10 Precise Moments UFC Careers Ended
Time to find a new line of work.
Mixed martial arts is a sport of ridiculously fine margins.
Unless their name is Conor McGregor (who's seemingly free to commit all manner of offences without the UFC's reprimand), a fighter's place is never truly secure. Inside the Octagon, a matter of millimetres can mean the difference between knockout punch or glancing blow, tapping out or slipping out, and even after the closing bell tolls, a single error of judgment can see a competitor backlisted.
Sometimes, none of this even matters. Dana White can end a fighter's UFC career with a click of his fingers. We saw it last week, when hot prospect Yair Rodriguez was cut for turning a fight down, and in April, when the promotion effectively bought out the last bout on Leslie Smith's contract. Releases and retirements usually come from a place of logic, though, and they often stem from a single moment.
Including anything billed as a retirement fight would be cheap, so they're excluded. The same goes for incidents that happened away from the Octagon itself, like the aforementioned Smith/Rodriguez situations.
With that in mind, let's dive into the defeats, disgraces, and dumb decisions that spelled the end for these fighters...
10. Babalu Doesn't Let Go
A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Renato 'Babalu' Sobral returned for a third UFC run in 2005, going 3-2 against the likes of Chael Sonnen and Chuck Liddell, before meeting David Heath at UFC 74.
'Babalu' was desperate for a win after two straight knockout defeats. He battered Heath in the first round, then opened up a large cut on his head in the second, before securing another takedown and working him into an anaconda choke. David tapped out, but Sobral refused to let go. Instead, he continued to squeeze Heath's neck and resisted referee Steve Mazzagatti's attempts to break the hold, not letting go until Heath had completely passed out.
A repulsive act, made worse by the victor's lack of remorse. In his post-fight interview, Sobral told Joe Rogan that he was aware of Heath's tap, but that his opponent "had to learn respect. He deserved that. He called me 'motherf***er.'"
Renato's UFC career was over. He was released from the company just five days later, with President Dana White publicly lambasting his actions, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission hit him with a $25,000 fine. He'd never return to the promotion again.