So if they were at the top, what the hell happened? I’m sure we’ve all asked this after watching our favorite fighter made to look average. In this case perhaps the simplest answer holds the most truth, as painful a truth as it may be. Many of the most popular fighters of out time are getting a little long in the tooth. While Randy Couture has proven it is possible to compete at the highest level past the big 4 0, he is the exception rather than the rule. Also worth noting is that Couture had had only 24 fights coming into his title defence against Brock Lesnar. That is relatively few compared to many fighters going into retirement. As any fighter will attest, every fight requires a training camp, every training camp causes or aggravates an injury of some severity, and every injury takes its toll on how well you can train.

For many fighters it becomes time to hang up the gloves and logo laden shorts when the injuries no longer heal, be it too much abuse or old age slowing the healing process, and they can no longer train properly. But admitting the injuries have beaten you and abdicating your position as the dominant male does not mesh with the psyche of a warrior like Tito Ortiz, who suffered a painful spinal injury which impeded his training for the last three years or so. The temptation is to chase your former glory and a fat pay check, handing in inferior performances along the way. Even after losing your spark and the body giving in, there is still a retirement fund and your legacy to think of.

The wild training sessions of the prolific Chute Boxe Academy are the subject of many stories. Tales of full power sparring and frequent KOs being taken and shaken off paint a brutal picture. To achieve the best preparation, some top competitors spar extremely hard, and as the years progress, the concussions pile up. According to medical studies, this degrades their ability to withstand a strike and retain consciousness, which accounts for what we have seen of recent from Wanderlei and Chuck. Worryingly, combat sports medical expert Dr. Johnny Benjamin recently mentioned in his blog that repeated concussions can impede motor skills, so as time passes by, hard sparring may delay reactions in addition to the natural effects of the ageing process. Worse reactions and a less reliable chin as time goes on mean a battle worn fighter is facing an uphill struggle.

In both boxing and MMA, with age we commonly see the body give in before the mind, but for those who reach the top of the pile, the opposite problem often occurs. Matt Hughes has 49 fights, 49! That means 49 training camps sacrificing family time, delicious foods and partying. 49 times he has taken a month or more of pain, woken up early, headed to the gym to drill the same techniques for the nth time, punished himself and been punished by sparring partners. Hughes is famed for his strength, but this feat of mental strength requires tremendous motivation. For fighters like Hughes, who dominated an entire division for years, or Wanderlei Silva, who has fought in front of crowds of over 80,000 and been a pound for pound god, scraping together the motivation to train properly is a battle in itself. Eventually a lack of motivation becomes a problem for nearly everyone who reaches the pinnacle of MMA or any demanding career. Unlike most careers though, MMA is unforgiving, and one slip will lead to a devastating stock plummet. Once you’ve reached the top there’s only one way to go, and that’s back down.