Leon Edwards and 4 other UFC champions who refused to fight a specific opponent

UFC champions are the apex predators of the promotion. They are typically regarded as the best fighters in their divisions. Due to their position on the MMA mountaintop, they are also the envy of every other mixed martial artist competing under Dana White's banner.

Thus, it is every champion's duty to defend their divisional throne from all comers. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Sometimes, friendships between certain fighters lead to matchups being avoided. In other cases, the reigning champions have declined to face specific opponents due to a lack of merit on their foe's part.

This is the case with Leon Edwards' public refusal to grant former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington a title shot. He is not the only champion to do so. Other UFC champions have refused to fight certain opponents for one reason or another, and this list looks at five such titleholders, past and present.

#5. Aljamain Sterling refuses to defend his UFC bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili

Aljamain Sterling first captured UFC gold against Petr Yan in one of the most unlikely wins in the promotion's history. He didn't defeat 'No Mercy' in the traditional sense. Instead, he won via disqualification after the Russian phenom landed an illegal knee while Sterling was grounded on the mat.

Aljamain Sterling is willing to move up to featherweight to allow his friend Merab Dvalishvili to ‘make history for Georgia’. 🇯🇲🤝🇬🇪
#UFC #MMA https://t.co/OlllXfW6vj

He subsequently defended his bantamweight crown twice but has made it clear that there is one fighter he will never face inside the octagon. The fighter is his teammate and close friend Merab Dvalishvili. Despite the tireless Georgian's recent success against Petr Yan, the two friends have time and again refused to face each other.

Sterling openly proclaimed his friendship with Dvalishvili to be more valuable than anything the UFC is willing to pay him to face 'The Machine'. Instead, the pair have agreed that at some point, 'Funk Master' will try to ply his trade at featherweight, freeing up Dvalishvili to try to claim the vacant bantamweight throne.

#4. Demetrious Johnson refused to defend his UFC flyweight title against T.J. Dillashaw

Despite UFC president Dana White's best efforts to convince the world that former flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson was fearful of facing T.J. Dillashaw inside the octagon, that wasn't the case. All three parties involved—the defending champion, the title challenger, and the promoter—were interested.

Video: Demetrious Johnson re-affirms he won't fight T.J. Dillashaw

themaclife.com/sports/mma/vid… https://t.co/TaYZXDVZ1u

According to 'Mighty Mouse', he would have agreed to the matchup had the promotion agreed to meet his demands. Johnson's conditions for the fight were fairly straightforward: if Dillashaw missed weight, then Johnson would be allowed to challenge him for his then 135 lbs title while earning a percentage of his purse.

The UFC rejected his demands and the matchup never took place. Instead, T.J. Dillashaw ended up facing Henry Cejudo after the Olympic gold medalist dethroned 'Mighty Mouse'. But just as Johnson had feared, Dillashaw was unable to cut down to 125 lbs safely and subsequently failed a drug test for EPO.

#3. Germaine de Randamie refused to defend her UFC women's featherweight title against Cris Cyborg

Despite her status as a pioneer of women's MMA, Cris Cyborg has something of a tarnished reputation due to her past usage of PEDs. It was brought up several times and was famously used by Ronda Rousey as a point of contention during the Brazilian's attempts at coaxing the American judoka into a matchup.

Cris Cyborg issues statement on Germaine de Randamie refusing to fight her wmmarankings.com/cris-cyborg-is… https://t.co/hrJFR4rqnG

Years later, another fighter brought up the legendary Brazilian's past. Undefeated kickboxer Germaine de Randamie captured the promotion's inaugural women's featherweight title in a controversial bout against former bantamweight queen Holly Holm. During her post-fight interview, she was asked about facing Cris Cyborg.

The Dutchwoman awkwardly avoided the question by talking about a surgery she needed. The UFC tried to schedule the matchup but de Randamie's management released a statement citing Cyborg's past PED usage as the reason behind her refusal to accept the fight. Ultimately, de Randamie was stripped of her title.

#2. Jon Jones refused to face Chael Sonnen on short-notice

One of the most infamous MMA-related scandals of Jon Jones' career took place long before his other issues came to light. Back in 2012, 'Bones' was firmly entrenched as the greatest 205'er in the world. He was scheduled to defend his title against MMA legend Dan Henderson at UFC 151.

When Jon Jones needed a late replacement opponent for UFC 151, the promotion turned to @ChaelSonnen (after 7 others). He talks about that experience and explains why @GamebredFighter got the #UFC251 main event slot.

Stream Ariel & The Bad Guy on ESPN+ ▶️ ES.PN/ABGJuly8 https://t.co/h9BZjKkGr2

Unfortunately, 'Hendo' sustained a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the pair's scheduled matchup. His teammate, trash-talking icon Chael Sonnen, agreed to face 'Bones' on eight days' notice. But the then 205 lbs champion refused to accept a bout against a short-notice replacement with so little time to prepare.

With no other recourse, the promotion was forced to cancel a PPV that was too weak to sustain itself without Jones headlining the event. It became the promotion's first-ever canceled event and led to widespread criticism of Jones.

#1. Leon Edwards refuses to defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington

At UFC 286, Leon Edwards proved his doubters wrong by defeating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for the second time. Having firmly enthroned himself as the division's resident titleholder, 'Rocky' now has a massive target on his back. So after the event, fans were curious about who he'd face next.

Leon Edwards says that if he is presented with a contract for Colby Covington, he will NOT sign it.

He also says that he will likely have his next fight will be around late summer.

via The MMA Hour https://t.co/rDU1Nxeoza

The world didn't have to wait long to find out. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White announced that Colby Covington—who served as a backup fighter for the main event—would be receiving the next title shot. Leon Edwards was quick to point out that as the defending champion, he has a say on who he fights next.

He mentioned Colby Covington's inactivity and that the All-American is on a one-fight win streak after defeating number-eleven ranked Jorge Masvidal last year. Due to the aforementioned reasons, 'Rocky' declared 'Chaos' to be undeserving of a title shot and declined to face him.