5 fighters who some fans believed were protected by the UFC
The UFC has always been recognised as the place where, unlike in boxing, the best always fight the best. Very few fighters get to sit pretty with a lengthy unbeaten run.
Over the years, though, we've seen a handful of examples of fighters who, in the eyes of some fans, were protected by the UFC.
Sometimes, this was because the promotion saw star quality in them, while other times, it had more to do with their prospective opponents. Either way, it's always something fascinating - and unique - to see when it does appear to happen.
Here are five fighters who some fans believed were protected by the UFC.
#5. Paddy Pimblett - UFC lightweight contender
The fighter on the current UFC roster who some fans believe has been protected by the promotion, thus far at least, is Paddy Pimblett.
The UK favorite is currently 5-0 in the octagon and will put that run on the line this weekend against veteran lightweight Bobby Green. Win, and 'The Baddy' might even crack the top fifteen at 155 pounds.
However, while Pimblett is wildly popular with most fans, there are definitely some who feel he's had preferential treatment from Dana White and company.
With a unique look and a likable personality, 'The Baddy' is marketable, particularly in his home country of the UK. That's why he labeled himself the promotion's new "cash cow" following his debut win over Luigi Vendramini in 2021.
It's that marketability that has seen some fans suggest he's been protected, though. Thus far, Pimblett has hardly fought a murderer's row in the stacked lightweight division.
Vendramini, as well as Kazula Vargas, Jordan Leavitt, and Jared Gordon, are amongst the lower-end fighters at 155 pounds. Former champ Tony Ferguson, meanwhile, was running on fumes when he fell to 'The Baddy' last year.
Green, on the other hand, has won three of his last four fights. He is an older fighter at 37, but if Pimblett can beat him, it'll be hard to question his credentials as a high-end fighter.
For now, though, it's easy to see why some fans believe 'The Baddy' has been given an easy ride by White and company, and it's easy to see why that would be the case, too.
#4. Rich Franklin - former UFC middleweight champion
Most of the fighters on this list were seen as being protected by the UFC in general, but the case of former middleweight champion Rich Franklin was a little different.
As a reigning champion, 'Ace' was always likely to fight the best of the best. However, in the eyes of some fans, Dana White and company were firmly set on keeping their favorite well away from contender Matt Lindland.
'The Law' was an Olympic silver medallist in Greco-Roman wrestling and was widely seen as the uncrowned champion of the division in 2004.
To many fans, in fact, the reason that the promotion didn't reintroduce the middleweight title when Murilo Bustamante vacated it in 2003 was because they didn't want Lindland as champion.
The belief was that Lindland, with his less-than-marketable personality and perceived dull fighting style, was simply not the kind of fighter the UFC wanted as a titleholder.
Indeed, it did feel like too much of a coincidence that the promotion reintroduced the title as soon as Lindland had lost a fight, as he was knocked out by David Terrell in 2004.
By 2005, though, with Franklin holding the title, 'The Law' had rebuilt himself and was riding a four-fight win streak.
When it came to picking an opponent for 'Ace' in the latter part of the year, though, the title shot went to Nate Quarry - a training partner of Lindland. The Olympian, on the other hand, was released from his contract after breaching it by wearing a t-shirt sponsored by a banned betting company at a weigh-in.
Lindland's fans were apoplectic, and immediately accused White and company of protecting their champion.
Whether this was the case remains a question mark, as Franklin ended up losing his title to Anderson Silva in 2006, and there was certainly no talk of anyone protecting him.
In reality, it's more likely that the promotion were just soured on Lindland due to a personality clash and the t-shirt incident, but almost two decades on, we'll probably never know the truth.
#3. Tito Ortiz - former UFC light-heavyweight champion
When the Fertitta brothers and Dana White bought the UFC in 2000, Tito Ortiz was both the light-heavyweight champion and the promotion's biggest poster boy.
'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' had defeated Wanderlei Silva to claim the title vacated by Frank Shamrock in 2000 and already had one defense under his belt over Japan's Yuki Kondo.
