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Becoming a UFC champion is not something that's in the cards for everyone who signs with the promotion. It is one of mixed martial arts' most difficult accomplishments and the dream shared by nearly every fighter who steps inside the octagon.
Sometimes, a fighter never manages to capture UFC gold, no matter how impressive or skilled they are. Even worse, it is sometimes the doing of one other fighter that they simply cannot beat and seem like they never will, leaving them relegated to the role of a title gatekeeper.
These fighters were capable of beating everyone else in their division, but not the champion who consistently denied them their chance at immortality in the sport. This list looks at five such cases.
#5. Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson, former UFC light heavyweight
The late great Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson was a fighter that struck fear in the heart of nearly everyone he faced. He was a heavy-handed puncher capable of shutting anyone's lights out. Johnson spent the most successful stretch of his career as a UFC light heavyweight and amassed impressive win streaks.
His initial three-fight win streak upon returning to the promotion after being cut led to his first title fight against Daniel Cormier. Along the way, Johnson defeated Phil Davis, Antônio Rogério Nogueira and former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson.
Unfortunately, Cormier was well-prepared, beating him via rear-naked choke. The loss was gutting, but 'Rumble' hadn't lost to any other 205-pounder. So he worked his way back up, knocking out his next three opponents to earn a rematch for the title. Alas, Anthony Johnson still lost due to another rear-naked choke.
No other light heavyweight could beat him at the time. Had 'DC' not been the champion, he surely would have been, as everyone else in the top three had already fallen to him.
#4. Chael Sonnen, former UFC middleweight
Chael Sonnen is best known for his historic rivalry with legendary middleweight Anderson Silva. The wave of trash talk he drowned 'The Spider' under is still used in compilations of MMA's best trash-talking moments. And their first fight remains one of the greatest instances of a fighter claiming victory from the jaws of defeat.
While he was never undefeated sans Silva during his middleweight run, 'The American Gangster' came the closest of anyone to dethroning Anderson Silva before Chris Weidman eventually did.
At UFC 117, he dropped and rocked the Brazilian several times while also scoring takedowns and grinding him out.
By the fifth round, it seemed all but certain that Sonnen was set for a dominant win. However, with just two minutes remaining, Silva caught him sleeping in his guard and trapped him in a triangle armbar. Despite being so close to victory, Sonnen lost to a Hail Mary submission.
If not for that one destined moment, Chael Sonnen would have surely emerged as the winner. He just couldn't beat Silva. That much was clear, especially in their rematch, when the Brazilian TKO'd him in the second round.
#3. Joseph Benavidez, former UFC flyweight
Unfortunately, the last memory fans will have of Joseph Benavidez is him being brutalized and choked unconscious by Deiveson Figueiredo. But long before the three-fight losing streak that caused him to retire, the Team Alpha Male standout was a force to be reckoned with in the flyweight division.
For seven years, no one not named Demetrious Johnson could touch Benavidez inside the octagon. He defeated everyone in his path besides 'Mighty Mouse.' But every time Benavidez and Johnson crossed swords, he always came up short. First, he lost via split decision for the inaugural flyweight title.
Benavidez mounted a three-fight win streak in response, complete with two TKO wins, just to be knocked out cold within a round by 'Mighty Mouse' in the pair's rematch. No matter how good he was, Joseph Benavidez just couldn't dethrone Demetrious Johnson. So, he went on another tear, winning six fights from 2014 to 2016.
Had 'Mighty Mouse' never existed, Benavidez would have likely been the defending champion. Instead, he remained second best until a new crop of 125-pounders passed him by, but he never stopped dreaming.
#2. Chad Mendes, former UFC featherweight
Chad Mendes has only ever lost to champions across his entire run. But he is most defined for his role as Team Alpha Male's greatest effort at dethroning the then unconquerable José Aldo as the UFC featherweight king. Prior to their first fight, Mendes was an undefeated phenom.
He was a power wrestler with an 11-0 record. Not a soul could have stopped him on his path to the title. Unfortunately for Mendes, the champion was a brick wall. He failed to take him down and ate a knee for his troubles: a first-round knockout. The loss lit a fire under Mendes, and he rebounded.
Chad Mendes reemerged from the defeat as an improved version of himself, complete with a more layered striking game to compliment his punching power. He amassed a five-fight win streak, scoring four KO/TKOs to book a rematch with Aldo. Their second bout was a war, but ultimately, the Brazilian won again.
Thus, José Aldo remained the one barrier stopping Mendes from fulfilling his championship dreams when no one else could.
#1. Colby Covington, UFC welterweight
Colby Covington is generally regarded as the second-best welterweight in the world. He said as much because' Chaos' had lost to Kamaru Usman twice. Besides his two wars with 'The Nigerian Nightmare,' Covington has been undefeated since 2015.
He built a seven-fight win streak to earn his first title fight. No one could stop Covington at the time, and a clash with Kamaru Usman was inevitable. The two men battled for welterweight supremacy in one of the best championship fights the division has ever seen, but 'Chaos' was ultimately TKO'd after taking Usman to the brink.
To his fortune, he didn't have to go on another tear to earn a rematch. Covington just needed to defeat former champion Tyron Woodley, which he did with supreme ease. But his rematch with Kamaru Usman changed nothing. He lost via unanimous decision, deprived of the title by the only man who could stop him.
