A trio of UFC greats suffered nasty losses on Saturday at UFC 310. Following the event, the promotion’s top boss, Dana White, was asked what should be next for them, and in his mind, the answer was the same: “Retire.”
One of the toughest parts of being a fight fan is to see your favorite fighter’s slow decline into irrelevancy. There are very few Georges St. Pierre’s and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s who can ride off into the sunset at the top of the sport. Most fighters have to learn the hard way that they are no longer the men or women they used to be and must consider calling it a career.
Also Read: UFC schedule – Get a look at the UFC’s upcoming slate of events after UFC 310
That has been the situation for some time when it comes to former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, one-time light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith, and beloved lightweight Clay Guida. In their last four fights, the UFC greats have a combined record of 3-9.
All three men were on the UFC 310 card, and they each suffered devastating defeats. Weidman and Smith both were handed crushing second-round knockouts, while Guida was submitted in the first few minutes of his matchup. Furthermore, all of them competed in Saturday’s prelims.
Unsurprisingly, UFC boss Dana White was asked about their futures in the post-fight press conference Sunday morning, and as usual, he did not mince words.
Dana White says Chris Weidman, Anthony Smith, and Clay Guida need to retire after UFC 310 losses
“They should all retire tonight,” White said definitively when asked about the possibility of the three competing again in the UFC.
Weidman and Guida are both in their 40s. While Smith and Guida have a ton of fight miles on their bodies and brains from long careers. There has been a push for all of them to retire in recent years. It is unclear if UFC 310 will be enough to change any of their minds.
The only one who seemed open to actually hanging up his gloves on Saturday night was Smith. That was more due to the passing of a key cornerman recently. And even then he claimed he would need more time to think about it. The promotion’s president may have to step in and cut them before they seriously consider ending their careers.
Also Read: UFC 310 results and highlights
