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This weekend at UFC 273, Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against Petr Yan. In the eyes of many fans, ‘Funk Master’ has no chance of retaining the gold.
Aljamain Sterling isn’t the first UFC champion to be written off by the fans prior to a title bout, as we’ve seen numerous other examples of this over the years.
Whether those fans are correct to write off the chances of the champ will only be seen at the weekend, but in the past, plenty of titleholders proved their doubters wrong and overcame the odds.
With that in mind, here are five UFC champions who were unfairly written off prior to a title defense.
#5. Randy Couture vs. Gabriel Gonzaga - UFC 74
When Randy Couture dethroned Tim Sylvia to capture the UFC heavyweight title for the third time in early 2007, he became the oldest champion in the promotion’s history at the age of 43.
‘The Natural’ undoubtedly produced a special performance against Sylvia, but when his first title defense was booked against Gabriel Gonzaga five months later, it seemed highly unlikely that he’d be able to defeat the odds again.
Not only did ‘Napao’ hold a huge size and power advantage over the champion, but he was also considered one of the best grapplers on the planet. He had also displayed devastating striking power too, most notably in his knockout of PRIDE legend Mirko Cro Cop.
Essentially, Couture felt like little more than a placeholder going into his defense against the Brazilian. To many observers, it felt like only a matter of time before ‘Napao’ crushed him to claim the UFC title.
However, once again, ‘The Natural’ proved that writing him off was never a good idea. From the start of the fight, Couture got into Gonzaga’s face and never let up, pushing a pace that the Brazilian simply couldn’t match.
Once the champion began to impose his wrestling game, taking Gonzaga down on multiple occasions, the fight was basically over. Couture smashed his nose with ground-and-pound and finished him off in the third round.
This win tends to be forgotten in comparison to his victory over Sylvia, but in many ways, it remains Couture’s most impressive victory in the octagon, particularly in his latter days.
#4. Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn - UFC 118
After defeating Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez to defend his UFC lightweight title in 2009, B.J. Penn looked absolutely unstoppable at 155 pounds. When he was booked to defend his title against Frankie Edgar, an undersized lightweight, in early 2010, it looked inconceivable that ‘The Prodigy’ would lose.
However, Penn produced an under-par performance. Despite landing some heavy blows on Edgar, the judges favored the higher workrate of ‘The Answer’ and rewarded him with a stunning decision victory.
Naturally, it made sense for the two men to rematch later that year. To say everyone was writing Edgar’s chances off would be an understatement.
Not only did many people feel that Penn had deserved the nod in their first fight anyway, but it seemed highly doubtful that the Hawaiian would produce a performance quite so disappointing again. At his best, it was thought that Penn would have far too much for ‘The Answer’.
Incredibly, though, the opposite was true. Penn used his striking to at least some effect in the first bout. However, in the second, Edgar was simply too quick and too accurate for him. He danced around ‘The Prodigy’, outboxed him and even smashed through his legendary takedown defense throughout the fight.
When the bout was over, there was absolutely no doubt as to who the rightful winner was. Sure enough, Edgar was declared the victor again. ‘The Answer’ would quieten his doubters on more than one other occasion later in his octagon career, but this remains his best example of a champion who proved that he could never be written off.
#3. Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya - UFC 259
When Jan Blachowicz knocked out Dominick Reyes to claim the UFC light heavyweight title in the summer of 2020, fans were quick to declare the Polish fighter one of the most unlikely champions in the promotion’s history.
After all, Blachowicz had been on the verge of being cut from his contract following a losing streak just a few years prior. He simply didn’t look like the caliber of fighter who could hold gold inside the octagon.
Unsurprisingly, then, when the Polish powerhouse was matched with middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya, who was on a quest to become a double champion in early 2021, nearly everyone wrote off his chances.
Not only was Adesanya unbeaten in the octagon at 10-0, but he was seen as simply being too accurate, too fast and too skilled on the feet for the more plodding Blachowicz to handle.
However, when it came to fight time, Blachowicz proved that while Adesanya was – and still is – an all-time great at 185 pounds, making the step up to light heavyweight would be tougher than he could ever have imagined.
Not only was the Polish fighter able to land the harder strikes when the two were standing, but he was also able to take Adesanya down and keep him there to land some thudding ground strikes, slowly breaking him down over the stretch.
Blachowicz was duly given a victory via unanimous decision. Although he lost his title in his next defense, he quietened the doubters more than anyone could’ve expected by handing Adesanya his first loss in MMA.
#2. Jens Pulver vs. B.J. Penn - UFC 35
Few fighters have ever burst onto the scene in the UFC with quite as much fanfare as B.J. Penn. Noted as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, ‘The Prodigy’ made his MMA debut in the octagon in 2001 and quickly ran through Joey Gilbert, Din Thomas and Caol Uno to establish himself as the world’s most dangerous lightweight.
At the time, the UFC lightweight champion was Jens Pulver. While ‘Lil Evil’ was clearly a highly-skilled fighter, the fact that he’d won both of his title bouts via decision, including a win over Uno, who Penn starched in seconds, didn’t appear to bode well for his chances against ‘The Prodigy’.
However, Pulver never doubted himself for a second, outright stating that while Penn was bad, “he ain’t evil.” So while he came into their title bout in early 2002 as a huge underdog, he was determined to prove his doubters wrong.
Indeed, Pulver did just that, showing tremendous heart and skill en route to edging Penn out via decision after five rounds.
Not only did ‘Lil Evil’ use his takedowns to slow Penn down, but he also largely outboxed ‘The Prodigy’, tagging him with some beautiful combinations and basically showing him a different level of fighting that he’d ever experienced before.
Unfortunately, a contract dispute meant that Pulver would depart the promotion shortly after this fight, largely robbing him of achieving legendary status. However, his showing against Penn remains a phenomenal one and holds up as a classic example of a champion being unfairly written off.
#1. Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou - UFC 220
When Francis Ngannou debuted in the UFC in late 2015, he always seemed destined for greatness. A remarkably heavy hitter who appeared to possess the ability to destroy anything he connected with, he quickly began to cut a path of destruction through the heavyweight division.
After defeating Alistair Overeem in late 2017, his sixth straight stoppage victory in the octagon, ‘The Predator’ was handed a title shot. In the eyes of many, it was academic that he’d claim the gold.
In reality, this suggestion was crazy. Champion Stipe Miocic had far more experience than Ngannou and he’d also beaten many of the same fighters that ‘The Predator’ had dispatched, often in just as impressive fashion.
However, Ngannou’s brutal striking power and explosive athleticism was expected to give him the edge. So when it came to fight time, the challenger was the overwhelming favorite.
Miocic, though, was undeterred. While he took some thunderous shots from ‘The Predator’, shots that would’ve taken out many fighters, the champion hung tough and eventually began to use his wrestling to wear Ngannou out, dragging him into deep water and drowning him.
The champion eventually held onto his title via a clear-cut unanimous decision, and it actually took Ngannou a lengthy time to regain the terrifying aura he’d developed before the fight. After this, nobody would ever doubt Miocic again.
