5 UFC fighters who remained draws in their decline

Fighting in the UFC is hard on the body. It’s rare that a fighter manages to show great athletic longevity in the later years of their career. However, if a cocktail of personality and an accomplished prime run captured fans’ imaginations, business can keep booming.

The following five UFC stars have proven that, win, lose or draw, they can pull crowds. Their age, health and UFC rankings all appear to be irrelevant. They have all, in their own ways, struck chords with fight fans that remain strong years after the fact.

In all five cases, their once sterling records began to slip for a variety of reasons. From a lack of focus to injuries piling up, these legends of the octagon have all fallen on challenging times in the cage.

Regardless of the setbacks, they have all remained huge money draws with legacies few could ever hope to touch.

#5. Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn

BJ Penn is one of the most important and accomplished lightweight fighters in the history of the UFC. Dana White himself has acknowledged Penn’s revolutionary work in bringing lighter weight divisions into the mainstream.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in the promotion’s history during his prime, many may be shocked to discover that ‘The Prodigy’ has an alarming 16-14 win/loss record.

Despite capturing both lightweight and welterweight gold during his career, Penn ultimately did a disservice to his legacy. Continuing to fight far past his prime, Penn endured a seven-fight skid from 2011 to 2019.

The question of why the man who once tapped out Takanori Gomi and Matt Hughes in back-to-back wars kept going is simple. He was still a draw. A seminal name in the early days of the UFC’s move into the mainstream, BJ Penn pulled a crowd effectively and consistently.

While he was no longer the ace boxer and Brazilian jiu-jitsu master that had wowed crowds in the mid-noughties, his name value lived on. The MMA legend has not fought again since his UFC 237 unanimous decision loss to Clay Guida.