The Top 10 Most Forgettable UFC Title Reigns

A champion forever has their name in the history books, but not all championship reigns are the stuff that legends are made of

Becoming a UFC champion is every mixed martial artist's dream.

It is the ultimate badge of achievement, a crowning glory that forever cements your name in the history books and puts you in an elite class that only a select few athletes can claim to be a part of.

While that achievement can never truly be taken away, the fancy belt you earned and the title of "current" champion certainly can - and when it comes to the latter, it inevitably will be, one way or another.

Not all champions are made equal however, and despite reaching the top, most don't get to enjoy the incredible reigns that award near-mythological status to the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, and select few others; that rarity is what makes them stand a level above even the select few who can call themselves champions.

Unfortunately for some, their crowning achievement is briskly swept into the closet of records - their time on top of the world a mere flash in the pan, they see themselves yanked from their perch atop the throne by a hungry challenger or, even worse, an athletic commission and their pesky drug tests.

Not only that, but while the UFC championship is generally seen as the clear marker to designate the greatest fighter in a weight class, occasionally the recipient of such a belt isn't seen as a "legitimate" champion in the eyes of the MMA community - either by outside factors making the "rightful" champion unavailable for a fight or by questionable judging/officiating, or even questionable matchmaking.

This is a list of those select few, unfortunate souls whose reign over their respective division was short and forgettable.

You will notice that some on this list still had legendary careers - just because they had a forgettable title reign, doesn't mean their path to a title, and what they may have accomplished afterward, is any less impressive, as this list is specifically looking at their title reign itself.

For the sake of fairness, those that redeemed an earlier, forgettable reign with a new one (ie. fighters who returned to the top of the mountain and reclaimed their thrones) have earned the right to have their name struck off such a list - or else legendary, unforgettable champions such as Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Randy Couture, Cain Velasquez and more would find themselves here, proving just how difficult maintaining a spot at the top of the sport can truly be.

For this ranking, emphasis is placed on the championship fight(s) themselves (ie. how they won the title, if there were extenuating circumstances, and of course how they lost the title), interim titles or symbolic ones like the BMF belt are not counted, and belts that were vacated due to injuries are also excluded.

Without further ado, let's get things started.

10. Carla Esparza

Women's Bantamweight Champion (2014-15, 92 days; 2022, 190 days)

So you may be wondering why a two-time champion is on this list when just a few sentences above it states "those that redeemed themselves with a second reign won't be included" - but the "Cookie Monster" is a clear exception to the rule.

The inaugural Invicta Strawweight (115 pounds) champion, 9-2 Carla Esparza, just like the rest of the cast of the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter, were fighting not for a chance to join the UFC with a six-figure contract like any other season of the show, but to win the inaugural UFC Strawweight Championship as the UFC added the new women's division to their offerings.

Unfortunately, by the time the show concluded in December 2014, many felt that the two best strawweights in the UFC were never even on the show.

Two undefeated killers in 12-0 Claudia Gadelha and 7-0 Joanna Jedzrejczyk (who also had an extensive kickboxing career, with five of her pro wins up at flyweight) had instead debuted in the UFC in July, left off of the show despite being arguably the most interesting contenders in the division.

For The Ultimate Fighter finale, Carla faced off against future star Rose Namajunas; despite having just a 2-1 pro record, Rose had won all three of her fights on the show by submission and was known for her highly aggressive style and slick jiu-jitsu.

At just 22 years old, Rose clearly was a star in the making and a potential future champion, but in the TUF 20 Finale, Carla utilized her superior wrestling to smother and beat up the inexperienced prospect, dominating en route to a third round rear-naked choke to take the title.

It was an impressive performance, but many felt the fact the show culminated in a title fight was premature given some of the talent left off the show, not to mention Rose's inexperience - the two undefeated prospects meanwhile, Joanna and Claudia, would fight just a day after Esparza defeated Namajunas, with Joanna winning a razor-thin split decision after an incredibly close back-and-forth battle that arguably was more deserving of the strawweight crown.

Just three months later, those who felt this way would have their suspicions confirmed when Esparza attempted to defend her throne against Joanna Jedzrejczyk, often referred to as "Joanna Violence" thanks to her incredibly difficult-to-pronounce last name and her highly aggressive style.

Their title fight at UFC 185 was indeed violent, but unfortunately for Esparza, it was entirely one-way traffic.

While the champion was able to take down her challenger for a brief period in the opening stanza, Joanna stuffed every other attempt and was sniping her at range thanks to her far-superior striking skills.

The situation already seemed dire for Esparza following the first round, but Joanna turned up the volume and began utterly battering the Cookie Monster in the second, smashing combinations and effortlessly shucking off Carla's desperate takedown attempts (Carla went just 1 for 17 on takedowns in the end).

Late in the second round, the referee saved the overmatched champion from the unrelenting, torrential barrages she was receiving and "Joanna Champion" was born.

It was an underwhelming title reign which ended in short, brutal fashion, which certainly wasn't helped by the musings amongst many fans that the winner of the show wouldn't be the rightful champion even before it had finished airing.

Fast-forward seven years to 2022; Rose Namajunas had grown into her potential and dethroned the afforementioned Joanna Champion, who had reigned over the division with an iron fist ever since battering Esparza back at UFC 185.

