9 Reasons Chael Sonnen's Retirement Is A Big Blow To The UFC

3. It's The Wrong Man At The Wrong Time

The UFC is in the midst of a tremendous expansion. An organization that once held monthly pay-per-view events with the occasional television special on a cable network, the company put on a staggering 33 cards in 2013. As of this writing, they've already held 19 this year alone. That's a lot of space to fill and a lot of dollars to coax out of your fan base. The easiest way to do that is by putting big name fighters in money fights that people want to see. With the departure of several of UFC's biggest stars, that's becoming more and more difficult to do. The UFC is losing their superstars at an alarming rate, although through no fault of their own. Brock Lesnar left the sport after his struggle with diverticulitis (and Alistair Overeem) for the financially greener pastures and easier life of WWE. Georges St. Pierre chose to indefinitely walk away to give himself some time to relax and clear his head from all the pressure he felt as welterweight champ. Anderson Silva went from an almost mythically unbeatable fighter to losing two fluke title matches against a relative unknown, one of which was due to a horrific broken leg that many thought he'd never return from. And Stockton, CA bad boy Nick Diaz is "retired" as well, and vows to remain so unless he's given more money or superfights. So with all those men no longer being available, Sonnen was even more important for the business. It's bad timing for the UFC to lose another one of their biggest names, and it hurts the bottom line.