Damn, sad day to be a UFC fan. Today, LEGENDS Joseph Benavidez and Carlos Condit both announced their retirement from the sport, and the game isn’t gonna be the same without them. Both of these guys are complete pioneers whose longevity made them competitive in this sport for 10 plus years. Gonna miss these guys.

Carlos Condit is singlehandedly responsible for some of my favorite fights of all time. He was kinda the Justin Gaethje before Justin was, you know, a guy that went all out in every fight, landed bombs, ate bombs, was willing to lose as long as he put on a show. He almost knocked out GSP when GSP was in his freaking prime, and if he lands some ground and pound after his famous head kick then the history of the UFC is completely different. And do you remember his fight against Robbie Lawler. Oh my god. The fifth round of that fight was one of the best rounds of fighting I’ve ever seen. You know when there’s like ten seconds left in a fight and guys just swing like crazy until the horn? That was basically the entire fifth round of Condit vs Lawler, and it gave me one of my favorite UFC pictures ever.

LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 02: Carlos Condit (left) and Robbie Lawler (right) reset after their UFC welterweight championship bout during the UFC 195 event inside MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 2, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

And Joe B, a complete pioneer of the flyweight division. When you thing the UFC flyweight division, you think Demetirous Johnson, and you think Joseph Benavidez. Unfortunately for Joe, he had the misfortune of having his prime align with Might Mouse, so he never claimed gold, but I think we all still understand that he’s on the Mount Rushmore of UFC Flyweights. And honestly, the guy really did have power that I don’t think we’ll see replicated at 125 lbs for a very long time. No disrespect to the flyweights, but a lot of those dudes have pillows for hands, but when Joe B hit guys they went to sleep like they were hit by a heavyweight. He also has tremendous fashion taste for the record.

So yeah, the sport’s not gonna be the same without these legends fighting anymore, but I’m always happy for guys when they finally decide to walk away. Both of them had long, successful careers, and now they get to spend some much-deserved time with family without having to worry about the Demetrious Johnson’s and George St. Pierre’s of the world. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’re both very good at business, so they’ll probably make more money outside of the cage anyway, but hey, if they wanna come out of retirement and give us one more show I’m not complaining.

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