In fact, Namajunas had already become a two-time champion, her first reign being cut short in her second title defense courtesy of an unbelievable slam from Jessica Andrade. Andrade's own reign would end in just 42-seconds as Chinese star Zhang Weili melted her, with Rose subsequently knocking out Weili with a head kick in 78-seconds as the strawweights played hot potato with the belt.

After defending her crown with a second victory over Weili, Rose turned to another old foe - Carla Esparza.

Since losing her crown, Esparza went 3-3 over the next three years before she put together an impressive five-fight winning streak, culminating in a surprising second-round TKO against Yan Xiaonan to earn herself a title shot - despite the impressive results on paper, she had three controversial split or majority decision wins in the middle of that run that didn't inspire much confidence.

Though Carla had improved her striking in recent years, Rose's clear striking and size advantage combined with her much-improved takedown defense and slick jiu-jitsu to fall back on, as well as the wealth of experience she had accrued since their first meeting, had her as a sizeable favourite heading into UFC 274.

It was seen largely as a showcase fight for Namajunas, a chance to avenge an early career loss against an overmatched opponent. Fights aren't fought on paper however, and the mental game can be just as important as the physical.

On fight night, Rose appeared petrified to repeat the mistakes that had cost her in the first fight with Carla, and seemed to think the best way to avoid making any mistakes was to just...do nothing. And Carla obliged. For five rounds.

The fight was easily one of the worst in UFC history, made ever moreso given there was a title on the line.

It was 25-minutes of staring at each other from outside of both of their ranges, them taking turns occasionally throwing a half-hearted punch or two with Carla sometimes attempting a takedown. The fight was almost exclusively on the feet, as although both managed to take the other down (Carla took her down twice, Rose once) both managed to get back to their feet and separate almost immediately.

Strikes landed over each round: 4 (Rose) to 4 (Carla). 3 to 4. 11 to 9. 6 to 8. 13 to 5 (Rose also scored her only takedown this round, making it the only easy round to score). Nothing of actual significance landed in the entire fight, making scoring a nightmare for anyone who managed to keep themselves awake.

After a half-hour of inaction and the entire crowd boring the horrendous affair, Esparza added another controversial split decision to her streak.

Nobody even bothered to argue about this one after though given how terrible the fight was, and because so little was there to judge, neither fighter had any room to complain about the scorecards.

Rose seemed content to do nothing to separate herself from her challenger, effectively throwing away her title while Carla did just enough to take it home with her.

It was an embarassing championship fight and once again, Carla was looked at as an undeserving champion for an entirely different reason; later that year, order was restored as, although she looked surprisingly competitive for the first few minutes, Esparza was summarily dispatched just 65-seconds into the second round against former champion Zhang Weili.

No one can ever take away the fact she was a two-time UFC champion; it's just in Carla Esparza's best interest that nobody looks at the details too closely.

9. Vitor Belfort

Light Heavyweight Champion (2004, 203 days)

Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort is a legend of the sport and has been one of its premiere knockout artists ever since he burst onto the UFC scene at just 19 years old, way back in 1997.

A young Belfort wowed onlookers as his blistering handspeed won him the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament in just a little over two minutes between two fights that night; for the next two decades, Belfort would experience a roller coaster of a career that saw him enjoy the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in a Hall of Fame career.

His name is all over the UFC history books to this day - the third most KOs, the most first-round knockouts, the most first-round finishes, the youngest UFC tournament winner; yet that only tells a part of his story, as his career was also filled with lulls in his performances, PED controversies, and even a bizarre title win.

His lone loss in his first UFC stint came at the hands of Randy Couture, who shocked the (small) MMA world at the time by grounding the Phenom and beating him up on the mat, eventually earning a TKO in a heavyweight title eliminator fight.

After an iconic knockout over a young Wanderlei Silva at the UFC's first event in Brazil, Belfort would be poached by PRIDE and thus plied his trade in Japan, posting a 4-1 record with the promotion. Vitor returned to the UFC to face "The Iceman", Chuck Liddell, losing a highly entertaining decision to the future champion.

Rebounding with a savage knockout over Marvin Eastman, Belfort would challenge his old foe, Randy Couture, for the UFC's light heavyweight title after "The Natural" had dispatched both Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

Their highly anticipated rematch lasted just 49 seconds, with Vitor earning a TKO victory; what happened in the cage however, was far from one of Vitor's usual finishes.

After a small exchange that saw the champion get into a clinch, Randy had complained about what he thought was an eyepoke, leading to a pause in the action. Despite the seemingly innocuous exchange of punches, Couture suffered a corneal abrasion to his eye, forcing the ringside doctor to call off the fight.

The cause of the cut however was not an eyepoke, but a punch - the seam of Belfort's UFC glove appeared to have lacerated Randy's eye, a freak accident that ended up ruining a highly anticipated title fight. Since the injury was caused by a legal strike and not an eyepoke or other foul, the fight was rightly called a TKO by doctor stoppage, with Belfort awarded the victory.

Despite the bizarre and disappointing circumstances, it was hard not to be happy for Belfort given that just weeks before the fight his sister, Priscila, had gone missing in Brazil in what was a suspected kidnapping (her body has still never been found; confessions from 2007 later revealed she was kidnapped and murdered, though the Belfort family does not believe this version of events).

Eight months later, the two squared off once again and this time there was no controversy or bizarre ending - Randy dominated the fight from the opening bell, taking Belfort down and smashing him there until eventually a doctor called off the fight following the third round.

