5 surprising UFC title challengers

UFC 226: Miocic v Cormier
Brock Lesnar and Daniel Cormier will square off in a title fight in the future

The announcement that Brock Lesnar – former UFC Heavyweight champion, but also a man who hasn’t fought since 2016 and was suspended by USADA for the use of PEDs after that fight – is going to challenge Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight title at some point in late 2018 or early 2019 has largely split the fanbase of the MMA juggernaut when it comes to whether the fight is a good idea or a bad one.

The pro-Lesnar crowd believe the fight makes sense due to Lesnar’s ability to draw a massive pay-per-view buyrate for the company as well as draw in more casual fans than perhaps anyone but Conor McGregor, while the anti-Lesnar camp are of the view that the match simply makes a mockery of MMA as a legitimate sport, with Lesnar jumping the queue ahead of more deserving contenders.

However you view it, one fact is undisputable – Lesnar isn’t the first surprising – and perhaps undeserved – title challenger in UFC history. Here are five other fighters who made a surprising challenge for UFC gold.


#1 Ken Shamrock (2002)

UFC 40: Ortiz v Shamrock
Ken Shamrock hadn't fought in the UFC for six years before he challenged Tito Ortiz in 2002

Despite being a bonafide UFC legend thanks to his success as a pioneer in the early days of MMA, by 2002 it was pretty clear that Ken Shamrock’s prime had been and gone.

‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’ had lost his UFC Superfight Title way back in 1996, and since then he’d had an extended run in WWE before returning to MMA with PRIDE in 2000, but he’d only picked up one win in the Japanese organisation, and had lost a major grudge match with Don Frye in February 2002.

It came as a pretty major surprise then when the UFC – at the time struggling for any kind of financial success – announced that Shamrock would be challenging poster-boy Tito Ortiz for Ortiz’s Light-Heavyweight title at UFC 40 that November.

In a lot of ways the fight made sense; it was almost guaranteed to draw a bigger PPV buyrate than any other fight the UFC could put together at the time, and Ortiz and Shamrock had a rivalry dating back to 1999, when Shamrock had confronted Ortiz for the way he celebrated a victory over Shamrock student Guy Mezger.

But to claim the 38-year old Shamrock was the legitimate No.1 contender was a fallacy, given he hadn’t won in the UFC in six years.

In the end, the fight turned out to be one of the most one-sided UFC title fights of all time, as Ortiz simply battered Shamrock both standing and on the ground en route to a corner stoppage after the third round.

But indeed, the event proved to be one of the most financially successful of the pre-TUF era – and convinced Zuffa not to sell the promotion – making it one of the most important of all time, too.

#2 Nick Diaz (2013)

UFC 158: St-Pierre v Diaz
Nick Diaz hardly deserved a UFC title shot in 2013

When the UFC’s parent company Zuffa bought out rival promoter StrikeForce in 2011, one of the most intriguing fights that was immediately talked about was between UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, and his StrikeForce counterpart, Nick Diaz.

And despite initially looking to keep StrikeForce as a separate entity, the UFC couldn’t help but bite and so they put the fight together for October 2011’s UFC 137 show.

Unfortunately, the fight fell apart when Diaz refused to commit to some media appearances. Carlos Condit was bumped up in his stead and Diaz was matched instead with BJ Penn. In the end, a St-Pierre knee injury sidelined him entirely, and Diaz duly beat Penn in the event’s main event to regain his title shot.

It turned out that GSP’s knee injury was more severe than was once thought, though, and so the UFC matched Diaz against Condit to crown an interim champion in early 2012.

Condit beat Diaz by unanimous decision in the fight – the main event of UFC 143 – and worse for the former StrikeForce champ, he tested positive for marijuana after the fight and was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

By the time St-Pierre returned to beat Condit in November 2012, Diaz had been on the shelf for 10 months without a peep, and suddenly Johny Hendricks was the hot new contender, as he’d been knocking everyone he faced out cold. As 2013 dawned, St-Pierre vs. Hendricks felt like the match to make at 170lbs.

That made it all the more surprising when the UFC announced St-Pierre vs. Diaz as the main event for March 2013’s UFC 158. It wasn’t that people didn’t want to see Diaz challenge GSP, it was more that after coming off a year on the shelf having lost his last fight, he simply didn’t deserve a title shot over Hendricks.

As it was, things found a way of working themselves out. St-Pierre comfortably defeated Diaz in one of the biggest drawing pay-per-views in UFC history, while Hendricks beat Condit on the undercard of the show, helping his star to grow and setting up his own date with GSP later in 2013.

#3 Al Iaquinta (2018)

UFC 223: Nurmagomedov v Iaquinta
The UFC's desperation put Al Iaquinta into a title shot at UFC 223

While Shamrock and Diaz’s title shots were set up for purely financial rather than sporting reasons, Al Iaquinta’s shot at the UFC Lightweight crown earlier this year came from something else entirely – a feeling of total desperation.

