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UFC champions are meant to represent the pinnacle of the sport. They're the best of the best in the world of mixed martial arts. So when fight fans think of the most dominant win streaks in the sport, they typically think of UFC champions. The likes of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva come to mind.
Unfortunately, this isn't true of all champions. Some of the promotion's titleholders never enjoyed long reigns, or much of a reign at all. This is even worse for champions that fans, fellow fighters and analysts all predicted for a run of extended success.
But as fate sometimes has it, those who seem primed for dominance end up being nothing more than a flash in the pan. Several champions of this sort have emerged in recent memory, and this list goes over five of them.
#5 Johny Hendricks, former UFC welterweight champion
It's easy to forget how much of a force of nature Johny Hendricks was a decade ago. 'Big Rig' was one of the most physical fighters on the UFC roster, complete with nuclear heat in every punch and wrestling skills of such strength that even Georges St-Pierre couldn't outwrestle him.
With a 15-1 record, he challenged 'GSP' for the welterweight strap, dragging the legendary Canadian to the brink of defeat in a bout that some called a robbery. After 'GSP' relinquished the title after barely beating him, Johny Hendricks faced Robbie Lawler for the vacant throne, beating him via unanimous decision.
But he never built on his legacy as the new champion, who many felt had beaten the great Georges St-Pierre. He lost the title in an immediate rematch with Robbie Lawler, and fell into a downward spiral of just two wins and five losses in his next seven bouts before retiring from the sport.
#4 Miesha Tate, former UFC women's bantamweight champion
Miesha Tate's lifelong dream was to capture UFC gold. Unfortunately, she spent the better years of her prime living under Ronda Rousey's shadow as 'Rowdy' embarked on the most historically significant run in WMMA history. Throughout her time at the top, Rousey defeated Tate twice, first in Strikeforce, then in the UFC.
But after Ronda Rousey was dethroned in spectacular fashion by Holly Holm, 'Cupcake' saw a glimmer of hope. After mounting a four-fight win streak, she challenged 'The Preacher's Daughter' for bantamweight supremacy, but spent most of the bout being outstruck. But in round five, everything changed.
She scored a takedown and secured a rear-naked choke, squeezing with all her might until Holm fell unconscious. Tate was crowned the new 135-pound champion, but lost the belt to future WMMA GOAT Amanda Nunes in her very first title defense. As it turned out, Miesha Tate was just a transitional champion.
#3 Holly Holm, former UFC women's bantamweight champion
Hall of Fame boxer Holly Holm went from being an overmatched foe, a glorified lamb for Ronda Rousey to slaughter, to briefly being heralded as an all-time great WMMA fighter. She came into the UFC as an undefeated fighter with a background in both boxing and kickboxing.
But she wasn't the first unbeaten foe Rousey had faced, as 'Rowdy' had already defeated formerly undefeated Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist Sara McMann. Holly Holm, however, was a different beast, or so everyone thought. She executed the perfect gameplan against 'Rowdy' to hand her a lopsided beating.
In doing so, she was crowned the promotion's bantamweight champion after one of the greatest upsets of all time. But, Holm was not destined for much more. She lost the title immediately after her triump when Miesha Tate scored a comeback win, taking her foe's title and undefeated record.
#2 Luke Rockhold, former UFC middleweight champion
There comes a time in every division when a fighter emerges who just seems to possess every conceivable attribute needed to become a champion. In the 2010s, such a fighter emerged in the UFC middleweight division. Luke Rockhold was as good as a mixed martial artist at 185 pounds could have hoped to be at the time.
His Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills were second to none at middleweight. His wrestling was strong, his striking punctuated by some of the most powerful kicks in the division, and he was among the largest and most athletic 185-pounders on the roster. So when he defeated Chris Weidman to capture the middleweight title, it was fate.
Yet, his win didn't signal the beginning of the Rockhold era. His first title defense ended in complete disaster, as he was knocked out by Michael Bisping, of all people, on short-notice, an opponent he had beaten in the past. It marked the start of Rockhold's decline and the permanent loss of his ability to take a punch.
#1 Cody Garbrandt, former UFC bantamweight champion
When UFC fans think of fighters who can be credited with the most impressive title wins in the promotion's history, several names pop up. Among them are Holly Holm due to her win over Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor due to his win over Eddie Alvarez, and T.J. Dillashaw due to his win over Renan Barão.
But another fighter comes to mind: Cody Garbrandt. 'No Love' was an undefeated phenom with an impressive streak of knockouts. He represented Team Alpha Male's latest attempt at dethroning Dominick Cruz as the bantamweight titleholder, and at UFC 207, succeeded in doing so.
Garbrandt was the architect of one of the finest-ever title-winning performances in MMA history. No one had ever made Cruz look so foolish. As an unbeaten knockout artist who had dethroned the then bantamweight GOAT, he seemed primed for greatness. Instead, he lost his title in his first defense.
What 'No Love' had hoped was just a minor setback turned into a nightmare as he has declined so massively that now, years later, he is an unranked fighter without a win streak in nearly seven years.