2001, though, saw him defend his crown three more times, while 2002 saw him take his number of defenses to five when he smashed the legendary Ken Shamrock.
However, when Ortiz was then accused of ducking his former training partner Chuck Liddell, accusations that the promotion's new owners had protected him also came to light.
In hindsight, it's easy to see why. Ortiz's defenses came against the aforementioned Kondo and Shamrock, as well as Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, and Vladimir Matyushenko.
None of those fighters would be considered all-time greats, at 205 pounds at least. Indeed, there were better fighters around at the time, with names like Kevin Randleman, Jeremy Horn, and Vitor Belfort coming to mind, for instance.
However, it is worth noting that most of Ortiz's foes earned their shot. Tanner was unbeaten when he faced 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy'. Sinosic actually beat Horn in a top contender's bout - arguably the only big win of his career.
Matyushenko, meanwhile, was a late replacement for Belfort, who was forced out of a planned bout with Ortiz due to injury.
In reality, then, Ortiz was probably never protected by the UFC - he simply landed on good stylistic bouts by chance more than anything else.
Still, for his haters at the time - and there were plenty - it was an easy accusation to aim at him.
#2. Sean O'Malley - UFC bantamweight champion
While a number of fighters have been accused of allowing the UFC to protect them over the years, few have outright claimed to be looking for easier fights during their octagon careers.
That wasn't the case when current bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley was on the rise a few years ago, though.
Pegged for stardom from the moment he scored a highlight-reel knockout on Dana White's Contender Series in 2017, 'Sugar' was given a showcase fight for his octagon debut against the overmatched Terrion Ware.
It was when he returned from a PED suspension in 2020, though, that the suggestions of O'Malley being protected came to light.
'Sugar' brutally dispatched former title challenger Eddie Wineland that summer and that kind of win would usually have propelled a prospect into fights with top-ranked foes.
Instead, O'Malley faced Thomas Almeida, Kris Moutinho, and Raulian Paiva, beating them all with ease.
This frustrated some fans, particularly when 'Sugar' came out and stated that he was happy to fight lower-level foes at that point because whoever he faced, his pay would be the same.
Things changed, of course, when O'Malley finally fought former champ Petr Yan in late 2022 and beat him in a tight call. He then dethroned Aljamain Sterling to become the new bantamweight kingpin last year.
In this case, it's probably true that O'Malley was protected somewhat by the promotion, which recognized his star quality right away. However, the truth is that the promotion were right to build him up slowly, knowing that he could well become a major drawing card for them in the future.
As this has now come to pass, it's hard to argue with the approach, even if it frustrated some fans at the time.
#1. Conor McGregor - former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion
The fighter who was probably most accused of being protected by the UFC during their rise was former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
'The Notorious' rose to fame like no other in octagon history and eventually surpassed everyone who'd come before him to become the UFC's biggest-ever star and drawing card.
However, while McGregor's striking skills in his early days were hard to argue with, plenty of fans accused Dana White and company of protecting him from powerful wrestlers.
Indeed, after dispatching Marcus Brimage in his debut, 'The Notorious' did appear to have a smooth run to the top. He beat a young Max Holloway and then took out strikers Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier, and Dennis Siver to claim a title shot at champ Jose Aldo.
While he looked amazing in those fights, the question of how he'd defend a takedown from the likes of Frankie Edgar definitely persisted, as did rumors that the UFC wanted to keep him away from such a foe.
Of course, circumstances meant that McGregor ended up fighting one of the powerful wrestlers the promotion was supposedly protecting him from anyway.
When Aldo picked up an injury prior to his fight with the Irishman in 2015, former title challenger Chad Mendes was picked as his replacement, with an interim title on the line.
Despite 'Money' taking him down on multiple occasions, McGregor proved his worth by surviving on the ground and violently dispatching the wrestler on the feet. At that point, nobody could deny that 'The Notorious' had earned a shot at Aldo.
They could also no longer claim that Dana White and company were protecting their big star, either.