10 Great Retired UFC Champions Not In The Hall Of Fame

2. Cain Velasquez

Another two-time winning, as well as two-time defending Heavyweight Champion, and arguably the most dominant Champion in UFC Heavyweight history, Velasquez recently retired from MMA after mounting injuries over the years; last appearing in the Octagon in February of 2019. He first won UFC gold with a TKO over two-time defending Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar in October of 2010 at UFC 121.

While he did lose the belt and his undefeated record of 9-0 to Junior Dos Santos in his next fight, he would go on to avenge the loss twice, and regain the title against Dos Santos at UFC 155 in December of 2012, and go on to defend it against Antonio Silva at UFC 160, and at UFC 166 against Dos Santos in the trilogy match, where he won in dramatic fashion with a late 5th round TKO initiated by a slam and follow up strikes. And it does not end there.

It is not just his title wins and 12-3 UFC record that is impressive, but also how he did it. 10 of his 12 UFC wins were by TKO or KO which is a tie for the UFC Heavyweight record, earning him 4 “Of the Night” awards along the way. He also holds the UFC Heavyweight records for Most Takedowns (34), Most Total Strikes Landed (1464), and Highest significant strike percentage (57.62%). Just over a year removed from retirement, there is no doubt Cain will be inducted into the Hall soon.

HoF wing eligibility: MODERN