UFC 223 had been built up as one of the year’s biggest shows, and its scheduled main event of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov for the 155lbs title – the same title stripped from Conor McGregor – was as highly anticipated as any fight the promotion could put together. But like with the previous three times the fight had been put together, it just wasn’t meant to be.

In this case, Ferguson blew out his knee days before the fight and had to withdraw, and the UFC found a surprising replacement – current Featherweight champ Max Holloway. Come weigh-in time though, things went totally haywire. First, Holloway was removed from the fight by the New York State Athletic Commission – deemed medically unfit to compete following a tough weight cut.

The UFC initially pegged former champ Anthony Pettis as the new opponent for Khabib, but Pettis apparently made financial demands that the promotion refused to acquiesce.

Next, they turned to Paul Felder, but the NYSAC nixed that fight as Felder wasn’t ranked. Finally, Felder’s scheduled opponent Al Iaquinta was approached.

Despite a fractious relationship with the UFC, Iaquinta agreed to take the fight and became perhaps the most unlikely title challenger in UFC history – a feeling only made stronger when the NYSAC decided that they wouldn’t officially recognise him as champion even with a win as he’d weighed in at 0.2lbs over the championship weight of 155lbs.

The Rocky story never quite came off though, as Nurmagomedov easily took a unanimous decision after largely outpointing Iaquinta in all areas. Still, the New York native remains one of the most surprising title challengers in UFC history.

#4 Justin Eilers (2005)

UFC Fighter Portraits
Justin Eilers was a surprising title challenger against Andrei Arlovski in 2005

Back in 2005, the UFC Heavyweight division wasn’t exactly what it is today. Frank Mir was the reigning champion, but late 2004 saw him shatter his leg in a motorcycle accident, and so the UFC decided – justifiably so in this case – to crown an interim champion. And so Andrei Arlovski defeated Tim Sylvia to claim the title at UFC 51 in February 2005.

The problem then was that Mir simply wasn’t ready to return to action, and unfortunately for the UFC, the division was largely devoid of contenders after Sylvia had been beaten. Initially, the UFC was rumoured to be considering Paul Buentello for a shot at Arlovski’s title, but instead the matchmakers decided with just one UFC win to his name, Buentello would be better served to wait for a later title shot.

Instead, they turned to former Heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez, who hadn’t fought in the UFC since 2003 but was on a four-fight win streak outside the promotion.

Supposedly, artwork and posters were produced for the show – UFC 53 – featuring Arlovski vs. Rodriguez, but the fight fell through when Rodriguez refused to sign, citing financial disagreements.

And so the UFC turned to Justin Eilers – a mid-level Heavyweight who’d lost his last fight by knockout to Buentello – who was matched on the undercard with a different opponent, Kevin Jordan. The whole situation just didn’t make sense as Eilers clearly hadn’t earned a title shot.

Thankfully, waters weren’t muddied as Arlovski dispatched of Eilers in brutal fashion within a round – Eilers actually broke both of his hands attempting to block Arlovski’s punches. And Buentello won his fight on the undercard, setting up a title fight for later in 2005. As for Rodriguez? He never fought in the UFC again.

#5 Brock Lesnar (2008)

UFC 91
Despite not earning his title shot, Brock Lesnar knocked out Randy Couture to win the UFC title in 2008

If the recent furore around Brock Lesnar’s upcoming Heavyweight title shot against Daniel Cormier feels familiar, that’s because it’s already happened once – back in 2008 shortly after Lesnar had signed with the UFC the first time around.

At least back then he was considered a full-time fighter, but even so, giving him a title shot against Randy Couture at UFC 91 in November 2008 was still considered a massive shocker.

Lesnar had debuted in the UFC in February 2008 and had lost to Frank Mir by submission, and although he’d beaten Heath Herring impressively six months later, he still seemed to be miles away from a title shot.

Couture meanwhile was embroiled in a lawsuit against the UFC and a comeback didn’t seem to be on the cards – the UFC had introduced an interim title in his stead, won by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and the Brazilian was scheduled to defend against Mir later in 2008.

When it was announced that Couture – and his full Heavyweight title – was making a return, everyone was pleasantly surprised. But when his next opponent was announced as being Lesnar – 1-1 in the UFC – rather than a unification match with Nogueira, jaws hit the floor and immediately the debate about whether the UFC was favouring spectacle over sport began to rage.

Surprisingly enough though, it was Lesnar who had the last laugh. Looking far bigger and stronger than his ageing opponent, he caught Couture with a short, powerful right hand late in the first round and finished him off with a series of hammer fists on the ground.

From one of the most undeserving title challengers in UFC history to the Heavyweight champion – Lesnar did it in 2008, but can he do it again a decade later?


Will Lesnar capture the heavyweight title from Cormier? Sound off in the comments section below!

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Edited by Alan John