MMA Retirement: When is enough, enough?

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

Whose place is it to tell a fighter when enough is enough?

Everyone is forthcoming with retirement advise on a weekly basis, but when is enough really enough?

Case in point was this past Sunday night when Dan Henderson brutally knocked out Shogun Rua.

Rua dominated for two and a half rounds, knocking Henderson down, mounting him and clearly winning the fight. Winning the fight until a H-Bomb detonated on his nose that is.

What we learned coming out of that fight is that Shogun may very well be back to his best.

Coming off of his spectacular knock out of James Te Huna there were many questions relating to Shogun. Well, for over twelve minutes he put on a clinic. He looked fantastic. Hurting Henderson, taking him down. He looked threatening again.

Henderson, well, he didn't look so great. He was sluggish, he got caught with far too many punches for anyones liking. Shogun was dropping him at will and there only seemed one winner.

That is why both men still have a future with the UFC.

Firstly Henderson. When you carry the power that he does you can do this for as long as you choose. Speed and agility desert you first, power lasts the longest. What is clear is that Henderson doesn't belong in fights leading to a title shot.

At 43-years-old and having just signed a six fight contract recently, it could be that time to throw him into purely fun fights. 

Salivate at the prospect of Henderson vs Sonnen, Henderson vs Silva. Even Henderson vs Franklin.

The thought of Henderson mixing it with Gustafsson, Teixeira and the likes isn't exactly enticing.

Shogun on the other hand at 32-years-old should still have years in him. It's the wars he's been through and beatings he has taken that has people calling for his retirement.

However, excluding the result and solely looking at his performance there is no good reason not to go on. Anyone hit with the punch he was hit with would have gone down as was evident by his nose being smeared all over his face.

What it may take to revitalise his career is the same route that Lyoto Machida took, a trip down to middleweight.

He looked in fantastic condition for his last two fights, probably the best shape we've seen him in so cutting to 185-pounds isn't entirely out of the question.

There lies some old rematch as well as new, fresh challenges. Machida, Munoz, Bisping, Le, Belfort, Rockhold, Jacare. Even potentially Anderson Silva.

Whilst the title picture seems just out of reach for Henderson it does leave it slightly open for Shogun should he opt for a change of scenery and a move down to middleweight, despite being knocked out.

Whilst both their routes now seem uncertain, one thing that is certain is that you don't tell guys like Henderson and Shogun when to retire. Both have earned the right to decide that for themselves.