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Just over a decade ago, the UFC introduced a uniform policy for its fighters. Gone were custom fight shorts, and instead, fighters were forced to wear largely generic gear created initially by Reebok.
Ever since the UFC partnered with VENUM, though, some fighters have been able to design custom gear in a throwback to the golden era of the promotion.
Right now, only a small selection of star fighters have been given the opportunity to do this, but it's clearly far cooler than everyone wearing a generic uniform. Hopefully, in the future, it's an opportunity that will be granted to more.
For now, though, here are the five coolest custom shorts worn by UFC fighters.
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#5. Khalil Rountree Jr - UFC light-heavyweight contender
This weekend's UFC event in Baku, Azerbaijan will see a headline fight pitting former light-heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill against No.7 ranked Khalil Rountree Jr</a>.
The fight will see Rountree Jr debut a pair of seriously cool custom fight shorts, which have gone viral all over social media this week.
The grey shorts feature some striking patterns, and essentially tell the story of Rountree Jr's career.
The top of the shorts feature Thai script and Sak Yant-style tattoo patterns, symbolising Rountree Jr's time training kickboxing in Thailand. The bottom half, meanwhile, shows the mountains that surround Las Vegas, representing the city that 'The War Horse' currently trains out of.
The grey and white color scheme, meanwhile, represents yin and yang and reflects the balance Rountree Jr has in his life.
While some fans have strangely hit out at the fact that a non-champion has been allowed to wear custom shorts, the reality is that the move is a positive one.
In a world where the UFC is often criticised for being too corporate and cookie-cutter, any kind of individuality for its fighters is a good thing.
More to the point, nobody can try to claim that these shorts are not cool.
#4. Max Holloway - UFC BMF champion
The floral motif of a stereotypical Hawaiian shirt is probably one of the most easily-recognisable patterns in the world.
That's why it came as no surprise when former featherweight champion Max Holloway asked the UFC if he could wear floral shorts in his trilogy fight with Alexander Volkanovski in 2022.
Along with BJ Penn, Holloway - who was born in Honolulu - is probably Hawaii's greatest MMA fighter, and has never shied away from being proud of his heritage.
Unfortunately, the promotion were not willing to acquiesce to Holloway's request, leaving 'Blessed' stuck in grey shorts for the fight.
Thankfully, that all changed last year when Holloway faced Justin Gaethje for the BMF title. This time around, VENUM created custom floral shorts for 'Blessed', featuring red, white and blue flowers, the colors of the Hawaiian flag.
The shorts looked effortlessly cool, and were further immortalised when Holloway scored one of the greatest knockouts in octagon history, switching Gaethje's lights off in the final second of the fifth round.
#3. Jon Jones - UFC heavyweight champion
Jon Jones is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in UFC history, and so it was unsurprising that when he returned last year, he did so in some seriously cool custom gear.
'Bones' had not fought for the best part of two years prior to his heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic last November.
When he beat Ciryl Gane for the title in 2023, he'd worn largely plain black shorts.
That changed against Miocic, as Jones sported red-and-black gear, harking back to his earliest days with the promotion.
The shorts also featured two roaring lions - confused by one fan on X for goats - as well as a cross and 'Philippians 4:13', the bible verse that Jones has tattoed on his chest.
Sporting the new, awesome-looking gear, Jones produced another virtuoso performance by crushing Miocic, winning via knockout.
Whether 'Bones' gets another chance to wear the shorts, or whether he now rides off into the sunset, remains to be seen.
#2. Paddy Pimblett - UFC lightweight contender
Prior to joining the UFC in 2021, one of Paddy Pimblett's trademarks was his orange-and-white fight shorts.
The color scheme, for those unaware, was inspired by the shorts worn by Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba for his famous fights in PRIDE.
Sakuraba wore the shorts in his iconic fights with the likes of Royce Gracie and Wanderlei Silva. He became such a huge star in PRIDE that he was inducted into the UFC's Hall of Fame despite only appearing in the octagon twice.
When Pimblett debuted in the octagon, though, his orange shorts were not an option, forcing 'The Baddy' to wear more generic red gear.
Given that Pimblett is known to be a huge fan of Liverpool FC - who famously wear red - the color switch probably didn't bother him all that much.
However, it was still nice to see VENUM produce his more recognisable orange shorts for his clash with Bobby 'King' Green last July.
While Pimblett's custom shorts are plainer than some of the others that VENUM have produced, the fact that they pay tribute to a true legend of the game in Sakuraba makes them arguably even cooler.
#1. Merab Dvalishvili - UFC bantamweight champion
The best custom shorts produced thus far by VENUM have to be the ones made for bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili.
'The Machine' first sported the shorts at UFC 311 in his title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov, and wore them again when he beat Sean O'Malley earlier this month.
The red, white and gold colored shorts have an incredible amount of notable features on them, and are completely unique to Dvalishvili's personality and heritage.
The colors, and the red crosses on the front represent the flag of Dvalishvili's home country of Georgia.
In the background, meanwhile, motifs of a man fighting a tiger - a reference to a famous Georgian poem titled The Knight in the Panther's Skin - and an image of St. George wielding his lance can be seen.
The back of the shorts also features a quote in Georgian that loosely translates to "better a glorious death than a shameful life" - a line that could easily sum up Dvalishvili's breakneck fighting style.
Overall, then, while all of VENUM's custom shorts are cool, Dvalishvili's stand out above the rest - for now, at least!