It was an unfortunate ending for the Phenom's long-awaited title reign, with many fans of the sport expecting Belfort to be a nigh-unstoppable champion when they originally saw him burst onto the scene in the late nineties.

A split decision loss saw Belfort leave the promotion for the second time and enter the worst stint of his career before he would turn things around and return to the UFC for a third, highly successful run, though ultimately he would never recapture UFC gold.

8. Conor McGregor

Featherweight Champion (2015-16, 350 days)

Lightweight Champion (2016-18, 511 days)

It seems insane to see a two-division champion on this list, yet Conor McGregor makes it no secret that he is an exception to the rules, and thus he has gone out of his way to earn himself a spot.

Despite his two title "reigns" lasting a combined 861 days (over two years), not once did he defend (or even get booked to defend) either of those titles. The "Notorious" McGregor was stripped for inactivity not once, but twice - he was the first and only fighter to be stripped by the UFC for inactivity without it being due to an injury, and he managed to do it for both of his belts.

Conor would of course capture the featherweight title with an incredible 13-second knockout over long-reigning featherweight GOAT Jose Aldo in their highly anticipated showdown at UFC 194, but rather than defend his new belt against awaiting challenger Frankie Edgar, McGregor opted to move up to lightweight to challenge Rafael Dos Anjos for a second belt in an attempt to be the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

Unfortunately Dos Anjos would break his foot and pull out of the matchup, with fellow lightweight Nate Diaz stepping up to take on McGregor in a non-title bout instead.

Given the replacement came together just two weeks before the fight, Nate wanted the fight to take place at a catchweight as he wouldn't be able to make the lightweight limit - instead, Conor boldly opted to move the fight up an entire weight class to welterweight.

After a war of words, the two met in the Octagon and Conor largely had his way with the Stockton native in the first, his crisp hands and power giving the slow-starting Diaz a lot of trouble.

By the second however, McGregor was already slowing down and Nate began to utilize his trademark volume to pour on the pressure; late in the second, as Conor faded underneath the waves of offense, Nate landed a stiff one-two which rocked the brash Irishman. McGregor forced a panicked double-leg takedown as a result, only to find himself fending off a guillotine choke and going to his back as a result.

Nate secured the mount and began raining down punishment until Conor gave up his back and handed Diaz his neck, tapping to a rear-naked choke late in the second round to end his undefeated UFC run.

The shocking upset put a serious damper on McGregor's double-champion aspirations as an immediate rematch was booked, this time with both men receiving a full fight camp - despite this, McGregor insisted on it once again being at welterweight to make it exactly like the first fight.

Once again Conor had his way early and even dropped Diaz multiple times in the opening round, but Nate came back strong and forced the action, turning the fight into a war - Conor fought much more conservatively as the fight went on to avoid the same fate as the first fight, at times even turning his back and running from Diaz to avoid Nate's advances.

McGregor took home an extremely close and somewhat controversial majority decision to right the ship.

Despite going just 1-1 against a lightweight (who was not a top contender at the time) at welterweight, McGregor was still granted his shot at lightweight gold, all the while keeping the featherweight division held up as he still held that belt (something that the UFC smartly no longer allows fighters to do, although if it had done so back then, they wouldn't have been able to call Conor a simultaneous two-division champ).

Rather than being against Dos Anjos however, it would come against Eddie Alvarez, who had shockingly unseated the Brazilian champion with a standing TKO in the first round of their title fight just a month before McGregor's rematch with Diaz.

Although he was a former two-time Bellator lightweight champion, up to that point Alvarez's UFC career had been rather lackluster as he was just 2-1 with both of his victories being extremely close split decisions, making him a sizeable underdog against Dos Anjos.

Finally, the stage was set once again for McGregor's crowning achievement, this time at the massive UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden, the UFC's first trip to New York since the state banned the sport in the 90s.

The massive showdown saw Eddie fold under the pressure from the opening bell, bizarrely opting to do the opposite of what his corner called for and what any reasonable fan let alone fighter would expect from someone facing a striker like Conor, from circling into his power to not attempting any takedowns even after being dropped to charging in with zero setup against a counter-puncher.

To his credit, Conor delivered the best performance of his career, dropping Alvarez twice in the opening frame before putting him on ice midway through the second to become the first "simultaneous" two-division champion in UFC history.

Just two weeks later, the UFC finally stripped Conor of the featherweight title, a belt he unsurprisingly never intended on defending given his brutal weight cuts for the division.

His lightweight title however was expected to be defended, but frustratingly, fans were forced to wait as Conor spent half of 2017 campaigning for a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, a fight that would eventually be signed in July to take place at the end of August.

The massive crossover captured the attention of both sports along with the sporting world in general, turning into a ludicrously profitable spectacle as it became the second biggest pay-per-view event of all time with over 4 million buys. Though he did well early, Conor was stopped by a standing TKO in the tenth round after Floyd let him tire and began to pick him apart.

With his massive payday in hand, McGregor frustratingly continued to let the lightweight division be backed up even as a full year since his title-winning performance passed by, as he continued to talk from the sidelines and "negotiate' yet refused to actually fight.

After far too long, the UFC finally stripped McGregor's second belt in April of 2018; coincidentally, McGregor was also a two-division champion in Cage Rage, where he won the vacant featherweight title before doing the same at lightweight and then signing to the UFC, meaning McGregor had captured four belts in his MMA career yet had never defended or even been booked to defend a single one.

McGregor would eventually return later in 2018 to face then-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, where he would famously be dominated and tapped out via a neck crank in the fourth round.

