5 times a former UFC champion failed to regain their title in a rematch
According to reliable reports, former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan is all set to attempt to regain his title when he rematches Aljamain Sterling at UFC 267 in late October. But judging on history, there’s every chance he fails to do so.
The UFC regularly books rematches for its titles, particularly when a formerly dominant champion loses their crown, but it’s rare for a former champion to regain gold.
Instead, we’ve seen on numerous occasions that the new champions simply have too much confidence in themselves and are able to fend off the challenge of the once-dominant former titleholder.
So can Petr Yan buck that trend? Or will he join this list of five former UFC champions who failed to regain their titles in a rematch?
#5. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas – UFC 223
When Joanna Jedrzejczyk won the UFC strawweight title by stopping Carla Esparza at UFC 185, she looked capable of going onto a truly dominant title reign.
And the striker from Poland did just that, ripping through five straight opponents over the next two years, largely outclassing everyone who set foot inside the octagon with her.
So when she faced Rose Namajunas at UFC 217, few fans were really giving ‘Thug Rose’ a chance. Those fans were left gobsmacked when Namajunas dropped Jedrzejczyk with a left hook in the first round, ending her dominant title reign in the blink of an eye.
In the aftermath of the fight, Jedrzejczyk was happy to blame a horrible weight cut for her loss, essentially suggesting that she was too drained to be able to absorb any hard strikes.
The UFC evidently agreed, and granted her an immediate rematch just five months later at UFC 223. However, if Jedrzejczyk expected to simply blow Namajunas away, she was sorely mistaken.
Instead, ‘Thug Rose’ fully proved her worth by outstriking Jedrzejczyk over five rounds, largely using a stiff jab to outbox her despite the Polish fighter’s best efforts.
It was a remarkable performance considering Jedrzejczyk’s former dominance, and effectively ssignaledan end to the Polish fighter’s reign of terror over the division for good.