“A small window of opportunity”

That is the way athletic careers across all sports are characterized…..

An athlete has a limited number of years where they can perform at their peak. Granted all the advances in modern science and new performing enhancing supplements have allowed today’s athletes to extend their careers much more then they could have less than a decade ago. Despite the science the end still comes sooner than all athletes would like. One day you are the best in the world and the next you are a liability. It does not matter how dedicated you are to your craft, when it’s over it’s over.

Like I said this is true about all sports but as I thought about how that “window” pertained to MMA fighters specially, I realized how much smaller it is for them. The best way to show this is by looking at “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1.

“The Ultimate Fighter” debuted on January 17th, 2005. It was the first ever mixed martial arts reality show and it was the first time people got to really see professional cage fighters as people. The show allowed the audience to make a strong emotional connection with the sixteen guys in the house. As a result the fighters that came off the show and were able to earn a contract with the UFC became instant stars.

There are eight guys that are known as the Ultimate Fighter pioneers: Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Stephan Bonnar, Chris Leben, Nate Quarry, and Kenny Florian.

The Ultimate Fighter 1 was the dawn of a new era in the UFC and these eight up and comers were seen as the new age of mixed martial artist who were going to be the future of the sport. To their credit they lived up to the expectations: they delivered classic fights, they established strong fan bases, most were great advocates for the sport outside the cage, five of them fought for UFC titles, and in 2008 Forrest Griffin became the UFC light heavyweight champion.

It was a great era but now as we sit here in 2014 that era is over.

It is crazy to think about because it feels like it snuck up on everyone. Many fans still think of these fighters as the youthful guys we saw on television. In reality most of these “new stars” that came on to the scene in 2005 have lived out their fighting careers and are now gone. I know years go by fast in sports but 2005 still does not seem like that long ago. Most of the young stars from 2005 in other sports are still at the top of their game. LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, Payton Manning, and Tom Brady are all still considered elite. Even the players who do not become stars are at least still competing.

By comparison:

Nate Quarry: Retired 2009

Kenny Florian: Retired 2012

Stephan Bonnar: Retired 2012

Forrest Griffin: Retired 2013

Chris Leben: Retired 2014

Josh Koscheck: currently considering retirement

Mike Swick: on hiatus dealing with illness

The last man standing is Diego Sanchez who was dominated last Saturday by rising star Myles Jury. It is ironic that Diego is the last fighter still actively competing because he has probably taken the most damage of all of them. He is one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport (I would argue the most exciting) but watching his past couple of fights have made me a little sad. What made Diego such a great fighter was his reckless style but honestly I do not want to see him take that kind of damage anymore.

What Jury said in his post fight interview on Saturday was the nail in the coffin for me: “Not to sound cocky, but just beating him so easily (surprised me).”

As much as that comment bothered me I cannot say he was wrong. What I think I saw on Saturday was the game officially passing Diego Sanchez by. I think it is time for Diego to strongly consider walking away from the sport. If and when he does it will mark the official end to one of the most important periods in the sports history.