UFC Kansas City: After bloody slugfest, both Zak Cummings and Ed Herman retire in Octagon

There have been plenty of double knockouts in mixed martial arts over the years, but Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, may have delivered the first double retirement in the sport's history.

After a bloody battle in which Zak Cummings dropped Ed Herman three times, broke his nose and battered him with series of clean left hands, Cummings took off his gloves and announced his retirement. Cummings is from Kansas City and had indicated before the bout that he was contemplating retirement.

Cummings stopped Herman at 4:13 of the third when referee Dwayne Bess jumped in to halt it as he was battering a weakened Herman on the floor. As UFC broadcast analyst Daniel Cormier approached him for a post-fight interview, Cummings was taking his gloves off.

It was pretty obvious what he planned to do. When he said he couldn't think of a better place to walk away from the game, the crowd roared.

"Guys, I wasn't sure what was going to happen," Cummings said to the crowd. "I had two fights on my contract and [now] I have one left. I can't think of a better way to go out [than in front] of this crowd, in front of you guys."

He began to speak about not winning a world title when his daughter, Kyleigh, ran toward him in the Octagon. He broke down in joyful tears and lifted Kyleigh into his arms in an emotional, heart-warming scene.

But the emotion wasn't over. Standing a few feet behind Cummings and Cormier, Herman was holding his gloves. He thanked the fans for their support and said he was going to walk away.

When he made his official UFC debut in 2006, Tim Sylvia held the UFC heavyweight title. Chuck Liddell had the light heavyweight title, Rich Franklin the middleweight belt, Matt Hughes the welterweight crown and the lightweight title was vacant. Sean Sherk would win it several months later. Anderson Silva, it should be noted, was 1-0 in his UFC career at the time.

Herman was 13-3 before he joined the UFC and then went 13-13 with a no-contest in his nearly 17 full years on the roster. After Herman made his announcement, he walked to the center of the Octagon.

Cummings had already dropped his gloves in the center. Herman put his gloves next to Cummings' and both men got on all fours and bowed. They then embraced in a remarkable scene.

It was a moment those who witnessed clearly won't forget.