5 times the UFC handed title shots to more marketable fighters instead of deserving contenders
UFC president Dana White might profess that his promotion only ever looks to make the best fights between the best fighters. In all honestly, that’s not always true.
Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of examples of the UFC overlooking highly deserving fighters in favor of more marketable ones, particularly when it comes to UFC title bouts. While this approach undoubtedly helps make the UFC more money, it can also bring the promotion’s credibility into question, edging it closer to WWE territory than the likes of White would probably wish.
Will the UFC pull this trick again in the near future by overlooking Justin Gaethje’s claim to a UFC lightweight title shot in favor of Conor McGregor? Only time will tell, but it wouldn’t be a shock if they did so.
So what date am I fighting Oliveira?
With that in mind, here are five times that the UFC handed title shots to more marketable fighters instead of deserving contenders.
#5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz – UFC 158
When the UFC bought out competing promotion Strikeforce in early 2011, the inter-promotional fight that fans wanted more than any other was a battle between welterweight kingpins Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.
The UFC seemed to be on board with the idea and signed GSP to face off with Diaz at UFC 137. However, the fight fell apart when Diaz was removed after failing to complete his media duties, forcing the UFC to replace him with Carlos Condit. GSP then injured his knee, sidelining him.
When Diaz then defeated B.J. Penn, an interim title bout between him and Condit was set up. Condit defeated Diaz in that bout and following his loss, the Stockton native would spend over a year on the shelf.
During the interim period, Johny Hendricks began to climb the UFC’s welterweight rankings with a series of impressive finishes, taking out the likes of Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.
Once St-Pierre returned and defeated Condit, it seemed like a fight with ‘Bigg Rigg’ was the only option for him. However, the UFC decided to return to the well and sign a fight between GSP and Diaz instead.
Dana on GSP vs. Diaz "This fight is a long time in the making, this is the fight that GSP wanted, and I couldn't say no to Georges."
This seemed highly unfair to Hendricks, who’d won twice during the period when Diaz was on the shelf. Essentially, the UFC bypassed ‘Bigg Rigg’ purely because of Diaz’s enduring popularity.
As it turned out, GSP defeated Diaz handily in their bout, while Hendricks outpointed Condit on the same card, setting up a title bout against St-Pierre later down the line.
Regardless, though, the UFC’s overlooking of Hendricks in favor of Diaz remains one of the more egregious examples of the promotion going with marketability rather than a deserving contender.