5 fighters who turned down UFC title fights
In the world of the UFC, being offered a title shot is the holy grail for most fighters, even if only a handful manage to claim gold. That's why very few fighters turn the opportunity down.
Over the years, though, there have been some fighters who turned down title shots, often for a variety of different reasons. Money, preparation time and a simple lack of motivation have all been to blame, but it still remains surprising when it happens.
Here are five fighters who turned down a UFC title shot.
#5. Arman Tsarukyan - UFC lightweight contender
The latest fighter to turn down a title shot is current lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
'Akhalkalakets' defeated former titleholder Charles Oliveira via decision this past weekend in what was the biggest win of his career to date. Following this win - which was billed as a lightweight title eliminator - the Armenian was offered his shot at current champion Islam Makhachev.
However, the date offered to him by the UFC's matchmakers was June 1, which would have meant only six weeks of preparation time.
Given that Makhachev is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, that kind of turnaround didn't make sense, and so Tsarukyan decided to turn down the opportunity.
Instead, Dana White later announced that Dustin Poirier would be taking the shot at Makhachev.
Whether Tsarukyan's future is affected by this decision remains to be seen. It's highly likely now that he'll have to fight again before being offered another shot, and so whether he made the right call, only time will tell.
#4. Ricco Rodriguez - former UFC heavyweight champion
When Andrei Arlovski crushed Tim Sylvia to claim the interim heavyweight title in 2005, the UFC was left with a bit of a problem. Put simply, the division wasn't exactly flush with contenders.
Frank Mir was on the shelf with a long-term injury, Paul Buentello had only just debuted in the promotion, and most of the other top heavyweights were fighting in PRIDE.
In the end, the fighter who the matchmakers turned to was former titleholder Ricco Rodriguez. 'Ricco Suave' hadn't fought in the octagon since 2003, but he was on a two-fight win streak, held a previous win over Arlovski, and was a recognizable name to fans.
However, despite the promotion apparently designing a graphic for the event - UFC 53 - Rodriguez ended up turning the opportunity down, citing an inability to find training partners.
Whether this was Rodriguez's way of attempting to hustle Dana White and company for more money was uncertain, but either way, he was out of the fight. Eventually, Justin Eilers - coming off a knockout loss - stepped in, falling to Arlovski via TKO.
As for Rodriguez, he never did return to the promotion, instead becoming a journeyman for the remainder of his career. In hindsight, he probably should've fought for the title, if only to begin another run in the octagon.
#3. Lyoto Machida - former UFC light heavyweight champion
When Dan Henderson blew out his knee preparing for a shot at light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in September 2012, all hell broke loose in a number of ways.
To begin, Jones turned down a last-minute fight with Chael Sonnen, forcing the entire event - UFC 151 - to be canceled.
Instead, 'Bones' agreed to fight a few weeks later at the following pay-per-view. The next issue was finding an opponent for him.
With Henderson sidelined and Sonnen having never actually fought at 205 pounds before, the title shot was offered to Lyoto Machida. 'The Dragon' was a former titleholder and he'd bounced back from his earlier loss to Jones by knocking out Ryan Bader.
Incredibly, though, Machida decided to turn down the shot, citing a lack of preparation time as his reason. Instead, Vitor Belfort accepted the opportunity on three weeks' notice, although he eventually lost to 'Bones'.
As for Machida, somehow he avoided landing in Dana White's bad books - despite becoming part of a funny MMA meme about "Anderson Silva money" - and continued to be a regular headliner for the rest of his octagon career.
#2. Dustin Poirier - UFC lightweight contender
Logically, the UFC's champions should also be the promotion's biggest stars and, in turn, the best paid fighters on the roster, too.
Ever since the rise of Conor McGregor and the so-calld 'money fight' just under a decade ago, though, that hasn't always been the case.
At times, big fights spanning different weight classes and often involving the Irishman have overshadowed even major title bouts. That was definitely the case for Dustin Poirier in 2021.
'The Diamond' knocked out 'The Notorious' in their huge rematch to kickstart the year. Naturally, Poirier's profile was hugely boosted by the win.
Unsurprisingly, Dana White and company were then quick to offer him a crack at the lightweight crown vacated shortly beforehand by the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, with McGregor desperate for a trilogy bout to settle their score, 'The Diamond' made the call to turn down the title fight in favor of facing the Irishman instead.
Given that Poirier reportedly made just over $1 million for the fight with 'The Notorious' - as well as a cut of the pay-per-view revenue - it was hard to argue with his logic.
More importantly, after he defeated the Irishman for the second time, 'The Diamond' was given his title shot anyway, falling short to Charles Oliveira in their eventual clash.
#1. Georges St-Pierre - former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion
It seems surprising, but it's arguable that the fighter who has supposedly turned down the most title shots over the years is also the fighter widely regarded as the greatest of all time - Georges St-Pierre.
The former welterweight kingpin held the 170-pound title from 2008 through to 2013, making nine successful defenses.
He never lost his crown in the octagon, instead stepping away from the UFC citing burnout, and a brief return in 2017 saw him fight just once - beating Michael Bisping for the middleweight title - before going back into quasi-retirement.
Of course, the nature of St-Pierre's self-imposed absence has meant that since he vacated his title, basically every champion to follow him has called him out.
This means that, if you believe various reports, 'GSP' turned down multiple welterweight title shots against both Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman, stating he was healthy and it'd be better if he stayed retired.
Given that 'GSP' had already secured his legacy by the time he turned down these title shots - and had already made millions of dollars, too - his reputation was never harmed by these decisions. Instead, his spotless record means it'll be difficult for any fighter to surpass him in the future.