Here’s a list of every notable retirement announced by fighters from the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and more in 2024.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.
If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.
2024 has already seen a number of notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).
On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to Max Holloway moving back to 155, Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley booking, and more.
Last week’s MMA news cycle left plenty to digest.
From [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]’s announcement of moving back up to lightweight, to the welterweight booking between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag], and the retirement of former UFC women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag], a lot went down. Additionally, the UFC revealed the details for the new, upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
All this news left many questions: Is Holloway making the right call by leaving featherweight? What’s at stake in the Garry Machado vs. Buckley matchup in Tampa, Fla.? What kind of legacy does de Randamie leave behind?
MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous “George” discuss and react to the latest news in the world of MMA.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
On “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Brandon Moreno’s return, Belal Muhammad’s UFC 310 withdrawal and much more.
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:
UFC Fight Night 246 went down Saturday in Canada and left us with two key results at men’s and women’s flyweight. In the main event, former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] successfully returned to action after taking a break from the sport by dominating [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in a unanimous decision win. Also, [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] outpointed [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] in a hard-fought decision to cement herself as a top title contender. What happens next? We discuss.
Bad news. UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] suffered a foot injury and was forced out of his title bout against [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 310. This leaves a big hole to fill since the bout was scheduled to headline the final pay-per-view of the year. Should the UFC implement an interim title? If so, who should fight for it? We react to Muhammad’s injury and how it impacts both UFC 310 and the welterweight division.
A lot of news went down this past week, including fight bookings and retirements. Former UFC champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] announced her retirement from the sport; the UFC booked a key welterweight bout between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] and [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] for December; and featherweight all-time great [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] revealed he is moving back up to lightweight. We analyze those headlines and more.
We close out the show by previewing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 247 event in Las Vegas. We break down the welterweight bout between [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] and rising contender [autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag] headlining the card, along with other standout bouts.
Ex-UFC champ Germaine de Randamie was hoping to lay her gloves down in the octagon but decided to call it quits sooner than planned.
Former UFC women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] was hoping to lay her gloves down in the octagon, but she’s walking away earlier than planned.
De Randamie took to Instagram to announce her retirement from MMA. “The Iron Lady” explained that she was hoping to compete one more time before the end of 2024, but the UFC didn’t grant her her wish after all the remaining cards were full.
With so many mixed feelings I’m sharing this message with you guys.
I definitely didn’t plan or envisioned/dreamed it this way but hey it is what it is sometimes.
I begged the UFC for 1 more fight. But it had to be this year. I promised myself I would retire from fighting December 31st 2024.
Unfortunately the UFC told me all cars are fully booked.
That’s why I decided that the time is now. I really wished I could have walked the walk one more time. But I guess it was not meant to be. To many people to thank personally so thank you all for being a part of my journey ❤️
Thank you for all the amazing memories. I’m forever grateful for all of them.
Like I always say ‘DIE WITH MEMORIES, NOT DREAMS.'”
De Randamie (10-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) would have received the send-off she was hoping for when she was booked against Nora Cornolle this past September at UFC Fight Night 243 in Paris, but she was forced to withdraw after breaking her finger and fracturing her foot.
Ag Fight reported that De Randamie was scheduled to face Jacqueline Cavalcanti on Jan. 11 at UFC Fight Night 249, but De Randamie did not address that fight.
De Randamie’s most recent fight came in a decision loss to Norma Dumont at UFC Fight Night 240 in April. The inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion holds notable wins over current bantamweight champ Julianna Peña, and former champions Raquel Pennington and Holly Holm. She attempted to win a title in a second division in 2019 but lost a unanimous decision to then-bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes.
Former UFC champion Germaine de Randamie has only competed once in the past four years.
Injuries have forced former UFC champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] out her scheduled fight in Paris.
Thursday, de Randamie (10-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) revealed in an Instagram post that she broke a finger and a foot two weeks ago, leading to her withdrawal from UFC Fight Night 243 on Sept. 28.
“I’m so heartbroken to inform you that I had to pull out of my fight September 28th in Paris,” de Randamie wrote. “… We didn’t wanna take a risk and put one hell of a dogfight for you guys. I’m especially heartbroken because I’m coming close to the end of my fighting career and wanted to give this to my friends and family who planned to be attend in the arena. I had a plan but god decided differently this time. I will be back in the gym as soon as the doctor gives me green light. And I truly hope the UFC will give me my fight before the end of the year. Thank you for all your support and kind words. I will be back and do what I have planned to do. ‘Die with memories, not dreams.'”
de Randamie was scheduled to fight France’s [autotag]Nora Cornolle[/autotag] (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a women’s bantamweight bout. Filling the void is [autotag]Jacqueline Cavalcanti[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Both fighters in the new matchup confirmed the booking on social media after an initial report by Ag. Fight.
De Randamie, 40, has only competed once in a near four-year stretch. A former UFC women’s featherweight champion, de Randamie has only competed twice she lost the women’s featherweight title in December 2019 due to injuries and pregnancy.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 243 lineup includes:
UFC Fight Night 240 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.
LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 240 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $162,500.
The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.
UFC Fight Night 240 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.
The full UFC Fight Night 240 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2401 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.
In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.
Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:
“UFC Fight Night 240: Allen vs. Curtis 2” – $162,500
Former UFC champion Germaine de Randamie returns after 3.5 years at UFC Fight Night 240 and only has one goal of winning another title.
Former UFC champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] is ready to re-enter the fold after at UFC Fight Night 240 following 42 months away from the octagon. And she does so with renewed motivation.
De Randamie (10-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since October 2020, when she choked Julianna Peña unconscious. It was one of many notable wins on her resume, which also includes current women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm and two-time PFL champ Larissa Pacheco.
