5 UFC champions who failed to win gold in their first title shot
For most fighters, winning a title in the UFC is considered the pinnacle of their careers, as most never make it all the way to the top.
To win a title in the UFC is never easy; at times it even seems impossible. Some legendary champions failed in their first attempts to ascend to the top of the mountain.
After two successful fights in the Octagon, the UFC brass believed he was ready for a title shot. However, not even GSP himself believed he was ready for a title shot. He took the bout regardless, and was set to challenge the greatest Welterweight of all time, Matt Hughes.
Of course, these champions eventually claimed the gold despite their initial setback. If anything, that setback probably led them onto the greatness they eventually achieved.
On that note, here are five UFC champions who failed in their first title shot:
#5. Glover Teixeira – current UFC light heavyweight champion
When Glover Teixeira defeated Jan Blachowicz for the UFC light heavyweight title in late 2021, it came as a major surprise to many. Incredibly, the victory made the 42-year-old Teixeira the oldest fighter in the promotion’s history to claim gold for the first time.
I always wondered what it would be like to be champion… and how i would feel the day after the fight. Now I know, and It feels pretty damn good! Thank you to everyone for the love, support, tweets… Love you all!
However, the clash wasn’t the first time Teixeira had fought for gold inside the octagon. Back in 2014, when the Brazilian was considered a rising star of sorts, he faced then-champion Jon Jones in what, at the time, felt like the pinnacle of his career.
Teixeira had battled for traction outside of the UFC for years. By the time he joined the promotion in 2012, he had a massive amount of experience, boasting a 17-2 record.
It didn’t take him long to make an impact in the octagon either. He beat Kyle Kingsbury, Fabio Maldonado, Quinton’ Rampage’ Jackson, James Te Huna and Ryan Bader in quick succession to set up a meeting with Jones.
However, in that title fight, few gave Teixeira a chance. Sure, he was on a great run, but he was no Jon Jones. Moreover, it felt in many ways that the promotion had set him up as a ‘challenger of the month’ type. Sure enough, he was thoroughly outclassed by ‘Bones’, and he did rather well to last the distance.
He went on to lose fights to the likes of Corey Anderson, Alexander Gustafsson and Phil Davis. So nobody expected him to rise back up the ladder to claim another title shot, even when he began to hit form again in 2019.
Proving everyone wrong, though, the Brazilian won five fights in a row to set up a second – more unlikely – title shot against Blachowicz. The rest, as they say, is history.