Jon Jones and 4 other UFC champions who disgraced themselves

UFC champions represent the pinnacle of the sport. They're widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. Not only are they beacons of excellence inside the octagon, they are often the most public faces that the sport has to offer. So they're expected to conduct themselves in a commendable form.

However, this isn't always the case. There have been champions who have disgraced themselves, tainting their legacies due to their actions, be it inside the octagon or outside it. Some of the promotion's titleholders can't seem to stay out of trouble, even attracting the attention of the law.

Other UFC champions have tarnished their names due to failed drug tests that will dog them forever. Meanwhile, other titleholders disgraced their standing in the eyes of fans due to avoiding certain matchups or even missing weight at pivotal moments. This list goes over five UFC champions guilty of all.

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#5 Germaine de Randamie, former UFC women's featherweight champion

Some fans may not remember Germaine de Randamie, and they can be forgiven for that. The Dutchwoman wasn't a trash-talker, nor did she fight in a division that often drew fan attention. But she was a skilled fighter who came into the sport of MMA with a decorated kickboxing background of 46 wins and no losses.

Her tenure as a mixed martial artist peaked when she defeated Holly Holm at UFC 208 for the promotion's inaugural women's featherweight title. Unfortunately, 'The Iron Lady's' victory was marred by the fact that she hit Holm after the bell several times, even rocking her at one point.

Several media outlets even scored the bout in Holm's favor, further staining her victory. Her time as a champion was made even worse when she refused to defend her title against Cris Cyborg due to the Brazilian's past PED usage. This led to widespread criticism, culminating in her being stripped of the title.

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#4 Nicco Montaño, former UFC women's flyweight champion

A glance at Nicco Montaño's record of four wins and three losses will leave many fans wondering how she ever became a UFC champion in the first place. But in 2017, she made her promotional debut as a 3-2 fighter against WMMA veteran Roxanne Modafferi for the inaugural women's flyweight title.

After five rounds, she was declared the winner and crowned the division's first champion. Her first title defense was scheduled to be against an elite striker and future champion Valentina Shevchenko. Unfortunately, a botched weight cut sent Montaño to the hospital and the bout was cancelled.

She was subsequently stripped of the title, and then failed a drug test for ostarine, a SARM with effects similar to steroids. This led to her serving a six-month suspension. Upon her return, she struggled to make it to fights for various reasons, eventually culminating in her missing weight by eight pounds.

For her troubles, she was released by the UFC and hasn't fought since 2019, despite never retiring.

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#3 Conor McGregor, former UFC two-division champion

No one will forget the sheer mania caused by Conor McGregor's warpath in the promotion's featherweight division. That it culminated in him knocking out José Aldo in 13 seconds to capture the 145-pound strap made it one of the most unforgettable title fights in MMA history.

He followed up his success by defeating Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title to enthrone himself as the promotion's first-ever simultaneous two-division champion. Unfortunately, 'The Notorious' has had a spectacular fall from grace. He was stripped of his titles, which he never defended, due to inactivity.

The Irishman then began to be embroiled in countless controversies, ranging from his infamous bus attack to punching an older man at a Dublin bar for refusing his whiskey, along with numerous sexual assault allegations.

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#2 T.J. Dillashaw, former UFC bantamweight champion

Ironically, it was Conor McGregor who first fanned the flames of T.J. Dillashaw's villainous arc. During the Irishman's time filming The Ultimate Fighter 22 alongside Urijah Faber, he questioned T.J. Dillashaw's loyalty to Team Alpha Male, even referring to him as a snake in the grass.

But his split from TAM to train exclusively under Duane Ludwig isn't what disgraced his reputation. It's the fact that Dillashaw was outed for being an aggressive sparring partner, who cheap-shots his training partners, which caused Chris Holdsworth to retire from MMA after he kneed him in the back of the head.

But the former bantamweight champion has done more than give his training partners post-concussion syndrome. He also used EPO, a banned substance, ahead of his UFC Fight Night 143 bout with then-flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, which marked his attempt at becoming a two-division champion.

T.J. Dillashaw further stained his reputation after facing Aljamain Sterling with a severely compromised shoulder, in what some have derided as a tasteless cashgrab.

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#1 Jon Jones, current UFC heavyweight champion/former UFC light heavyweight champion

Jon Jones is a fighter who has been dogged by accusations of being a fraudulent person for much of his career. But it wasn't until 2015 that fans understood what some of his peers meant. After defeating Daniel Cormier in the pair's grudge match at UFC 182, 'Bones' was revealed to have tested positive for cocaine metabolites.

While cocaine was not a banned out-of-competition substance by WADA, which handled the promotion's anti-doping tests prior to USADA, it poked holes through Jones' illusory portrayal of a morally upstanding Christian. His subsequent series of positive PED tests further ruined his reputation.

He was stripped of his light heavyweight title and has, thus far, tested positive for three banned substances: clomifene, letrozole and turinabol. But even his alleged steroid use pales in comparison to his more prominent offenses, like his infamous hit-and-run involving a pregnant woman and his arrest for domestic violence.