7. Eddie Alvarez

Lightweight Champion (2016, 128 days)

Eddie Alvarez has rightfully earned his reputation as a hard-nosed brawler with a penchant for putting on thrilling battles inside the cage, but when it came time for the two-time Bellator lightweight champion to transition into the world-famous Octagon, his performances were rather underwhelming.

After losing his debut in the UFC in a fun but forgettable fight with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, Alvarez put together back-to-back victories over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. The problem was, both fights were razor-thin split decisions that were far more grinding than Eddie's formerly exciting style.

The uninspiring performances made a title shot for Alvarez a bit of a stretch, but it seemed like the perfect fight to keep Rafael Dos Anjos busy while he awaited his money fight with Conor McGregor once the latter's rematch with Nate Diaz was in the books.

Instead, Eddie threw a wrench into those plans, cracking Dos Anjos with a right hand which wobbled the champion. Alvarez swarmed with a flurry against the cage as Dos Anjos desperately tried to regain his wits, but unfortunately for RDA, he could not do so before the referee stepped in to save him from the onslaught. Just like that, there was a new UFC lightweight champion.

Rumours of Dos Anjos passing out while weight cutting before the fight didn't exactly dispel fan theories that Alvarez's win was as much of a fluke as it was an impressive upset, but regardless, it was now new champion Eddie Alvarez who awaited McGregor atop the lightweight mountain.

As is the standard for a McGregor fight, the two engaged in a war of words before their UFC 205 headlining tilt, with Eddie promising to do his talking inside the Octagon - unfortunately for Eddie, the only sound he managed to produce in the Octagon was a sad squeak.

The veteran of over 30 fights over 13 years made virtually every mistake one can when fighting a counter-puncher like McGregor, throwing away his typical slick boxing not to mention his recent wrestling-heavy approach that had earned him his title shot in the first place.

Alvarez looked completely out of place from the opening bell, knocked down three times en route to a brutal second round knockout loss.

It was an embarassing showing, especially for a fighter as skilled and as gutsy as Alvarez is.

After a No Contest against Dustin Poirier where he threw blatantly illegal knees, Alvarez redeemed himself by knocking out Justin Gaethje in an epic war of attrition at UFC 218, though a rematch against Poirier saw him finished in the second round. Alvarez would go to ONE FC following that, winning just one of his final four fights before retiring.

While his career was filled with entertaining scraps, his somewhat "flukey" UFC title win combined with his abysmal performance at UFC 205 made him one of the most forgettable UFC champions in the modern era despite being in one of the most well-known and competitive divisions.

6. Raquel Pennington

Women's Bantamweight Champion (2024, 255 days)

It's always an uphill battle for a new champion to cement their legitimacy in fans' eyes when a title has been vacated due to retirement or injuries. In the case of Raquel "Rocky" Pennington, the hill she faced might as well have been Mount Everest.

When female GOAT Amanda Nunes retired following a dominant victory over Irene Aldana at UFC 289, she had already cleaned out the bantamweight division. Her lone loss in the past seven years was in a shocking upset to Julianna Pena, one which she emphatically avenged with a five-round beatdown in their rematch.

She had also absolutely dominated Pennington back in 2018, scoring a brutal fifth-round TKO after beating on Rocky for nearly 23 minutes.

The gap between Nunes and the rest of the division was truly a canyon, meaning that whoever picked up the vacant belt in her absense would need to put together a truly remarkable run to earn the respect typically afforded a champion, rather than being seen as a belt holder purely because the true queen decided to retire.

For the vacant bantamweight strap, the last champion besides Nunes, Julianna Pena, was expected to square off with Raquel Pennington, who had recently racked up five straight victories; Pena however was dealing with injuries, and so Marya Bueno Silva was picked to take up the other half of the title tilt.

After racking up three straight victories over lower competition, Silva picked up her biggest win over the aging Holly Holm with a slick second-round submission, only for it to be declared a No Contest after she tested positive for a PED - oddly, the "PED" was Ritalin she had been taking for her ADHD for the past three years, making the overturning seem a bit harsh.

With Pena unable to make it, Silva was thrust into a title fight, with most believing it was way too soon for her. The championship fight certainly didn't carry the respect a UFC belt typically observes, and the fight itself didn't exactly have anyone reconsidering their lack of enthusiasm.

The fight was sloppy, boring, and grinding, with Raquel having a clear advantage in the striking yet opting to clinch and grapple instead - Pennington has long had issues with listening to her corner and exhibiting poor fight IQ despite her high-level experience, which made the fight all the more frustrating to watch.

It was a bad fight and one that didn't exactly showcase championship skill or talent, not helped by the fact the rest of the UFC 297 card in Toronto was largely boring as well.

Ten months later, Pennington would attempt to defend her title against Julianna Pena in Salt Lake City - by then, Kayla Harrison was the biggest name in the division since Nunes' retirement, and was figured to be a huge favourite against either fighter in the championship fight.

Just like the last card Pennington was on, the previous fights certainly didn't live up to the hype, making people have little patience for a sloppy or bad fight - unfortunately, Pena and Pennington offered plenty of both for the first three rounds, drawing the ire of all viewers.

Fortunately things did pick up in the championship rounds, with Pennington scoring a big knockdown in the fourth and the two drastically upped the pace to the final bell, largely making up for the timid start.

