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The UFC is undoubtedly the world’s greatest MMA promotion. When it puts title fights together, the likes of Dana White fully expect the fans to be excited. However, that isn’t always the case.
Over the years, we’ve seen the UFC put together a number of title bouts, which, for various reasons, simply fail to excite the fans.
Sometimes this is due to a lack of interest in the champion, while other times it’s more down to a perceived lame-duck challenger. On occasion, it’s a mix of both. Regardless, it’s always a disappointment to the promotion when it happens.
With that in mind, here are five UFC title bouts that failed to excite the fans.
#5. Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso – UFC 178
When the bouts for UFC 178 were initially confirmed, fans immediately looked upon the show as one of the most loaded in the promotion’s history.
Not only did the headliner feature a fight between light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and top contender Daniel Cormier in the culmination of one of the biggest feuds in the promotion, but the likes of Conor McGregor, Eddie Alvarez, Donald Cerrone and Amanda Nunes all featured on the undercard.
Unfortunately, when Jones was sidelined with an injury, the UFC were forced to change their plans and pull the headline bout. They did find a title fight to replace it, but to say it wasn’t a like-for-like replacement would be an understatement.
Did any fans really want to see a flyweight title bout between Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso? In all honesty, it was doubtful.
Not only had ‘Mighty Mouse’ struggled to capture the imagination of the fans at the time despite his incredible skills, but Cariaso felt like the very definition of a weak challenger. He was just 3-2 in his most recent bouts and had never really beaten a top fighter.
Sure enough, the title bout was massively overshadowed by the great fights that came before it; most notably McGregor’s clash with Dustin Poirier. While it was a serviceable bout that saw Johnson win via submission, many fans had already departed the arena by the time it began.
#4. Holly Holm vs. Germaine de Randamie – UFC 208
When rumors began to abound in late 2016 that the UFC was about to create a women’s featherweight division, it seemed certain that one fighter would be involved in the inaugural title bout.
Cris Cyborg had not only been regarded as the top female fighter at 145lbs for the best part of a decade, but she was also part of the promotion’s roster. She had taken part in a handful of fights at 140lbs at that point.
Incredibly, though, the promotion failed to come to terms with Cyborg for the inaugural title bout. They instead pitted Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie – two fighters who’d never fought in the octagon at 145lbs – against each other to decide who would be the first champion.
Sure, Holm was still seen as a big star thanks to her win over Ronda Rousey, but she’d also lost a lot of her luster thanks to losses to Miesha Tate and Valentina Shevchenko. Meanwhile, de Randamie was basically an unknown.
By the time UFC 208 came around, it was hard to say whether the fans cared at all about the new title or the title bout itself. The fight turned out to be less-than-inspiring, with de Randamie winning a controversial decision. When she then vacated the title rather than face Cyborg, it was clear that the division had gotten off to the worst possible start.
#3. Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC 150
A decade on, it’s probably safe to say that few title reigns in UFC history have divided the fanbase quite like Frankie Edgar’s run as lightweight champion.
‘The Answer’ surprised everyone by dethroning BJ Penn, who was seen as unbeatable at the time, in April 2010 to take the gold. He went onto defend it on four occasions, putting on some legendary fights in the process.
However, his reign also seemed to be a never-ending run of rematches. So when Benson Henderson dethroned him in early 2012, it felt like the fresh start that the 155lbs division needed.
Much to the chagrin of those fans, though, the promotion decided to book an immediate rematch between Henderson and Edgar just six months later. This came despite the presence of streaking contenders like Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis.
It was hard to dispute the idea that Edgar deserved a rematch – after all, his loss to Henderson had been a razor-close one – but it was also safe to say that the majority of the fanbase dreaded him regaining the title.
Henderson duly edged Edgar out in the rematch, providing some fans with a semblance of relief. The lack of interest was seen in the event’s low buyrate, as UFC 150 became one of the lowest-selling pay-per-views of the modern era.
#2. Andrei Arlovski vs. Justin Eilers – UFC 53
Back in 2005, it’s probably fair to say that the UFC’s heavyweight division wasn’t in as healthy shape as it is today. With reigning champion Frank Mir sidelined due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, the year began with Andrei Arlovski claiming an interim title by defeating Tim Sylvia.
With Arlovski now positioned as the promotion’s top heavyweight and Mir nowhere near making a comeback, talk immediately moved onto who would be the first challenger to ‘The Pitbull’.
Initially, it looked like the promotion had found a perfect foe for their new kingpin in the form of Ricco Rodriguez. Not only was ‘Ricco Suave’ a former UFC heavyweight champion in his own right, but he was also on a four-fight win streak and held a victory over Arlovski from earlier in his career.
It looked like a classic piece of booking from the promotion. Despite supposedly producing adverts for the fight at UFC 53, it fell through when Rodriguez failed to come to financial terms.
That left Dana White and company scrambling. In a bizarre move, they decided to go with Justin Eilers as Arlovski’s first challenger instead.
The fight made no sense, largely because Eilers was coming off a knockout loss to Paul Buentello, who was himself booked on the undercard of the show in a different fight.
The interest levels around UFC 53 duly plummeted thanks to this weak headline bout. While ‘The Pitbull’ looked great in a first round win over his challenger, it came as no surprise when the show drew the lowest pay-per-view figures of the year.
#1. Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites – UFC 97
By the start of 2009, Anderson Silva was not just recognized as the UFC’s best middleweight, he was also widely seen as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, too. Not only had he defended his middleweight title successfully on two occasions in 2008, he’d also stepped up to 205lbs to knock out James Irvin.
However, the one thing holding him back from really reaching superstardom was the fact that he’d basically beaten all of the worthy and interesting contenders in the 185lbs division.
That made things tricky for the UFC, who, somehow, still had to find viable challengers for ‘The Spider’. Unfortunately, the opponent they chose for him in his first bout of 2009 simply didn’t inspire the fans at all.
Sure, Thales Leites was clearly a talented fighter, and he was riding a strong winning streak of five victories – but the only big win there was a tight decision against Nate Marquardt, who Silva had destroyed years prior.
When the UFC announced the Brazilian as Silva’s challenger, it was very hard to make the fans care. Joe Rogan even attempted to play Leites up as arguably the most dangerous grappler in the promotion.
Sure enough, when Silva eased his way past the challenger in one of the worst title bouts in the promotion’s history, it was hard to disagree with the fans who didn’t want to see the fight in the first place.
It’s arguable that Silva’s later title defense against Demian Maia represented the worst of his octagon tenure. However, it’s also hard to deny that, in terms of fan interest, it didn’t get any lower than this for ‘The Spider’.
