no one more purely beloved than "The Axe Murderer," but it's time for him to go home. He has nothing left to prove in the sport and hasn't been at the top of his game since his war with Chuck Liddell in 2007, despite alternating wins and losses in his past six fights.
He's almost 38 and has been in too many wars to keep going. While he should have retired after his epic win over Brian Stann in March, it could be another nice swan song to coach TUF: Brazil against nemesis Chael Sonnen and then pack it in.
Chael Sonnen
2 of 6
Speaking of Sonnen, 2014 might be a good time for the Gangster From West Linn to shut it down. He's coming off of a loss to Rashad Evans that was as bad a beating as he's ever taken, and while he's looked pretty solid over the past couple of years, he doesn't need fighting anymore.
He's a great analyst, a diverse businessman and a talented coach. It's pretty clear that there's not much he can't do to make a buck, so why make your money by eating punches all day and night?
He'd be missed, but he'll be 37 in early 2014 and doesn't need the game as much as the game needs him now.
Brandon Vera
3 of 6
It's pretty safe to say that Vera has officially not lived up to the hype heaped on him when he was a two-division prospect back in the day.
Now he's 36 and a loser of four of his last six, with an overturned loss in there too. He's never going to be much more than a lower-card guy, if that. In fact, that overturned loss saw him cut from the promotion before it was overturned.
He was a pretty entertaining guy in the cage, but it's over for him. Another dude that just doesn't need to eat punches anymore.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Chris Leben
4 of 6
In terms of not needing to eat punches anymore, there might be no one who fits the bill more than Leben. He's given fans way more than it's fair to expect from a man, and it's starting to wear on him in a big way.
While he was always good for an entertaining scrap against a ranked opponent, more often he's been losing in unceremonious fashion to guys just looking to make a name for themselves. And those guys are hurting him.
It used to take Anderson Silva to put Leben down—now Andrew Craig is able to do it. That's a sign that "The Crippler" should retire to a life of coaching and enjoying the Hawaiian sun.
Gray Maynard
5 of 6
There might not have been a more stunning fall from grace than that of Maynard, an undefeated wrecking machine as of late 2011 and a routine KO victim as of late 2013.
For Maynard, it's not as much that he's lost three of four. That happens when you're fighting the best of the best. It's how he's losing them that's a concern.
He's getting knocked absolutely senseless by guys not known for their stand-up power.
Frankie Edgar KO'd him at 155 pounds, and he's not known for being a very powerful featherweight. T.J. Grant finished him on the feet in horribly violent fashion, and he's much more of a ground tactician than he his a brawler. Nate Diaz stopped him in cringe-worthy fashion this past weekend, and he and his brother essentially introduced the concept of volume punching to MMA.
Maynard will be 35 next year and won't be in a title fight again. His legacy will be that of a man who was the best guy to not hold his division's title, and that's not bad. He should seriously look at retirement.
Georges St-Pierre
6 of 6
The GSP retirement talk is still hot coming off of his controversial win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, and no one seems to know for sure what the champion will do. Dana White wants to think he does, but he has no better idea than anyone else.
St-Pierre coach Firas Zahabi said this week that it's "still 50-50" that you'll see the Canadian legend in the cage again, so it's clear that a resolution is no closer. Still, as White himself has often said (with far less money on the line, mind you), if a guy is thinking about retirement, you should never talk him out of it.
If St-Pierre's heart isn't in fighting anymore and he's burning out, it's time for him to go. Age has nothing to do with it—it's about miles on the body and mind. Nobody in the UFC has more of either than the welterweight kingpin, and if he thinks he's done, then no one in the world should tell him otherwise.
Plus, you can always just come back if you get the right offer, right?
I'm back on Twitter, follow me: @matthewjryder!
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