After five rounds, many felt Rocky did enough to retain her belt, but two of the three judges in Salt Lake City thought otherwise, with Pena becoming a two-time champion instead.

It's hard not to feel for Raquel here, as it seemed she did do enough to retain the belt - the decision was unfortunately just another controversial one on a card filled with horrendous judging, including the absolute robbery of Jose Aldo in his fight with Mario Bautista.

That being said, it was an extremely close fight that up until the final two rounds was highly unimpressive, for a belt that most feel wasn't worthy of a UFC championship's prestige and was simply a placeholder for the actual top contender to pick up later.

Fans were once again proven correct earlier this year as Kayla Harrison breezed through Pena to take the belt via a second round submission.

5 . Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk

Lightweight Champion (2006-07, 420 days)

Sean Sherk earns the distinction of being the lone champion on this list to have successfully defended his crown.

Sherk had racked up an impressive 32-2-1 record at welterweight, with his only losses coming to Matt Hughes for the UFC title, and future champion Georges St. Pierre.

At UFC 64, the organization opted to finally bring back the lightweight championship after recently reinstating the division, which for the previous few years had been dropped.

Back in 2002, inaugural lightweight champion Jens Pulver had been stripped of his belt after two defenses thanks to a contract dispute. The UFC opted to put together a four-man tournament to crown a new champion, only for BJ Penn and Caol Uno to fight to a draw in the tournament's finale, leaving the belt still vacant.

Rather than booking a rematch, the UFC dropped the division entirely, forcing its lightweights to fight elsewhere or, in the case of BJ Penn, move up to welterweight to capture the 170-pound title by shockingly taking out Matt Hughes.

Fast-forward to 2006, the consensus #1 lightweight in the world, BJ Penn, had come back to the UFC following a stint in K-1's MMA organization and was continuing to fight up at welterweight.

The UFC thus opted to reinstate the championship belt with a match-up between 5-2 The Ultimate Fighter finalist Kenny Florian, who had recently dropped to 155 to pick up an impressive first-round submission over Sam Stout and earned his third-straight victory, against Sean Sherk, who was making his lightweight debut after defeating Nick Diaz at UFC 59 at welterweight.

Sherk's size and wrestling ability proved too much for a young "Kenflo", with Sherk largely dominating on the floor en route to a lopsided decision victory.

For his first defense, Sherk took on Hermes Franca, the WEC lightweight champion who vacated his title in order to sign an exclusive UFC contract after already having fought for them twice.

Following a thrilling second-round TKO victory over Spencer Fisher, Franca was a legitimate challenger riding an eight-fight winning streak, which included victories over Nate Diaz, Jamie Varner, and the afforementioned Fisher.

The fight ended up being a dull, wrestling-heavy affair as Sherk was able to take Franca down at will and kept just busy enough to avoid getting stood up, yet never really threatened with a finish. Sherk earned another lopsided decision to defend his title, but here's where things get complicated.

Following the fight, both fighters failed drug tests for steroids.

The Muscle Shark (perhaps not the best choice of nickname when you're trying to hide steroid use) tested positive for nandrolone, while Franca popped for drostanolone. Normally, when a fighter pops for PEDs, the fight is ruled a No Contest, but because both fighters failed, the California commission left the result unchanged since they were effectively on an even-footing in the fight.

The UFC however unceremoniously stripped Sherk of the lightweight crown, marking an embarassing end to a sleep-inducing title reign.

While Sherk served his suspension, BJ Penn went back to his natural weight class, having coached against inaugural champion Jens Pulver and defeating him in his return to the lightweight division.

Penn earned the vacant title by demolishing Joe "Daddy" Stevenson in a bloody submission, setting up a showdown between Sherk and Penn, with Penn having a very solid claim to have been the best lightweight in the world since before Sherk ever even fought in the division.

Their fight was a one-sided demolition as Penn was able to shut down Sherk's takedowns and batter him with his superior boxing on the feet, eventually scoring a brutal knee at the end of the third round along with a vicious flurry.

The horn sounded to end the round and technically the referee hadn't stopped it, but Penn himself waved off the fight as Sherk sat against the cage, clearly not knowing where he was - the referee then opted to call it himself as The Muscle Shark was clearly in no condition to continue.

It was a brutal beating and one which made it clear that the lightweight champion was rightfully BJ Penn, and would have been for years had the UFC not dropped the division. And he earned his belt without taking any nandrolone.

4. Magomed "Lil Ank" Ankalaev

Light Heavyweight Champion (2025, 211 days)

When it comes to careers that are both impressive and uninspiring at the same time, Magomed Ankalaev is in a league of his own.

In his UFC debut back in 2018, the 8-0 Ankalaev dominated UFC vet Paul Craig for almost an entire three rounds, only to be caught in a triangle and panic-tapped with just one second left on the clock.

From there, Ankalaev would rattle off nine-straight victories, including a knockout over Ion Cutelaba (he had previously done so in 38 seconds in an extremely egregious early stoppage, forcing an immediate rematch), a front-kick knockout, a second round TKO over an injured Anthony Smith, as well as decisions over Thiago Santos, Volkan Oezdemir, and Nikita Krylov.

It's an impressive resume and included some solid finishes, but those that watched the fights themselves saw a rather dull "striker" that utilized his wrestling to instill fear in his opponents, then was content with outstriking them at a typically slow and hesitant pace, with a few finishes coming if his opponent got reckless or was too clearly overmatched skill-wise.

