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

Aljamain Sterling isn't the first UFC champion to suffer disrespect from some fans
Aljamain Sterling isn't the first UFC champion to suffer disrespect from some fans

This past weekend saw Aljamain Sterling successfully defend his UFC bantamweight title against former champ Petr Yan. However,partly due to the controversial nature of his decision win, he still doesn’t seem to be getting the respect he deserves.

Over the years, we’ve seen a number of highly-talented UFC champions who simply didn’t get the respect they deserved from the fans, meaning that Aljamain Sterling isn’t the first fighter to suffer this.

Why didn’t these champions get respect? Sometimes it was down to their performances not being all that exciting, but other times it felt simply unfair and seemed to come down to personality more than anything else.

With this in mind, here are five UFC champions who weren’t given the respect they deserved.


#5. Tyron Woodley – former UFC welterweight champion

A couple of dull title defenses meant Tyron Woodley suffered disrespect from some of the fans
A couple of dull title defenses meant Tyron Woodley suffered disrespect from some of the fans

It’s safe to say that Georges St-Pierre remains the UFC’s most successful welterweight champion, while current titleholder Kamaru Usman appears to have the ability to come closest to surpassing the Canadian in the future.

However, while his credentials cannot be compared to GSP’s or Usman’s, it’s hard to dispute the idea that Tyron Woodley should also be remembered as one of the greatest welterweights in the history of the promotion, too.

Unfortunately, during his reign as champion, which came between July 2016 and March 2019, ‘The Chosen One’ was largely disrespected by both the fans and members of the MMA media alike. It’s arguable that he was never given the credit he deserved.

After downing Robbie Lawler to claim gold, Woodley defended his title successfully on three occasions, defeating Stephen Thompson (after drawing with him in an initial fight), Demian Maia and Darren Till.

So why was Woodley not widely respected after pulling off what were three huge title defenses at the time? There are a number of reasons worth bringing up.

Firstly, his wins over Thompson and Maia both came in hugely dull fights, with his performances essentially turning live crowds against him. In turn, these bouts earned the derision of Dana White, whose opinions tend to hold a lot of sway with fans.

Secondly, Woodley was often portrayed as a prima donna during his time as champion. His demands for so-called “money fights” against the Diaz brothers, rather than bouts against fighters seen as the top contenders, didn’t seem to impress people.

Overall, while Woodley was clearly a successful and dominant champion, he didn’t get the respect he probably deserved, although it’s arguable that he brought a lot of disrespect onto himself.

#4. Tim Sylvia – former UFC heavyweight champion

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

#2. Rich Franklin – former UFC middleweight champion

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


#1. Frankie Edgar – former UFC lightweight champion

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

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Edited by Harvey Leonard