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In an ideal world, the UFC would be a pure meritocracy wherein fighters are only given what they earn. Unfortunately, that isn't the case with the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion. While lengthy win streaks and signature wins can lead to fighters earning long-awaited opportunities, it's not always enough.
Reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, for example, had to go above and beyond to finally earn his crack at the divisional throne. Meanwhile, the likes of Belal Muhammad and Beneil Dariush are still waiting for their title shots despite the long win streaks they are on in their respective divisions.
Some fighters are given special privileges. They are afforded opportunities that others simply aren't. In some cases, they become entitled. In other instances, even fighters who have never been favored by the promotion showcase entitlement. With that being said, this list looks at five of the most entitled UFC fighters.
#5. Conor McGregor, UFC lightweight
Without Conor McGregor, MMA would not be what it is today: a billion dollar sport that has received mainstream coverage and celebrity interest. The Irishman has been at the helm of the UFC's most successful-ever PPV and regularly breaks past the one million PPV buy rate. He has earned almost everything he has.
Back in 2016, however, 'The Notorious' revealed an entitled streak. After Nate Diaz filled in for an injured Rafael dos Anjos as a short-notice replacement, the Irishman faced him at UFC 196, suffering a stunning upset loss via submission. He demanded an immediate rematch.
The pair were subsequently scheduled to lock horns at UFC 200. Unfortunately, McGregor refused to honor his media obligations and didn't appear at the pre-fight press conference. He demanded that the promotion allow him to focus more on his training.
With no other recourse, Dana White axed the Irishman's scheduled bout with Stockton's finest. Meanwhile, the Irishman announced the first of his faux retirements in an attempt to strongarm the promotion into doing as he demanded.
#4. Julianna Peña, UFC women's bantamweight
Julianna Peña didn't earn her first title shot due to being on a win streak. She had just one win since her loss to Sara McMann before she challenged Amanda Nunes for the women's 135 lbs title. Prior to that, she had lost two of her last three fights between 2017 and 2020.
Yet despite her poor record, she frequently demanded title shots while claiming that 'The Lioness' was avoiding a fight with her. Nunes correctly pointed out that she never avoided her and that Peña simply failed to amass more than one win at a time to make herself a title contender.
While she defeated 'The Lioness' in the greatest upset in women's MMA history, she immediately lost her bantamweight title in a rematch. Despite her last fight being a loss, 'The Venezuelan Vixen' has been demanding a trilogy bout without earning it by at least winning one fight since her latest loss.
#3. Colby Covington, UFC welterweight
Former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington hasn't defeated anyone currently in the division's top ten. It's an alarming statistic for a fighter who is frequently hailed as the division's second-best mixed martial artist. After his first failure to dethrone Kamaru Usman, 'Chaos' faced Tyron Woodley.
While edging out 'The Chosen One' with his output and pressure, a rib injury ultimately led to his foe's defeat after an ill-advised guillotine-choke. It rendered the win more than questionable, but 'Chaos' still demanded an immediate title shot after just one win since losing to Usman.
He was granted a second title shot and again failed to defeat 'The Nigerian Nightmare'. He subsequently faced former friend Jorge Masvidal, who is currently the 11nth-ranked welterweight in the promotion. He defeated him before legal issues kept him out of the octagon for a year.
He returned as a backup fighter for UFC 286's main event and has been demanding a title shot against Leon Edwards ever since Dana White announced his intention to book him into a title fight.
It's an opportunity that's far from earned, but he has been so adamant about a title shot that Colby Covington even threatened Jon Anik due to the commentator's support of Belal Muhammad, who is on an eight-fight win streak.
#2. Jorge Masvidal, UFC welterweight
For years, Jorge Masvidal struggled to achieve meaningful status in MMA. He is a veteran of the sport with serviceable skills. Unfortunately, he has been the victim of countless split-decision losses due to his own stylistic hangups. While he eventually achieved superstardom, it also led to significant entitlement.
After a stellar three-fight win streak, 'Gamebred' campaigned for a title fight against the then reigning champion Kamaru Usman. After contractual disputes with the UFC, he agreed to fill in as a short-notice replacement against the Nigerian great at UFC 251. He suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss.
Even so, he campaigned for an immediate rematch despite coming off a loss to the same man. The promotion obliged and he suffered the Knockout of the Year for his troubles. Afterwards, he lost a grudge match against former friend Colby Covington, leaving him on a three-fight losing streak.
Despite having lost three fights in a row, he still demanded a title shot against newly crowned champion Leon Edwards, even though he previously refused to acknowledge 'Rocky' or entertain the Englishman's past callouts when he wasn't the champion.
He insulted Daniel Cormier for pointing out this line of behavior and now with a matchup against Gilbert Burns on the horizon, he expects to earn a title fight if he wins his first fight in four years.
#1. Tyron Woodley, former UFC welterweight
There is a laundry list of reasons behind why fans never warmed up to Tyron Woodley, and one of the reasons is that he is arguably the most entitled fighter the UFC has ever seen. He initially sat out for an entire year in wait for a promised title shot even after the UFC opted for another title fight in the meantime.
Immediately after capturing the welterweight title, 'The Chosen One' called for a superfight with either Nick Diaz instead of facing the rightful number one contender, Stephen Thompson. He did so during a backstage interview. A reporter later asked him about his first title defense at the post-fight press conference.
He doubled down on his desire to fight Nick Diaz before adding a potential bout against Georges St-Pierre in New York to his wish-list because he felt entitled to big money fights minutes after becoming the welterweight champion. He also took offense to how the UFC promoted Nate Marquardt.
Tyron Woodley and Nate Marquardt are past opponents. To promote him for an upcoming fight, the promotion tweeted highlights of his KO win over 'The Chosen One'. He demanded that the promotion tweet his highlights, even though he had nothing to do with Marquardt's upcoming fight.