After Jiri Prochazka was forced to vacate his title due to a shoulder injury, Ankalaev was picked to face off with former champ Jan Blachowicz for the vacant title. The fight ended in a split draw, with Jan battering Ankalaev's legs early until he tired and Ankalaev was able to implement his grappling later on in the fight.

It was a largely unimpressive and boring affair that resulted in no new champion being crowned, so the UFC opted to elevate a light heavyweight match-up between former champion Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill that was booked for just a month later to be another attempt to crown a new champion, with Hill taking home the vacant strap - at least until he would also vacate due to injury.

Nearly a year after his failed title bid, Ankalaev returned to face a resurgent Johnny Walker, only to land a blatantly illegal knee early which resulted in a No Contest and forced an immediate rematch. Three months later, Ankalaev became the (checks notes) fifth man to knock out Johnny Walker.

Ten months later, Ankalaev would win a decision over Aleksandar Rakic to earn another title shot - despite the fight being a striking affair, Ankalaev's conservative style and lack of finishing intent didn't exactly garner much hype, but he was still seen as the biggest threat to the far more active (and impressive) Alex Pereira's crown given his grappling pedigree and well-roundedness.

At UFC 313 in March, Ankalaev would put on arguably his most impressive performance, as he was able to land several heavy southpaw straights and had the champion almost-entirely on the back foot throughout their 25-minute fight, the threat of the takedown clearly causing Pereira problems. Ankalaev even managed to rock the champion late in the second round.

Pereira on the other hand looked lethargic, consistently on the back foot with his low kicks being almost his entire offense, almost never committing to anything with his hands despite his typical style and power. Though he landed some stiff jabs early, he stopped throwing them and opted to play defense throughout - impressively, he was able to stuff all 12 of Ankalaev's takedown attempts, yet on the feet he had been lulled to sleep by the Dagestani challenger.

Despite the underwhelming performance, many still believed Pereira did enough to win three rounds and retain his belt, but the judges saw otherwise, awarding Ankalaev the light heavyweight crown.

To make matters worse, then came an onslaught of bullshit and trash talking from Ankalaev and his team, particularly from his notorious manager Ali Abdelaziz - Ankalaev and co. claimed the UFC was protecting Pereira from him for the past year, that Pereira didn't want a rematch, that he had dominated Pereira (a 3-2 win isn't exactly domination by any metric), and more.

While Pereira and his camp typically doesn't make excuses following a loss, the torrent of bullshit saw them forced to point out that Pereira had gone into the fight with a broken left hand and rotavirus, a rather severe illness.

Ankalaev and co. dismissed these things as excuses and assured a rematch would be lopsided, as he already turned his attention to next contenders. He even claimed that he had been hampered by injuries himself for their first fight, and that he would finish Pereira with ease as he'd be entering UFC 320 healthy.

After months of hurling insults and disrespectful tweets at Pereira, even on fight week Ankalaev and his team continued disrespecting the former champion...which in retrospect, was probably not an intelligent move.

Going into the fight, many believed Pereira's extremely active schedule, combined with him being 37 years old (38 by the time of their rematch), had finally caught up to him, and that Ankalaev was stylistically the worst possible matchup for him.

Even after the lengthiest rest of his UFC career at seven months, Pereira was a sizeable underdog with bookies - not so with the fans however.

At UFC 320, it was finally time to see the truth - and it didn't take long for order to be restored.

What happened in the main event could be best described as a mugging.

The tentative, defensive Pereira was gone - in his place stood the horrifying crusher of souls that is Poatan.

Immediately Poatan came out and put pressure on the champion, hammering home heavy leg kicks and backing Ankalaev to the fence. The difference in the demeanor of Ankalaev from before the fight versus during was written all over his face - the cocky champion quickly realized this would not be the typical, slow-paced bore he liked to participate in, and now his health was in grave danger.

With Ankalaev feating Alex's legendary left hook, it didn't take long for Alex to instead land a crushing overhand right on Ankalaev which wobbled the Dagestani. "Big Ank" then shot for a desperate takedown which Pereira effortlessly defended, forcing Ankalaev to his back.

An enraged Poatan hammered away as Ankalaev turtled.

Realizing he wasn't getting clean shots through, Pereira instead landed two disgusting 12-6 elbows into Magomed's exposed ribcage, then hammered away with more elbows to the arms/head of Ankalaev.

Referee Herb Dean told Ankalaev to get out of there, but Ankalaev was done as soon as he went to his back, turtling and praying for someone to stop the assault.

It took just 80 seconds for Alex to wipe the floor with Ankalaev, forcing the previously quiet fighter to eat his words and reap the rewards of pissing off the great Alex Pereira.

How anyone at this point could think disrespecting Alex Pereira is a good idea is beyond comprehension - the man is vengeance personified. He literally chased an old rival to a new sport and took his belt just for talking shit in an interview. He turned another opponent into a meme after that man decided to disrespect him during fight week after playing nice beforehand.

For his latest act of righteous justice, he turned Magomed Ankalaev into "Lil Ank".

Ankalaev's title reign lasted just 80 seconds as he was slaughtered like a sheep, made all the worse by the shit talking he and his team had done for many months prior. In that reign, he landed a total of four strikes, none being impactful.

He was exposed as a paper champion, and quickly came out with excuses that he was injured before the fight. At Pereira's clear worst, Ankalaev could barely scrape by with a close decision. When Pereira was healthy, he needed just 80 seconds to have Ankalaev in the fetal position begging for mercy.

