On March 4th 2023, Jon Jones returned after over 3 years to debut in a new weight class and despatched the #1 contender Cyril Gane within a single round to claim the vacant heavyweight championship. A triumphant return after 1120 days of absence in the UFC. Conversely, Henry Cejudo retired after his Dominic Cruz victory on May 9 2020. He returned 3 years later with a losing effort to Aljamain Sterling. Total days absent: 1092. Two fighters, both with stellar records returning from hiatus with drastically different results. So this begs the question: Is Ring Rust real?
Ring Rust: A lack of intensity or focus due to inactivity, usually relating to competition.
Stipe Miocic has currently not had a fight in the UFC for over 1200 days. With his return fight set to be the aforementioned Jon Jones, I decided there was no better time to delve into the annals of the UFC to see the longest fighter layoffs and their careers upon their return to seek an answer to the question: Is Ring rust a fighting factor or just an easy excuse for the losing fighter? And secondly, can ring rust be a factor in Jones vs Miocic.
George St-Pierre – Days between fights: 1449 days
Perhaps it’s unfair to start this list with a legitimate GOAT contender but GSPs return to the Octagon will be remembered for generations. After vacating his belt in 2013 he made his triumphant return against then UFC Middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Moving with the ferocity and grace he had shown in his prime, GSP showed no signs of slowing and had an aura that would have made the entire middleweight division slightly on edge that they were set to be his next victim. This was not to be as George once again vacated the belt, and rode off into the sunset with an incredible submission victory and not an ounce of ring rust in sight.
Cain Velasquez – Days between fights: 953 days
The heavyweight cardio machine Cain Velasquez dropped his title to Fabricio Werdum on June 13 2015. After despatching Travis Browne with relative ease, the rematch with Werdum seemed imminent. However injuries on both sides and then the Nevada athletic commission not clearing Cain fully extinguished what could have been a rematch for the ages. Cains near 3 year lay off would be ended with a match against Francis Ngannou. Prior to this fight, Francis had won only 1 of his last 3 fights, so this could have really gone either way. However, Francis made this look relatively effortless and a metaphorical torched was passed onto the new generation of heavyweight hitters.
Brock Lesnar – Days between fights: 1653
The human house Brock Lesnar only had 9 professional MMA fights in his entire career. Debuting in the UFC after just 1 professional fight and winning the heavyweight belt just 2 fights after, Lesnar exuded the phrase ‘here for a good time and not a long time’. By 2011 he had received 2 brutal back-to-back first round finishes at the hands of Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem. Stating Diverticulitis troubles, Lesnar would retire and shortly after debut in the WWE. In 2016, Lesnar would return to fight the ‘King of Walk-offs’ Mark Hunt. This would go down originally as a unanimous decision win for Lesnar which would later be overturned as Brock tested positive for Clomiphene. With nearly 4 and a half years layoff off, Brock returned and looked like the monster he always had. If ring rust is a mental affliction as well as a physical one, this appeared non existent in this fight.
Henry Cejudo – Days between fights: 1092
Irrelevant of your opinions of Henry Cejudo outside of the ring, his prowess in the ring cannot have been questioned. Beating Sergio Pettis, the potential GOAT Demetrius Johnson, T.J Dillashaw, Marlon Maraes and finally Dominic Cruz in succession is an incredible accomplishment. It was after the Cruz win that Henry decided he had done all he wanted and would ride off into the sunset. Now I fully appreciate the notion of going out on top but at 33 years of age, it could be argued that he was just reaching his maturity as a fighter. Added to this, his statement became irrelevant when he announced his return 3 years later. He was granted an immediate bantamweight championship shot against Aljamain Sterling and pushed the champion to a split decision with Cejudo on the losing end. This was followed shortly after by a unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili. If you have not seen this fight, I would recommend seeking footage of the gold medal winning Cejudo being thrown over Merabs shoulder and paraded around the ring with ease. Needless to say, Henrys return was underwhelming and some say, dampened his otherwise stellar UFC record. This definitely felt like ring rust at play. It seemed that MMA had evolved whilst Henry remained stagnant in his fight IQ.
During my research, I realised that extended layoffs of over 1000 days seemed more common than I had initially imagined. I chose to highlight these fighters for a specific reason. The Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic match is being heavily criticised. Stipe is nearly 42 years of age and has not fought since early 2021. The above examples display the vast array of outcomes that a hiatus can have on a fighter. Victories, close calls, domination or a string of losses. This fight could go either way but based on my research, the layoff alone does by no means ensure Jones victory. I do believe that Jon Jones takes this victory, but for factors other than ring rust.
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