5 fighters who missed out on a title shot despite the UFC making it official
In the world of the UFC, a title shot is always hard to come by, even for great fighters. At times, even when a title shot has been earned, there's no guarantee it'll happen.
Over the years we've seen the UFC sign many title fights, only for them to fall apart down the line. Unfortunately, while most of these fights are put back together, there have been a handful that simply vanished into the ether.
Remarkably, this has meant that some fighters in the promotion's history never received the title shot they'd once earned, leaving them to ask "what if?" for the remainder of their careers.
Here are five fighters who missed out on title shots despite the UFC making them official.
#5. Erik Koch - Former UFC featherweight contender
Back in 2012, when the UFC's featherweight division was still in its infancy, it was clear that the promotion wanted to build champion Jose Aldo up as a big star.
Therefore, it was common for his title challengers to be seemingly plucked from nowhere, often capitalizing on a couple of strong wins alone.
That was definitely the case for Erik Koch, who was signed to face Aldo that summer. 'New Breed' had put together a four-fight win streak after debuting in the octagon in 2011, but had only ever featured on one televised card.
Even more bizarrely, Koch had been signed to fight Dustin Poirier at the start of that year, only to withdraw due to injury. That meant that he was essentially offered a title shot off the back of an absence.
Unfortunately, about six weeks before the planned bout, Aldo was forced out due to an injury. The promotion initially kept the pairing together, intending for the fight to headline their October visit to Rio de Janeiro, but this time, Koch was forced out.
That was, essentially, the end of that. Frankie Edgar agreed to replace the former WEC star and with the promotion sold on a fight between Aldo and 'The Answer', Koch was forced out of the picture entirely.
'New Breed' instead ended up fighting Ricardo Lamas a week before the Aldo vs. Edgar bout, and when he lost via TKO, his title hopes went up in flames for good, with his career never fully recovering.
#4. Sijara Eubanks - Former UFC flyweight contender
Former flyweight contender Sijara Eubanks is unique even on this list, as she was forced out of not one, but two official UFC title fights, and never did get her shot at glory.
In the first instance, it's fair to say that 'Sarj' only had herself to blame. After putting together a surprise run through the gauntlet that was 'TUF 26', the powerful grappler was all set to fight Nicco Montano to decide the promotion's inaugural female 125-pound champion.
However, Eubanks ended up being forced out of the bout due to kidney failure from a botched weight cut, leaving Roxanne Modafferi to face Montano instead.
'Sarj' ended up debuting and beating Lauren Murphy a few months later, but nobody figured that win would move her right back into title contention.
Remarkably, though, that's exactly what happened. With Montano being stripped of the title - ironically due to weight-cutting issues - it was announced that Eubanks would face Valentina Shevchenko for the vacant crown in the headliner of UFC 230.
There was only one problem with this plan: the event was scheduled to take place in New York's famed Madison Square Garden, and it quickly became apparent that a headliner of Eubanks vs. Shevchenko wasn't going to cut it from a star power perspective.
In the end, a heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis was quickly put together to headline instead, and Shevchenko's title shot was postponed.
Poor Eubanks, on the other hand, was left on the card, and while she defeated Modafferi, she also missed weight for the bout. The error essentially torpedoed her title hopes altogether, as she would not fight at 125 pounds again until 2021.
#3. TJ Grant - Former UFC lightweight contender
Perhaps the most unfortunate fighter to miss out on a title shot despite the UFC officially putting it together is TJ Grant. The Canadian not only missed out on his shot at glory, but he also never fought again after withdrawing.
An undercard fighter at welterweight for years, the Canadian seemed destined to alternate wins and losses without really going anywhere. A drop to 155 pounds in early 2011, though, changed everything for him.
Boasting a dangerous ground game and a massively improved striking arsenal, Grant suddenly began to cut a path of destruction through the lightweight division, smashing through highly rated fighters like Evan Dunham and Matt Wiman.
When he knocked out former two-time title challenger Gray Maynard in the summer of 2013, Dana White and company could no longer ignore him. It was quickly announced that he'd fight Benson Henderson for the lightweight crown in the headliner of the promotion's visit to Milwaukee that August.
Unfortunately, with about six weeks to go before the fight, it was announced that Grant had been sidelined due to an undisclosed injury.
That injury turned out to be a serious concussion, and although the UFC hoped to match him with new champ Anthony Pettis at the end of 2013, it quickly became apparent that the Canadian wouldn't be ready.
As it turned out, Grant would never fight again due to the injury, and in 2015, he revealed he was still suffering from issues stemming from the concussion more than two years on.
Whether he'd have capitalized on his title shot remains a mystery, but it's fair to call him one of the all-time biggest "what if?" stories in MMA history.
#2. Josh Grispi - Former UFC featherweight contender
Few fighters entered the UFC with as much momentum as Josh Grispi, who arrived when the WEC's roster was absorbed at the start of 2011.
'The Fluke' had reeled off four straight wins in the WEC's cage, including marquee finishes of Mark Hominick and Jens Pulver, and at the age of just 22, seemed to have all the potential in the world.
When it was announced that his octagon debut would see him granted a shot at Jose Aldo's newly minted UFC featherweight title, then, it was hard not to get excited. At that stage, Grispi was almost certainly the biggest threat to the Brazilian's crown.
The fight was announced as the co-headliner of the first pay-per-view of 2011, but with about a month to go, it was suddenly announced that Aldo was injured and wouldn't be able to compete.
Realistically, Grispi could probably have simply waited out for his shot. Instead, he made the fatal error of accepting a late notice bout with a then-largely unknown Dustin Poirier - and was dominated, losing for the first time in his career.
'The Fluke' spent five months out following the loss, and never recovered, losing his next three bouts before being released by the promotion altogether. He was later jailed on a domestic violence charge and is now remembered as someone on the dark side of MMA, rather than a fighter who missed out on his title shot.
#1. Josh Thomson - Former UFC lightweight contender
Back in 2004, Josh Thomson was seen as one of the best lightweights in the world, and it was widely rumored that his bout against Yves Edwards that summer would be for the vacant UFC lightweight title.
Unfortunately, the promotion had other ideas and ended up folding their 155-pound division temporarily. Thomson and the other fighters ended up departing, but when the division was reinstated in 2006, 'The Punk' was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he moved to StrikeForce and had huge success there, famously putting on an epic trilogy with Gilbert Melendez for that promotion's lightweight crown.
When StrikeForce was bought out by the UFC in 2013, though, Thomson returned to the octagon for the first time in nearly a decade - and stunned fans by TKO-ing the famously iron-chinned Nate Diaz with a head kick.
Unsurprisingly, the win was enough to net 'The Punk' a shot at new lightweight kingpin Anthony Pettis at the end of the year. However, 'Showtime' suffered an injury before the fight, resulting in its cancellation.
Thomson could perhaps have waited for his shot at glory, but instead, he chose to take a top contender's fight with Benson Henderson a month later and wound up losing a controversial decision.
The defeat knocked Thomson out of contention but also sent him on a downward spiral that saw him lose his next two fights and wash out of the promotion entirely a year later.
To this day, though, 'The Punk' remains the only fighter to cleanly knock Diaz out, and had things gone slightly differently, he could well have claimed the title.