Time will tell whether Ankalaev can redeem himself in the future, but his decimation at UFC 320 along with his antics have certainly not endeared himself to any fans, and he faces a steep uphill climb to redemption while Alex moves on to bigger and better things, including the heavyweight division.

3. Josh Barnett

Heavyweight Champion (2002, 126 days)

Speaking of the heavyweight division, it being the oldest division in the UFC means it has had several forgettable championship reigns, but none quite like Josh Barnett's.

The 12-1 prospect earned a shot against Randy Couture in 2002, who had already defended his crown twice in back-to-back wars against Pedro Rizzo, the same man who had handed Barnett the lone loss of his career.

The legendary Couture began the fight with his dirty-boxing and wrestling-heavy attack, grounding Barnett and largely dominating the first round - in the second, it looked much the same, until around midway through the round Barnett was able to sweep the Olympic alternate wrestler and found himself on top.

Seizing his opportunity, Barnett unleashed an onslaught of ground and pound against the champion, battering Randy until late in the second round when the referee was forced to step in and call the bout a TKO.

It was an impressive comeback for the young heavyweight in what could have been a star-making performance, particularly given that at 25, he had become the youngest heavyweight champion in UFC history...unfortunately for Barnett, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) had recently begun trying to clean up the sport by testing for steroids.

Ironically, Barnett had already run afoul of such testing, in his victory just four months prior against Bobby Hoffman. The NSAC had started testing fighters on the night of their fights in what was essentially a fact-finding mission, without yet handing out penalties or making results public.

During this phase, Barnett tested positive for steroids and was notified by the Nevada commission, who warned him to stop taking them as in the future there would be penalties. Apparently, that warning didn't dissuade Barnett, as after his championship-winning performance he would once again test positive for steroids.

At the time, there hadn't yet been clearly outlined penalties for test failures (in the future, a fight's result would be declared a No Contest if the winner of a bout tested positive, nullifying a title win) - in Barnett's case, his victory still officially counted, but he was subsequently stripped of the UFC heavyweight title and released from the promotion regardless.

Barnett was the first high-profile "victim" of drug testing in a sport where steroid usage ran rampant, but given he had been let off with a warning just months prior, it's impossible to feel bad for the man.

In fact, his steroid usage would not only cost him the UFC title, but would later cost him the biggest fight of his career and collapse an entire organization to boot.

The heavyweight would ply his trade in Japan as he made himself a star in both professional wrestling and MMA there, until 2008 when he would sign with upstart promotion Affliction (yes, the apparel company). Barnett won his first two bouts there, setting up a highly anticipated fight with Fedor Emilianenko for Affliction's third event - the fight was so big, even Dana White said that if Barnett were to win, he'd offer him a contract back with the UFC as well as a title shot against then-champion Cain Velasquez.

The California Athletic Commission however had already begun pre-fight drug testing for big fights by that time, and unfortunately for Barnett, he would become the first MMA fighter to test positive for three different fights, this time 10 days before his scheduled match with Fedor.

Popping for drostanolone, Barnett was removed from the fight and Affliction, having already been financially strained from their first two events and their exorbitant purses, ended up forced to cancel the event entirely and folded the promotion as a result.

2. Germaine de Randamie

Women's Featherweight Champion (2017, 128 days)

When it comes to undeserving and forgettable champions, it's hard to beat Germaine de Randamie.

In 2016, the UFC signed long-dominant featherweight queen of MMA Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino in the hopes of creating a superfight with Ronda Rousey, who had long been engaged in a war of words with Cyborg but insisted she would only take a fight with Cris at bantamweight (135).

The UFC thus opted to have Cyborg slowly trim down to bantamweight by having her take catchweight fights at 140 pounds, down from her usual 145, since the UFC did not have a featherweight division.

While Cyborg was able to make the 140 pound limit twice, the cuts were absolutely brutal, as behind-the-scenes video would detail - they also showed the incompetence of Mike Dolce, who was in charge of her weight cuts, and insisted Cyborg take birth control in order to help lose the weight, which not only made things worse, but also heavily affected Cyborg's hormone balance.

Though she made the weight, the cuts were simply too much as is and a fight five pounds lower at 135 was simply not an option - thus the UFC opted to instead add Cyborg's proper weight class of featherweight. The move set up a showdown with former bantamweight champion Holly Holm, who would be moving up in weight after losing her last two bouts, for the inaugural featherweight belt.

A couple months before the fight however, USADA flagged one of Cyborg's samples, not for a steroid but for a substance used to regulate estrogen levels. Cyborg would later be cleared of wrong-doing as the substance she tested for was given properly to help her recover from the toll of the extreme weight cuts she underwent, and was not considered performance enhancing.

Unfortunately, that ruling wouldn't come until after the championship fight - despite having the entire reason for the featherweight belt sidelined, the UFC went forward with an inaugural featherweight championship with Holly Holm taking on Germaine de Randamie.

Germaine's 6-3 record was hardly imposing, but the highly-accomplished kickboxer had fought at both bantamweight and featherweight and sported a 3-1 record in the UFC, with her only loss coming to Amanda Nunes.

It wasn't exactly seen as a legitimate title fight to begin with, but de Randamie surprised many (at least those that weren't familiar with Germaine's kickboxing pedigree) by outstriking Holm early.

