5 UFC champions who weren't given the respect they deserved

#4. Tim Sylvia – former UFC heavyweight champion

Despite his accomplishments, Tim Sylvia never got the respect he deserved

A two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia was, at one time, one of the most feared big men in the sport of MMA. However, despite his substantial skills inside the octagon, ‘The Maine-iac’ rarely held the respect of the fans, something that clearly irked him during his second reign in particular.

It’s probably fair to say that Sylvia’s first reign didn’t go as planned and may have contributed to the lack of respect he was given during his second stint as champion.

After defeating Ricco Rodriguez for the title and then defending it successfully against Gan McGee, ‘The Maine-iac’ tested positive for PEDs and was subsequently stripped of his title and suspended for a period. When he returned, he failed in two attempts at regaining his title, losing to Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski.

Following this, though, Sylvia regrouped, pulled off three wins in a row, and then defeated Arlovski in a wildly dramatic bout to become champion for a second time. However, when his two successful defenses against Arlovski and Jeff Monson went the distance and produced largely uneventful bouts, the fans seemed to turn on him altogether.

‘The Maine-iac’ quickly became hugely unpopular and UFC fans around the world seemed to rejoice when he was dethroned by Randy Couture in his third defense.

What made Sylvia so unpopular and, in turn, so easy to disrespect? Simply put, particularly after his positive drug test, he came off as somewhat of an awkward champion, with his less-than-flattering physique clearly affecting his marketability.

Add in his two dull title defenses, and the disrespect thrown his way becomes more understandable, even if it wasn’t really justified, particularly as Arlovski seemed to retain his popularity despite being equally to blame for that poor third fight.

---

#3. Demetrious Johnson – former UFC flyweight champion

Demetrious Johnson deserved far more respect than he got during his reign as flyweight champ

At the peak of his powers, it’s not only arguable that Demetrious Johnson was the best flyweight fighter on the planet, but he could well have been seen as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, too.

Unfortunately, despite the UFC’s best efforts, ‘Mighty Mouse’ seemed to face nothing but disrespect from the majority of the promotion’s fanbase, even as he broke multiple records in the octagon and dominated most of his opponents.

Johnson won the flyweight title in September 2012, edging out Joseph Benavidez to become the promotion’s first 125-pound titleholder. Over the next five years, he turned back the challenge of 11 opponents, setting a UFC record in the process. Even his eventual title loss to Henry Cejudo came in a controversial decision.

Despite his incredible skills, overall dominance and largely charismatic persona, though, ‘Mighty Mouse’ tended to be overlooked by fans. Live crowds would often leave the events he was scheduled to headline before he’d even stepped into the octagon.

So why was Johnson disrespected? Many observers would blame the promotion for not pushing him, but that’s largely unfair given they always attempted to portray him as a pound-for-pound great and even built a series of The Ultimate Fighter around a tournament to find him a suitable challenger.

The probable truth is that despite all of his skills, many fans simply weren’t willing to get into the 125-pound weight class and largely saw Johnson as a great fighter snacking on overmatched opponents, which often wasn’t the case at all.

Add in the fact that he never really embarked on a storied rivalry, like Anderson Silva’s with Chael Sonnen, for instance, and it’s easy to see why he became somewhat overlooked and, in turn, disrespected by the fans.