In UFC, just like other sports, Father Time is considered an athlete’s biggest adversary, because no matter how hard you work to maintain peak physical performance, no one beats the clock.
Of course, there have been fighters in MMA who defied Father Time longer than the average Joe and extended their mixed martial arts careers into their late 40s- in some cases, even 50s. With legendary boxer Mike Tyson coming out of retirement to settle a score with Jake Paul, people are left to wonder: ‘How old is too old?’
Here we’ll take a look at the Top 5 oldest fighters in MMA based on the date of their last bouts.
1. Dan Severn (age in last fight: 53 years and 10 months )
1/5
Daniel DeWayne Severn is another mixed martial arts pioneer. The Beast was the first Triple Crown Champion in the UFC when he won the UFC 5 Tournament, The Ultimate Ultimate 1995, and the UFC Super Fight Championship. He never won a UFC title though and his only championship appearance was at UFC 12 where he lost to Mark Coleman.
But Severn was a durable fighter who fought long after his UFC career. He fought in a total of 127 professional MMA matches, winning 101 of those bouts, including 23 by knockout and 53 via submission. At 52 years old, he won the Elite 1 MMA Heavyweight title. Severn’s last bout was a unanimous decision win over Alex Rozman at Blue Blood MMA on April 28, 2012.
2. Ken Shamrock (age in last fight: 52 years and 8 days)
2/5
Ken Shamrock is one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts. Known as ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’, Shamrock was the first UFC Super Fight champion when he defeated Dan Severn at UFC 6. He was also the first foreign MMA champion in Japan when he won the King of Pancrase Openweight title.
Shamrock is known for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. The two first fought in the semifinals of the first-ever UFC event at UFC 1. The two fought again in the first UFC Super Fight championship bout at UFC 5 in a fight that ended in a draw. Shamrock and Gracie renewed their rivalry at Bellator 149 on February 19, 2016, where he lost by knockout.
3. Maurice Smith ( age in last fight: 51 years and 10 months )
3/5
Maurice L. Smith is a UFC Hall of Famer who was also a decorated kickboxer who won the WKC World Light Heavyweight title, WKA World Heavyweight Championship, and ISKA World Heavyweight championship. While he was a kickboxer, Smith also dabbled in MMA and was the Extreme Fighting heavyweight champion in Japan.
Smith joined the UFC in 1997 and fought the legendary Mark Coleman for the heavyweight title in his UFC debut at UFC 14. He defeated Coleman via unanimous decision in the 1997 Fight of the Year. After losing the belt to Randy Couture at UFC Japan later that year, Smith fought for other promotions. On November 2, 2013, he fought Matt Kovacs at Cage Warrior Combat in his final MMA bout.
4. Royce Gracie (age in last fight: 49 years and 2 months )
4/5
Royce Gracie is also among the sport’s pioneers and is considered one of the most influential fighters in mixed martial arts. A member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, he won the first-ever UFC tournament at UFC1. Royce repeated as winner at UFC 2 and UFC 4 which were openweight tournaments.
Gracie also competed for PRIDE in Japan and will always be remembered for his 90-minute bout against Kazushi Sakuraba at the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix quarterfinals. He lost that six-round bout via knockout. Gracie fought only 20 times in the mixed martial arts cage but his last bout against rival Ken Shamrock at Bellator 149 on February 19, 2016, was held more than 20 years after his MMA debut.
5. Randy Couture (age in last fight: 47 years and 10 months )
5/5
Randy Couture is one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history. The Natural was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, three-time UFC light heavyweight champion, an interim UFC light heavyweight champion, and the UFC 13 Tournament winner. He is one of nine total fighters to win UFC championships in two different weight classes. But aside from his outstanding resume, Couture was also known for his durability.
At 43 years and 255 days, he was the oldest fighter to win a UFC championship when he defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 68. Couture is also the oldest reigning UFC champion at 45 years and 60 days. By defeating former boxing champion James Toney at UFC 118 on August 28, 2010, he became the oldest fighter to win a UFC fight at 47 years and 68 days.
The Natural finally retired after losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 on April 30, 2011.