When is it time to retire?
by Damon O. on Feb 6, 2010 12:03 PM EST
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via cdn2.ioffer.com
In the past year we've seen some of our favorite fighters get defeated, and within hours critics are calling for them to retire. So my question is, when is it time to throw in the towel?
We've seen far too many boxers (Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Riddick Bowe, Meldrick Taylor, etc.) stay in their sport years and sometimes decades longer than they should have and the results have been tragic. MMA is still in it's adolescent stages compared to boxing but they share similar trends. Here are a few fighters that many fans and critics have advised to retire.
via www.mmarocks.pl
Kazushi Sakuraba is a fan favorite and MMA Legend. He's well known for being able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with miraculous submissions. His victories tend to come at the expense of receiving a brutal beating.
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto was once hailed as one of the best P4P fighters in the world but injury, long periods of inactivity, and personal issues have caused his career to take a nose dive.
via www.mmafight.com
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic rose to legendary status in MMA by winning the 2006 PRIDE FC Open Weight Grand Prix. His more recent performances have been shadows of the "Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery." legend.
What do you think ? When should a fighter retire? When he/she no longer loves the sport? When their body can no longer hold up?
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Do you believe that these fighters should flat out retire, or take the Dan Severn route of fighting smaller names in smaller promotions?
by mountaineers101 on Feb 6, 2010 12:25 PM EST reply actions
It differs from fighter to fighter.
I love watching Saku, but I think his career is coming to an end. Kid needs to get his personal issues in check and get with a solid camp. Crocop needs some fights with the Tim Hague’s and Chris Tuchscherer’s of the division to boost his confidence. Just my opinion.
Walking the line between intelligence and ignorance since 1985
@deowade
I blog about stuff too.
Hermes Franca was man enough to admit that he was no longer fit to compete.
I wonder how many fighters will follow suit.
Walking the line between intelligence and ignorance since 1985
@deowade
I blog about stuff too.
Personally there is such a thin line between leaving too soon and not soon enough. Genki Sudo retired when in reality he could have continued for at least 5 more years. Someone like Sakuraba has stayed past his time, maybe he can still compete but in Japan it’s about honor and he shouldn’t be fighting people like Manhoof.
The problem with people like Cro-Cop is that you can’t just have them fight the bottom tier because of their massive contracts. So he’s forced to fight to Dos Santos’ and Overeems’ which end up hurting his confidence.
twitter.com/thisredengine
Hershal Walker has the right answer
You shouldn’t be the judge because it is difficult to assess yourself. Its time to retire when you coaches and training partners tell you its time
Guy Lafleur has a story that he relates in “The Best Game You Can Name” (great book by Dave Bidini) where he had decided to retire but, as the next season got closer to starting, the feeling that he could still compete was getting stronger and stronger. After waking up in the middle of the night, suddenly overcome by the need to try and play again, he called his close friend Lindy Ruff (now coach of the Sabres) and asked if Lindy though he could still play. After a moment of silence, Lindy simply said, “No.” Lafleur says it was the mark of a true friend that Lindy could be honest with him when he couldn’t be honest with himself.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
For Mark Coleman
It may be now. Where is he going to find someone older and slower? He might want the crossover athlete like Hershies.
Ron Rivera for Cal Head Coach. I'm a one man movement!
by bringbackbuddytrees on Feb 7, 2010 12:33 AM EST reply actions
Wrong Shamrock
" Tell me something Steve, How does a guy from Puerto Rico loose a ball in the Sun? "
I don’t think it’s right for us as an audience or fans to make fighters retire just because they’ve lost a few bouts or look “washed up”. If Mark Coleman, Cro Cop, Sakuraba, etc. retire what will they do with the rest of their lives? They’ve made their careers off of fighting.
There are obviously alternative career paths to be spoken of. Ex-fighters can make very good coaches/trainers. Some can open their own gyms catering to up and comers and to the general public. The more well versed fighters can get gigs as commentators/ ring side analysts. Sponsorships and speaking tours can also provide extra income. It really is a difficult question to answer. You don’t want to put fighters in a situation where they’re severely at risk of getting brain damage but fighters have mortgage/utility/car payments like everyone else, and the money from supplemental gigs may not be enough to cover every fighter’s expenses so they push on to get the paychecks.
I would also add some fighters just have big egos and dont want to admit that they’re at the end. It’s hard to give up the lime-light if you’ve been around the game a long time.
By no means am I saying we should be the ones who decide this.
We all know how fickle MMA fans are.
Walking the line between intelligence and ignorance since 1985
@deowade
I blog about stuff too.
We shouldn't be the ones to make the final decision for them, that is.
Walking the line between intelligence and ignorance since 1985
@deowade
I blog about stuff too.
I think we have some culpability
Guys past their peak aren’t going to fight if no one is going to watch and some of these guys just look like they are doing damage to themselves by continuing to fight. I’m not going to be a party to some guys brain damage.
cro cop needs to be done
its sad watching him the way he is now a shadow of his former self, prime cro cop vs JDS would have been a fight for the ages but instead we got a one sided beatdown by arguably the best current heavyweight striker
couture keeps on truckin though id like to see him against a high end lhw and see if he can make one more miraculous run at a title
id also love to see wandy back but i really really doubt it
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