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

#2. Rich Franklin – former UFC middleweight champion

Were it not for Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin might've been far more highly respected

In a parallel universe – one that didn’t include Anderson Silva – Rich Franklin’s reign as UFC middleweight champion may well have lasted far longer than the 16 months that it did. In this parallel universe, ‘Ace’ would probably be recognized today as one of the greatest fighters of his generation.

Unfortunately for Franklin, not only did he face plenty of disrespect during his time as titleholder, most notably from hardcore fans, but his eventual loss to Silva meant that a lot of the plaudits he gained from casual fans were lost, too.

‘Ace’ first dropped to 185 pounds in late 2004 after putting together an impressive 16-1 record at light heavyweight. He quickly reeled off three straight wins before stopping Evan Tanner to claim the middleweight crown in the summer of 2005.

However, despite dominating Nate Quarry and David Loiseau in his first two title defenses, many hardcore fans felt that Franklin had somehow been “protected” by the UFC, who saw him as an easily marketable champion.

In their eyes, the likes of Matt Lindland and Paulo Filho, who competed in other promotions, would’ve been favored to beat ‘Ace’, which, frankly, was nonsense.

Sure, Franklin was dominated by Silva when they fought, losing his title in the process, but ‘The Spider’ went onto establish himself as one of the greatest fighters of all time, meaning there was no shame in falling to him.

‘Ace’, meanwhile, went on to defeat the likes of Yushin Okami, Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, wins that should’ve made him a legend in his own right.

Put simply, Franklin deserved far more respect than he was given by the fans. There’s definitely an argument to suggest that he remains one of the most underrated UFC fighters of all time even today.

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#1. Frankie Edgar – former UFC lightweight champion

Despite holding the lightweight title, Frankie Edgar suffered plenty of disrespect during his peak years

While he’s now widely recognized as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of his generation, it’s probably safe to say that few UFC champions suffered the levels of disrespect from the fans that Frankie Edgar did during his reign as lightweight champion a decade ago.

Always undersized at 155 pounds, nobody really expected ‘The Answer’ to get as far as receiving a title shot in one of the promotion’s most loaded divisions, let alone dethrone a seemingly invincible champion in the form of B.J. Penn.

Edgar, however, did just that in the early part of 2010. He then went on to defeat ‘The Prodigy’ in a rematch to apparently establish himself as the best lightweight in the world at the time.

From there, after fighting old rival Gray Maynard to a draw in his second title defense, he defeated ‘The Bully’ in an epic third bout before losing his title to Benson Henderson in a ridiculously close call in early 2012.

Edgar did rematch ‘Smooth’ for the title later that year, but fell to defeat in another razor-tight decision. While he received title shots at 145 pounds in the years that followed, it’s definitely arguable that he peaked during his time as lightweight champ.

At times, though, it felt like the fans simply didn’t buy into him as a genuine titleholder, largely writing him off every time he stepped into the octagon.

Quite why this was remains a mystery. For many fans who’d bought into the idea of Penn running roughshod over the division, it felt like the idea of anyone else holding the title – let alone an undersized wrestler from New Jersey – was ludicrous, leading directly to the disrespect that plagued ‘The Answer’.

However, despite his seemingly never-ending run of rematches admittedly slowing the division down at times, it’s now hard not to view Edgar as an all-time great, making the lack of respect shown to him by fans at the time being very disappointing.