5 former UFC champions who seem destined to never hold a title again
Winning a UFC title is a remarkably difficult achievement for any fighter, and many champions don’t hold onto the gold for too long. Some, though, manage to recapture their title after losing it.
Right now, there are a number of former champions still competing in the UFC. But while some of them might be able to regain their titles, others seem destined to never claim gold again.
Sometimes this is because they’ve simply got past their best, while other times, it’s because they don’t match well with the current champion.
Either way, here are five former UFC champions who seem destined to never hold a title again.
#5 Glover Teixeira – former UFC light-heavyweight champion
Given that very few people expected him to ever become a UFC champion in the first place, it now seems highly unlikely that Glover Teixeira will be able to capture some gold again.
The Brazilian was 42 years old when he choked out Jan Blachowicz to win the light-heavyweight title back in October 2021.
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The win made him the promotion’s oldest first-time champion. It was a remarkable feat given that he’d looked past his prime in losses to Corey Anderson and Alexander Gustafsson just a couple of years ago.
However, Teixeira’s title reign didn’t last long. He was unseated by Jiri Prochazka in a war in the summer of 2022. When Prochazka was forced to vacate his title, the Brazilian was then beaten by Jamahal Hill, failing to reclaim the gold.
Based on Teixeira’s performance in that fight, he should still be able to compete near the top of the 205lbs division. But the idea that he could become a champion again seems far-fetched.
The Brazilian will turn 44 years old this October, and while Randy Couture won the heavyweight title at the age of 43, he didn’t have killers like Hill and Prochazka to contend with.
In this case, fans of Teixeira probably never expected him to hold a title in the first place, so his reign was a bonus of sorts. The fact that he seems destined to never repeat the feat, then, shouldn’t feel that bad.
#4 Petr Yan – former UFC bantamweight champion
When Petr Yan destroyed the legendary Jose Aldo to claim the vacant UFC bantamweight title in the summer of 2020, it felt like the beginning of a new era at 135lbs.
‘No Mercy’ was unbeaten in the octagon at 7-0, had a vicious striking game and seemingly strong takedown defense. He appeared to be developing an aura of invincibility.
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However, in his very first title defense, he lost his gold to Aljamain Sterling after he was disqualified for using an illegal knee to the head. It was a highly controversial end to his reign as champion, particularly as he was winning the fight at the time.
When the Russian then defeated Cory Sandhagen for an interim title, it felt like only a matter of time before he reclaimed his spot as undisputed champion.
That didn’t happen, though, as Sterling defeated him in a rematch, largely dominating him on the ground in the first half of the bout and exposing a real chink in his armour.
Since then, ‘No Mercy’ has also suffered a decision loss to Sean O’Malley, and will now face #3 ranked Merab Dvalishvili in his next fight.
Sure, there’s a chance that Yan could secure another title shot if he can beat ‘The Machine’. But after seeing him dominated on the ground by Sterling, it feels highly likely that Dvalishvili will repeat the feat.
If he does lose the bout, then ‘No Mercy’ would be on a three-fight losing streak and would be miles away from regaining his title. With that considered, it feels like he’s destined to never hold gold in the octagon again.
#3. Carla Esparza – former UFC strawweight champion
If someone had compiled a list of former UFC champions who seemed destined to never hold a title again at the start of 2020, many people would’ve had Carla Esparza on there.
‘The Cookie Monster’ won the promotion’s inaugural strawweight title in 2014 by submitting Rose Namajunas, but lost it to Joanna Jedrzejczyk via TKO in her first defense.
Following that, she floated around near the top of the 115lbs division. But despite beating the likes of Cynthia Calvillo and Michelle Waterson, it felt unlikely that she’d ever topple the best fighters in the division.
Remarkably, though, by the end of 2021, Esparza found herself on a five-fight win streak, and was handed a title shot in a rematch against Namajunas. Most fans counted her out, but surprisingly, ‘The Cookie Monster’ came away with a split decision win, regaining her title.
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However, last November saw her unseated by Weili Zhang in a one-sided bout, abruptly ending her reign as champion.
While writing her off last time proved to be premature, that seems unlikely to be the case this time. The nature of her loss to Zhang – as well as the dull nature of her title win – means she’s not likely to get another shot at the gold any time soon.
More to the point, at the age of 35, she’s likely heading towards the end of her athletic prime anyway. This means she wouldn’t be favoured against most of the division’s other top fighters.
Essentially, Esparza did remarkably well to regain the strawweight crown almost eight years after losing it – but it’s a feat she’s unlikely to repeat in the future.
#2 Stipe Miocic – former UFC heavyweight champion
Following the departure of Francis Ngannou after his contract issues, the UFC doesn’t have an official heavyweight champion right now.
That’s set to change in March, when former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane will face former light-heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones for the vacant title. After that, though, one man who will hope to face the winner is Stipe Miocic.
Miocic is the most successful heavyweight in UFC history, having claimed the title on two occasions and having defended it successfully on four.
However, unfortunately for him, it definitely feels like it isn’t Miocic’s destiny to claim the title for a third time.
Firstly, while Miocic was definitely a great champion, it’s now nearly two years since he held the title, and the best part of three years since his last victory in the octagon. As everyone knows, time waits for no man in MMA.
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To add to this, the former titleholder is now 40 years old and is probably past his physical best – something that can’t be said for Jones or Gane, who are both in their prime.
Essentially, then, even if he does get an instant title shot – something that might in itself be questionable – it’s hard to imagine Miocic recapturing the title.
#1 Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion
Former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the UFC’s biggest-ever star. That alone makes him only ever one or two wins away from a title shot.
Will ‘The Notorious’ ever be able to reclaim a title in the octagon though? In all honesty, he seems destined to fail in this quest.
It’s probably safe to say that he’s never going to regain the featherweight crown. After all, McGregor found it hard to make the 145lbs limit back in 2015 when he was nearly eight years younger.
With the muscle he’s gained in the years that have followed, there’s simply no way he’s ever going back to that weight class.
What about the lightweight title, though? If ‘The Notorious’ can overcome Michael Chandler in his comeback bout later this year, a shot at the gold could be within his grasp.
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However, even if he were to claim a shot, he matches up terribly with current champion Islam Makhachev. The Russian would be favoured to repeat what his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov did in beating the Irishman.
More to the point, whether he can even recapture his best form following the horrific leg injury he suffered in 2021 is still a very fair question to ask. This bringing into doubt his chances of beating Chandler.
At the end of the day, even with a loss in his next fight, McGregor’s star power will likely remain – but the idea of him becoming a champion again feels like a pipe dream.