5 superstars who did not appear in the UFC 300 trailer

With only two weeks to go before UFC 300, the world's biggest MMA promotion has produced an epic trailer to build toward the huge event.

UFC 300's trailer featured some of the most memorable moments in octagon history, as well as some dream matches across generations, but a few notable stars were absent.

Some of these stars were once amongst the promotion's biggest drawing cards, but they now appear to be persona non grata with Dana White and company.

With that in mind, here are five stars who did not appear in the UFC 300 trailer.

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#5. Tito Ortiz - former UFC light-heavyweight champion

Back in 2001 when the Fertitta brothers and Dana White purchased the UFC, the promotion's biggest star by far was Tito Ortiz.

'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' held the light-heavyweight title, and had been pushed as a headliner by the promotion's former owners SEG.

Under Zuffa, though, Ortiz's star continued to climb. With his trash-talking persona and his instantly recognizable look, he quickly became MMA's poster boy, and his 2002 bout with the legendary Ken Shamrock arguably saved the promotion when it drew a surprisingly big number on pay-per-view.

However, Ortiz's relationship with White and company went sour soon after, when he demanded more money than they were willing to pay him to fight his former friend Chuck Liddell.

'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' eventually lost his title to Randy Couture, and then spent most of the next decade in and out of the promotion, regularly feuding and then making up with White.

The nadir of the relationship came in 2010, when Ortiz and White actually agreed to face each other in a boxing match, although the bout never took place.

When Ortiz retired in 2012 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame, it seemed like fences were finally mended. However, a brief run in rival promotion Bellator seemed to sour things again.

At the time of writing, Ortiz and White have not had any recent spats, although White did label 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' as one of the most difficult fighters he ever worked with.

This is likely the reason that despite his star status, Ortiz does not appear in UFC 300's trailer.

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#4. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson - former UFC light-heavyweight champion

Another former light-heavyweight champion who did not appear in the UFC 300 trailer is Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. On one hand, this is a bit of a surprise, as Jackson was always positioned as one of the promotion's biggest stars during his initial five-year run there, and drew plenty of money on pay-per-view.

On the other hand, though, 'Rampage' often appeared to be difficult to deal with, and since departing, has been an outspoken critic of the promotion's pay scale.

Jackson came into the UFC when they purchased the rival WFA organization in 2006, and in his second bout in the octagon, knocked out Chuck Liddell to claim the 205-pound crown. However, his reign lasted just over a year before he lost the title to Forrest Griffin, and from there, his career saw several peaks and troughs.

'Rampage' defeated the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine, but ended up in a spat with Dana White and company when he chose to postpone a planned bout with Rashad Evans to film The A-Team. The fight eventually went ahead and saw Jackson lose a three-round decision, essentially ending his time as a top-level fighter.

After losing three fights in a row between 2011 and 2013, 'Rampage' departed for Bellator, although he did make a brief, one-fight return in 2015. Since then, though, he's largely spoken out against the promotion's business practices, notably accusing White of underpaying him for his fight with Evans.

Based on this, as well as his relatively short time at the top, it's easy to see why he's missing from the recent trailer.

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#3. Francis Ngannou - former UFC heavyweight champion

Given how he departed the promotion in 2023, it was hardly shocking to see Francis Ngannou not appear in the trailer for UFC 300.

It's arguable that, with wins over the likes of Stipe Miocic, Ciryl Gane, Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos to his name, Ngannou is one of the best heavyweights in MMA history.

However, 'The Predator' is also the only fighter in recent years to walk away from the UFC as a reigning champion, abandoning his title in the process.

Ngannou famously sat out for a full year after beating Gane to defend his title, citing disagreements with the promotion largely over his pay.

Eventually, 'The Predator' reached a sunset clause in his contract, vacated his heavyweight title, and left for the PFL promotion.

Since then, he hasn't fought in MMA and has instead stepped into the boxing ring, losing to both Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Given his age and current relationship with Dana White and company, it's unlikely Ngannou will return to the promotion anytime soon.

Because he remains the most high-profile departure in recent years, there was no way 'The Predator' was ever going to appear in the recent trailer, either.

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#2. Randy Couture - former UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion

Perhaps no other fighter in UFC history burned their bridges with the promotion quite so badly as Randy Couture.

The former light-heavyweight and heavyweight champion entered into a number of notable spats with the ownership, including Dana White, with the nadir coming in 2007.

'The Natural' had come out of retirement to claim the heavyweight title from Tim Sylvia, but when the promotion failed to come to terms with PRIDE champ Fedor Emelianenko, he decided to pursue a fight with the Russian elsewhere.

Couture attempted to "resign" from his contract, something that was never going to go down well, and unsurprisingly, the issue landed both parties in a year's worth of legal quagmire.

'The Natural' returned to the fold a year later, and the hatchet appeared to have been buried. However, after retiring for good in 2011, Couture turned down a role as an analyst with the promotion to jump to Bellator.

This move once again made Couture persona non grata with White and company, and in 2023, the CEO labeled him one of the worst fighters he'd ever worked with.

Despite this, it's arguable that as the promotion's first two-division champion and the only three-time heavyweight titleholder, 'The Natural' probably should've been included in the UFC 300 trailer.

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#1. Brock Lesnar - former UFC heavyweight champion

Perhaps the most curious absence from UFC 300's trailer is that of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Not only did Lesnar never burn his bridges with the promotion, even returning for a surprise one-off fight in 2016 after retiring in 2011, but he also remains one of their biggest-ever drawing cards.

Given that the multi-time WWE champion headlined UFC 100 and then also starred at UFC 200, it would've made a lot of sense for him to appear in the trailer.

So why was he absent? It seems highly likely that the reason stems from the recent allegations against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon that were made in a lawsuit from a former employee.

The lawsuit accused McMahon of various misdeeds, including s*x trafficking and s*xual assault. However, the lawsuit also implicated Lesnar in the allegations, although it did not outright name the former MMA star.

Since the lawsuit was filed, though, 'The Beast Incarnate' has not appeared on any WWE programming and has been replaced in the promotion's introduction video by LA Knight.

Given that WWE and the UFC are now owned by the same conglomerate - TKO Holdings - it should probably come as no surprise to see him airbrushed from the history of the latter, too.

Therefore, despite his standing as a former champion and major star, nobody should've expected him to appear in the trailer.