Controversy would abound however, as de Randamie would land several big shots after the bell that ended both the second and third rounds, with virtually all watching believing she should at least be deducted a point for such egregious fouls (especially given that Holm was visibly wobbled by one such shot), but she was never penalized besides a warning.

Some believed Holm had done enough to snag three rounds even without a point deduction, but instead the close decision was awarded to de Randamie, who at best should have left with a draw given her blatant fouls.

It was hardly the kind of fight worthy of a new championship belt, but things didn't get any better after that.

With Cyborg being absolved of wrong-doing by USADA, the MMA world awaited a showdown between GDR and Cyborg, with Cris being heavily favoured to win such a matchup - however as time went on, questions arose as to why the fight wasn't materializing.

Germaine would finally issue a statement, claiming that because of Cyborg's past PED incidents, she was not willing to fight Cyborg and instead planned on moving back down to bantamweight. The clear duck was a rare instance of a fighter openly being unwilling to face a certain opponent, and as a result the UFC stripped her of her championship title, one that she really shouldn't have had in the first place.

Cyborg would of course go on to win the featherweight strap shortly after, while de Randamie went 3-2 in the coming years at bantamweight, which included a second loss to Amanda Nunes for the 135-pound belt.

1. Nicco Montano

Women's Flyweight Champion (2017-18, 280 days)

It's indeed hard to beat Germaine de Randamie's underwhelming championship reign, but Nicco Montano did just that - in the very same year.

Midway through 2017, the UFC opted to once again introduce a new women's division to the organization with an installment of The Ultimate Fighter, with the winner of the tournament being crowned the inaugural UFC flyweight champion.

Repeating the same mistakes as their first try at such a format, several fighters who would be considered the best in the division were not included on the show, most notably a group of small bantamweights already in the UFC who would proceed to drop down to flyweight after its introduction.

Most notable was Valentina Shevchenko, who had fought at flyweight years prior as well as in her kickboxing days, and was a top contender at bantamweight despite being undersized - however, she was engaged in a bantamweight title fight already by the time the show began airing (she lost an extremely close split decision to Amanda Nunes, one in which many believed she had done enough to win).

The show saw an unanticipated finale between inexperienced prospects in Sijara Eubanks, who was just 2-2 as a pro, and the 3-2 Nicco Montano - hardly the pedigree expected for a UFC title fight.

To make matters worse, Eubanks (as would become a recurrent theme of her dismal UFC career) would be hospitalized while cutting weight on the day of weigh-ins and deemed ineligible to compete; thus 21-13 veteran Roxanne Modafferi, who had lost a decision to Eubanks in the semi-finals but was already competing on the same card, stepped up to take the title opportunity.

It was hardly a hotly-anticipated title fight and didn't showcase a championship-level of skill, but it was an entertaining fight at least, with Montano doing enough to get her hand raised at the end of the 25-minute affair.

Regardless of who her first opponent would end up being, not many believed Montano would be able to defend her belt - and that sentiment became extremely prevalent when just two months later, Valentina Shevchenko dropped down to flyweight and announced her intent with the division by absolutely battering poor Priscila Cachoeira.

Eventually, the two would be booked to fight at UFC 228, with Shevchenko claiming that Montano did not want to fight her and wouldn't make it to the cage for their fight - only to be proven correct as Montano was hospitalized while cutting weight, leading to the fight being cancelled.

Montano was unceremoniously stripped of her belt while Shevchenko, without a viable replacement on a day's notice, would fight former strawweight queen Joanna Jędrzejczyk for the vacant title a few months later, going on to become a dominant champion following their scrap in what was a genuine title fight.

Though she was never viewed as a legitimate champion and her reign was forgettable indeed, Montano was still a solid prospect at the time - the years since however saw her fade into obscurity.

She fought just once more, moving up to bantamweight and losing a decision to Julianna Pena; she was booked several times afterward, with several fights falling through due to COVID and then another for "undisclosed reasons" - later in 2021, she was scheduled to fight at bantamweight, only to weigh in at a whopping 143 pounds and have her fight cancelled as a result.

She was subsequently cut and hasn't fought since, ending her bizarre career at just 4-3. Though she will always be recorded as having been a UFC champion, Nicco Montano earned the distinction of having the least remarkable championship legacy in UFC history.

Honourable Mentions

• Bas Rutten (Heavyweight Champion 1999, 34 days)

  • Won title in dull, highly controversial decision over Kevin Randleman, vacated a month later to pursue a title at light heavyweight (that would ultimately never come to fruition as he was forced to retire due to injuries)

• Petr Yan (Bantamweight Champion 2020-21, 237 days)

  • Won title in brilliant performance and TKO over Jose Aldo, disqualified for a blatantly illegal knee in a fight he was dominating against Aljamain Sterling in his first defense

• Luke Rockhold (Middleweight Champion 2015-16, 175 days)

  • Won middleweight title with a gruelling fourth-round TKO over Chris Weidman, was viciously knocked out in 3:36 in his first defense against heavy underdog Michael Bisping, who took the fight on two-weeks notice and had previously lost to Rockhold

• Fabricio Werdum (Heavyweight Champion 2015-16, 336 days)

  • Won title with incredible performance in submission victory over Cain Velasquez, proceeded to charge face-first into a right hand and get faceplanted in just 2:47 in his first defense against Stipe Miocic

• Jessica Andrade (Women's Strawweight Champion 2019, 112 days)

  • Won title with insane slam knockout over Rose Namajunas, proceeded to be melted in just 42-seconds in her first defense against Zhang Weili