The third-round submission of Peña in her most recent trip to the octagon was significant at the time. It propelled de Randamie, who won the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title in February 2017, into the title picture at women’s bantamweight. But then she vanished for 3.5 years.
“I fought Peña and then the (COVID-19) pandemic came,” de Randamie told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “I didn’t get vaccinated because I wanted to become a mom one day. It was my wish since I was a little girl. So, I wasn’t allowed to travel to the United States. And at the same time after the Peña fight I was a little bit burned out.
“I was a little bit burned out, so I thought I would take some time off and I’m like, ‘I’m not getting any younger.’ It was the right time for me to see if I could get a baby in. I got a baby, and I’m the happiest woman alive right now.”
And that’s the big change for de Randamie. She’s now a mother to a nearly one-year-old boy, and it has altered her outlook on the world.
De Randamie said she probably wouldn’t have returned to the UFC if she didn’t give birth to a child. She could’ve continued her full-time job as a police officer at home in the Netherlands and led a fulfilling life as she did during the long hiatus from MMA. She found a new reason to fight, though, and that’s why she back on Saturday against Norma Dumont (10-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+).
“Five weeks after I gave birth to my son, I was back in training,” de Randamie said. “If I didn’t have my son, honestly, I don’t know if I would have come back to fighting. Having a son, I’m not just raising a son: I’m raising somebody’s husband one day, I’m raising a father probably some day, and I want to set an example for him. I want to show him through hard work, dedication that anything is possible.
“I want to be his role model. One time, when he’s ready and understands, I want to show him and explain to him and show him what I’ve done, and I hope he’ll be proud of me. I hope he realizes and takes strength out of it.”
Set to turn 40 on April 24, and on the heels of such a long layoff, only the performance will show if de Randamie is still top tier. However, she hasn’t taken much damage throughout a more than 20-year combat sports career.
De Randamie went 46-0 during her decorated kickboxing run, and has never been knocked down in MMA competition. She’s only been finished once in more than a decade under the UFC banner, and that was by ground-and-pound from Amanda Nunes back in November 2013.
Those are advantages on the side of an aging fighter, and de Randamie said she’s ticked all the boxes to come back at her best. But she admits some cage rust is expected.
“Seventy-five percent of fighting is mental,” de Randamie said. “(Mentally) I’m the strongest I’ve ever been. I can say that. Do I expect to be the very best version of myself this Saturday after 3.5 years? No. But, I do know I gave it my all in this camp, and I will give it my all Saturday night. No matter what happens Saturday night, I will walk out of that octagon with my head held high. Because Sunday the sun will go up and I’ll jump on a plane and go back home and cuddle with my son. That’s all that matters.”
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If de Randamie is able to get past Dumont, she said she will be shooting for the top of the women’s bantamweight division, which has changed vastly in the past few years. Nunes is retired. Pennington now has the belt, and Peña is chasing the gold she won and lost during de Randamie’s absence.
There’s also next week’s UFC 300 fight between Holm and the debuting Kayla Harrison, who has tons of hype and could be thrust into a title bout with a strong first impression.
With a unanimous decision victory over Pennington from November 2018 already on her record, de Randamie thinks defeating Dumont gives her the best case.
“I’m going to fight Raquel next,” de Randamie said. “Julianna Peña is out of the rankings because she’s been inactive. The division is quite dead since Amanda left. You’ve got a great fight next week with Kayla vs. Holly. But I defeated Holly. I defeated Peña. I defeated Raquel. Raquel asked everyone she lost to (for a) rematch, except me. My only loss in the UFC comes by the hands of Amanda Nunes. I defeated Larissa Pacheco. I defeated Aspen Ladd. If I defeat Norma on Saturday, I’m going to ask the UFC, very friendly, to give me my title shot.
“I should be the one fighting next for the title. I absolutely respect Raquel. But a true champion knows – if you ask anybody you lost to a rematch, then you should also rematch me. Peña is out. Why should we wait? The division since Amanda left is a little bit quiet. Not a lot of things happening. Let’s make it exciting again.”
Take a look at the history of females who have claimed UFC gold.
From the first-ever UFC women’s champion, Ronda Rousey, to the current crop of titleholders, here’s a look at the females who have captured UFC gold since women first step foot in the octagon in 2013.
There were 35 UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 8-14.
After a 42-month absence, former UFC women’s featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie is set to return in April vs. Norma Dumont.
[autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag], the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight champion, is set to make her return to action after 42 months away.
On April 6, De Randamie will take on [autotag]Norma Dumont[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. MMA Junkie confirmed the matchup with a person with knowledge of the booking following a social media post by Dumont. The news first was reported by Laerte Viana on Instagram.
While both women have competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions during their UFC careers, De Randamie (10-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Dumont (10-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will meet at 135 pounds.
After she gave birth to her son in March 2023, De Randamie targeted a return in the fourth quarter of the year. While that timeline didn’t come to fruition, she now is set to enter the octagon the first time since UFC on ESPN 16 in October 2020.
The Dutch striker submitted Julianna Peña in the third round of their bantamweight bout. It was a Performance of the Night-winning finish, which marked a return to the win column after a bantamweight title challenge loss to then-champion Amanda Nunes. De Randamie was booked to fight Irene Aldana more than a year later, but had to withdraw due to injury.
Dumont, currently No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s featherweight rankings, has been active. She made two appearances in 2023, and currently is on a three-fight winning streak with wins over Danyelle Wolf, Karol Rosa and Chelsea Chandler. Dumont, 33, will face a former UFC champion for the first time in her tenure with the promotion.
With the addition, the current lineup on April 6 includes:
