A History of the Very Worst of UFC Championship Matchmaking

[Rovert]

Well, with the shitshow of heavyweight out of the way, time to move onto the UFC's traditional marquee attraction, the Light Heavyweights.

One would think that the traditionally 'strongest' division in the UFC would have fewer heinous and borderline illegal championship matches. One would be wrong.

First, the list:

Light Heavyweight

• Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson had 3 professional fights when he fought for the title. Unfortunately not a UFC record. Thanks Lesnar!).
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• Frank Shamrock def. Igor Zinoviev
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• Frank Shamrock def. Jeremy Horn (I feel like this is a good time to point out that Gumby is actually a middleweight. This does not stop him fighting for the title twice)
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• Frank Shamrock def. John Lober (Lober was riding an impressive 6 fight streak without a victory when he fought for the title, which has to be some kind of record).
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• Frank Shamrock def. Tito Ortiz (Shamrock vacates the title at this point, citing a lack of competition. Reviewing his opponents' records, it is hard to blame him.)
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• Tito Ortiz def. Wanderlei Silva
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• Tito Ortiz def. Yuki Kondo
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• Tito Ortiz def. Evan Tanner
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• Tito Ortiz def. Elvis Sinosic (A classic mismatch. In Sinosic's favour, he did technically have a winning record going into the match. Just not once it was over).
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• Tito Ortiz def. Vladimir Matyushenko
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• Tito Ortiz def. Ken Shamrock
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• Randy Couture def. Chuck Liddell (interim)
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• Randy Couture def. Tito Ortiz (one of the rare championship fights Randy actually earned)
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• Vitor Belfort def. Randy Couture
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• Randy Couture def. Vitor Belfort
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• Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture
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• Chuck Liddell def. Jeremy Horn (Gumby returns for his first UFC fight since 2001, essentially for the sole purpose of allowing Chuck to avenge his earlier submission loss)
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• Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture
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• Chuck Liddell def. Renato Sobral
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• Chuck Liddell def. Tito Ortiz
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• Quinton Jackson def. Chuck Liddell
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• Quinton Jackson def. Dan Henderson
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• Forrest Griffin def. Quinton Jackson (remember when Forrest was champ, guys?)
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• Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin
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• Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans (the Machida Era!)
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• Lyoto Machida def. Mauricio Rua
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• Mauricio Rua def. Lyoto Machida (one of the rare merited immediate rematches in UFC history)
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• Jon Jones def. Mauricio Rua
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• Jon Jones def. Quinton Jackson
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• Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida
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• Jon Jones def. Rashad Evans
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• Jon Jones def. Vitor Belfort
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• Jon Jones def. Chael Sonnen
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• Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson
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• Jon Jones def. Glover Teixeira
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• Jon Jones Def. Daniel Cormier (Jones is then stripped for a felony hit-and-run. Oops).
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• Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson
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• Daniel Cormier def. Alexander Gustafsson
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• Jon Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux (interim)

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Did you think Heavyweight was bad? Ha! Your god is a lie. LHW matchmaking will make you cry blood if you think about it for too long.

My top three shittiest, most indefensible matches are as follows:

3) Daniel Cormier def. Alexander Gustafsson

I realize that this may be controversial, because Gus is a great fighter, but Humble Rumble had just decapitated him in his previous fight, and the brass just gifted him a shot at the crown. I realize that LHW was hurting for talent at the time, but this fight breaks the cardinal rule of giving a title shot off of a loss, and a TKO loss at that.

2) Tito Ortiz vs Elvis Sinosic

Okay, so I have nothing against Sinosic as a human being. He seems like a perfectly nice guy. The real problem is that he fought a 8-2 Tito Ortiz for the UFC title with a 4-3-1 record overall, and 1-2-1 over his last 4. Elvis was sent into the cage to die, and Ortiz was the chosen method of execution.

1) Frank Shamrock def. John Lober

John Lober may actually have the worst record of any human being who has fought for a UFC title. He was sitting at 3-5-2, against the 18-7-1 Frank Shamrock. The only reason I can think of that this fight happened is that Lober had somehow eked out a split decision against Frank a year earlier, before going on to lose or draw the next 6 fights. I don't normally like to pick on pre-ZUFFA matchmaking, but whoever booked this match deserves to be pistol-whipped.

Honourable Mentions: Jon Jones def. Chael Sonnen, and Chuck Liddell def. Jeremy Horn. In a universe with a kind and loving God, these travesties would have made the top three. Unfortunately, because Chael was filling in on short notice, the UFC gets a pass for a fighter jumping up a division in weight and challenging for the title on a loss, and Chuck's match with Gumby at least involved a fighter with a winning record and a win over Chuck, albeit one who typically fights a weightclass lower.

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Anyway, those are my top three LHW bouts. Stay tuned for middleweight tomorrow.

You realize Frank was champ in the 90's right ? Do you remember MMA back then , you used to have to rent the videos if they even had them 90 % of the time.

 

[Rovert]

 

[Toco]

Well, with the shitshow of heavyweight out of the way, time to move onto the UFC's traditional marquee attraction, the Light Heavyweights.

One would think that the traditionally 'strongest' division in the UFC would have fewer heinous and borderline illegal championship matches. One would be wrong.

First, the list:

Light Heavyweight

• Frank Shamrock def. Kevin Jackson (Kevin Jackson had 3 professional fights when he fought for the title. Unfortunately not a UFC record. Thanks Lesnar!).
• 
  
• Frank Shamrock def. Igor Zinoviev
• 
  
• Frank Shamrock def. Jeremy Horn (I feel like this is a good time to point out that Gumby is actually a middleweight. This does not stop him fighting for the title twice)
• 
  
• Frank Shamrock def. John Lober (Lober was riding an impressive 6 fight streak without a victory when he fought for the title, which has to be some kind of record).
• 
  
• Frank Shamrock def. Tito Ortiz (Shamrock vacates the title at this point, citing a lack of competition. Reviewing his opponents' records, it is hard to blame him.)
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• Tito Ortiz def. Wanderlei Silva
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• Tito Ortiz def. Yuki Kondo
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• Tito Ortiz def. Evan Tanner
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• Tito Ortiz def. Elvis Sinosic (A classic mismatch. In Sinosic's favour, he did technically have a winning record going into the match. Just not once it was over).
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• Tito Ortiz def. Vladimir Matyushenko
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• Tito Ortiz def. Ken Shamrock
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• Randy Couture def. Chuck Liddell (interim)
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• Randy Couture def. Tito Ortiz (one of the rare championship fights Randy actually earned)
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• Vitor Belfort def. Randy Couture
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• Randy Couture def. Vitor Belfort
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• Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture
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• Chuck Liddell def. Jeremy Horn (Gumby returns for his first UFC fight since 2001, essentially for the sole purpose of allowing Chuck to avenge his earlier submission loss)
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• Chuck Liddell def. Randy Couture
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• Chuck Liddell def. Renato Sobral
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• Chuck Liddell def. Tito Ortiz
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• Quinton Jackson def. Chuck Liddell
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• Quinton Jackson def. Dan Henderson
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• Forrest Griffin def. Quinton Jackson (remember when Forrest was champ, guys?)
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• Rashad Evans def. Forrest Griffin
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• Lyoto Machida def. Rashad Evans (the Machida Era!)
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• Lyoto Machida def. Mauricio Rua
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• Mauricio Rua def. Lyoto Machida (one of the rare merited immediate rematches in UFC history)
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• Jon Jones def. Mauricio Rua
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• Jon Jones def. Quinton Jackson
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• Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida
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• Jon Jones def. Rashad Evans
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• Jon Jones def. Vitor Belfort
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• Jon Jones def. Chael Sonnen
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• Jon Jones def. Alexander Gustafsson
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• Jon Jones def. Glover Teixeira
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• Jon Jones Def. Daniel Cormier (Jones is then stripped for a felony hit-and-run. Oops).
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• Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson
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• Daniel Cormier def. Alexander Gustafsson
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• Jon Jones def. Ovince Saint Preux (interim)

------

Did you think Heavyweight was bad? Ha! Your god is a lie. LHW matchmaking will make you cry blood if you think about it for too long.

My top three shittiest, most indefensible matches are as follows:

3) Daniel Cormier def. Alexander Gustafsson

I realize that this may be controversial, because Gus is a great fighter, but Humble Rumble had just decapitated him in his previous fight, and the brass just gifted him a shot at the crown. I realize that LHW was hurting for talent at the time, but this fight breaks the cardinal rule of giving a title shot off of a loss, and a TKO loss at that.

2) Tito Ortiz vs Elvis Sinosic

Okay, so I have nothing against Sinosic as a human being. He seems like a perfectly nice guy. The real problem is that he fought a 8-2 Tito Ortiz for the UFC title with a 4-3-1 record overall, and 1-2-1 over his last 4. Elvis was sent into the cage to die, and Ortiz was the chosen method of execution.

1) Frank Shamrock def. John Lober

John Lober may actually have the worst record of any human being who has fought for a UFC title. He was sitting at 3-5-2, against the 18-7-1 Frank Shamrock. The only reason I can think of that this fight happened is that Lober had somehow eked out a split decision against Frank a year earlier, before going on to lose or draw the next 6 fights. I don't normally like to pick on pre-ZUFFA matchmaking, but whoever booked this match deserves to be pistol-whipped.

Honourable Mentions: Jon Jones def. Chael Sonnen, and Chuck Liddell def. Jeremy Horn. In a universe with a kind and loving God, these travesties would have made the top three. Unfortunately, because Chael was filling in on short notice, the UFC gets a pass for a fighter jumping up a division in weight and challenging for the title on a loss, and Chuck's match with Gumby at least involved a fighter with a winning record and a win over Chuck, albeit one who typically fights a weightclass lower.

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Anyway, those are my top three LHW bouts. Stay tuned for middleweight tomorrow.

if you don't put jonny bones sonnen in there, you're retarded. and it was no honorable mention

 

[Pseudo Sane]

And now, on to the glorious middleweight title.

All of this abysmal matchmaking is the fruit of ZUFFA's diseased hivemind, just so you know where to lay the blame.

Middleweight

As always, we begin with the history of the title:

Dave Menne def. Gil Castillo (Dave Menne was coming off a KO loss when he was picked to fight for the UFC Middleweight title)

Murilo Bustamante def. Dave Menne (Fun fact; Bustamante got this fight coming off of a loss to Chuck Liddell. )

Murilo Bustamante def. Matt Lindland (Bustamante was later stripped of the title for going to Pride, at which point the MW title was left vacant for an impressive 2.5 years).

Evan Tanner def. David Terrell (Evan Tanner, the MW division's first paper champ. But the first MW challenger not to win the title coming off of a loss, so that is progress of a sort)

Rich Franklin def. Evan Tanner

Rich Franklin def. Nate Quarry

Rich Franklin def. David Loiseau

Anderson Silva def. Rick Franklin (The end to Rich Franklin's brief but admirable reign as UFC champion, largely notable for the fact that everyone who fought him earned his shot).

Anderson Silva def. Travis Lutter (Technically not a fight for the title, but only because that Yellow-Bastard-looking tub of lard Lutter couldn't make the cut to 185 lbs. Also the first example of a fighter getting a title shot based of reality television, an idea which of course never bit the UFC brass right on the taint).

Anderson Silva def. Nate Marquardt

Anderson Silva def. Rick Franklin

Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson (Henderson manages the neat trick of challenging for the title coming off a failed title challenge at a higher weight. This is largely excused because he was the Pride champion in both divisions, and unifying those titles was something we cared about at the time, believe it or not).

Anderson Silva def. Patrick Cote (Cote catches a lot of shit for having challenged for the title, and while there probably were more deserving contenders, Cote was riding a six fight win streak going into the fight).

Anderson Silva def. Thales Leites (Again, a lot of people shit on Leites as an unworthy challenger, but he had won six a row, just like Cote).

Anderson Silva def. Demian Maia (Maia got this match on a one fight win streak. Over Dan Miller. By decision).

Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen

Anderson Silva def. Vitor Belfort (Vitor has gotten some gift matches at times. This was not one of them. He came in on a sold 5 fight win streak, 4 by KO or TKO.)

Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami

Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen

Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva

Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva (The only example of back-to-back championship matches coming off a definitive loss in Middleweight history. The only reason it is the only example is that Weidman injured himself like a putz before he could rematch Rockhold).

Chris Weidman def. Lyoto Machida (Lyoto's third fight at MW)

Chris Weidman def. Vitor Belfort

Luke Rockhold def. Chris Weidman

Michael Bisping def. Luke Rockhold (Bisping catches some shit for this one, but it was a late replacement fight, and he was on a 3 fight, if controversial, win streak over good competition).

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After the horrors of Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight matchmaking, Middleweight is positively refreshing for the sheer number of earned title challenges.

That doesn't mean that there aren't some stinkers, though:

3) Dave Menne def. Gil Castillo

I literally could not find a picture of this bout online. Go figure. Here are pictures of the fighters instead.

We all understand that the UFC was a different sport back in the early 2000s. There was not a lot of money and there was a real challenge in attracting quality fighters, many of whom were constantly getting pulled away to competitor leagues in Japan who paid just as well, if not better.

And Dave Menne had, overall, a very respectable 31-7-2 record going into the inaugural MW title bout. He had beaten good fighters like Carlos Newton and Dennis Hallman.

That being said, approximately 50% of fighters are coming off a victory in their last fight. Its statistics. Look it up. Maybe, just maybe, It might have behooved the UFC to pick someone who hadn't just been KO'ed by a 12-6 fighter from Japan to challenge for their new title, if only for appearance's sake.

2) Murilo Bustamante def. Dave Menne

Coming off a loss? Check. Loss was in a higher weight division? Check. Loss was definitive? Check.

The fact that this was the second time in a row that the UFC picked someone coming off a KO loss to challenge for the UFC title bumps this one higher on the list, since there was literally no reason for Bustamante to get this shot, considering that his best win at this point in his then 7-1-1 career was Sanae Kikuta (14-3-2 at the time), and that his wins at that point of career included such luminaries as of Joe Charles (2-2), Chris Haseman (1-0), and Yoji Anjo (0-2).

1) Chris Weidman def. Anderson Silva (II)

I am going to catch some shit for this. The people delivering said shit are dumb. They are also wrong.

Anderson Silva is the UFC's greatest middleweight champ. Even with the steroids, even with his recent losses, his legacy is amazing and he is a great fighter.

That being said, Chris Weidman left him KTFO in their first fight. There should have been no controversy over that bout. Weidman had won the first round convincingly and was well on his way to winning the second when he knocked Silva out cold.

Giving Silva an immediate rematch, even given his history, was terrible matchmaking. There were plenty of worthy fighters waiting in the wings to fight Weidman. It didn't even do Silva any favours, since he had no chance to make adjustments from the first fight.

Honourable Mention: Anderson Silva def. Travis Lutter. Where to start with this fight? Lutter wasn't a bad fighter per se, but he had a losing record in the UFC and a 9-3 record overall. Giving a title shot through TUF was a stupid gimmick, and one which backfired on the UFC horribly, as we will see when we get to WW. It almost backfired on them here too, since Lutter mounted and nearly finished Silva, which a lot of people seem to have forgotten over the years.

The only reason it doesn't make the list is because Lutter failed to make weight, so it isn't technically a Championship fight.

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As you can see, Middleweight has some stinkers, but it is substantially less terrible than HW and LHW.

I will do Welterweight in the next day or so.

 

[Pseudo Sane]

Welterweight!!!

Welterweight surprisingly has a remarkably stable, and very Canadian, championship history. It also has the distinction of having been home to not one, not two, but three dominant champs.

Welterweight

1. Pat Miletich def. Mikey Burnett (While by no means a bum, Burnett had a 4-1 record when he fought Miletich, (20-1-2). Not the kind of find that gets sanctioned today, unless your name is Brock Lesnar).
2. Pat Miletich def. Jorge Patino (Jorge was a respectable 18-3 when he fought Miletich. Too bad he was riding a two fight losing streak to the same guy, including a loss by 'Submission, Punches', which is less than ideal)
3. Pat Miletich def. Andre Pederneiras (Pederneiras, better known as Jose Aldo's coach, had one professional MMA fight, a victory over Rumina Sato, when he fought for the title. As far as I can tell, this is the most anemic record of any title challenger, ever, at least until CM Punk gets to challenge for the title right out of the gate).
4. Pat Miletich def John Alessio
5. Pat Miletich def Kenichi Yamamoto (Yamamoto retired with a 5-12-2 record.)
6. Carlos Newton def Pat Miletich (Carlos Newton was coming off of a loss in this fight, to Dave Menne, who you might remember as the inaugural UFC MW champ).
7. Matt Hughes def Carlos Newton (The other guy people used to mention when discussing the greatest WW of all time. Good times.)
8. Matt Hughes def Hayato Sakurai
9. Matt Hughes def Carlos Newton
10. Matt Hughes def Gil Castillo (Remember Gil? He was the other guy who fought for the inaugural UFC MW belt)
11. Matt Hughes def Sean Sherk
12. Matt Hughes def Frank Trigg
13. BF Penn def Matt Hughes (BJ was subsequently stripped for leaving the UFC to fight in K-1. Incidentally, this marks the birth of K-1 Penn).
14. Matt Hughes def Georges St-Pierre
15. Matt Hughes def Frank Trigg
16. Matt Hughes def BJ Penn
17. Georges St-Pierre def Matt Hughes
18. Matt Serra def Georges St-Pierre (Ugh. I can't even...)
19. Georges St-Pierre def Matt Hughes (interim title)
20. Georges St-Pierre def Matt Serra
21. Georges St-Pierre def Jon Fitch
22. Georges St-Pierre def B.J. Penn (The first UFC superfight! (tm))
23. Georges St-Pierre def Thiago Alves
24. Georges St-Pierre def Dan Hardy (apart from Serra, probably the consensus weakess challenger against GSP, but he was still riding a 7 fight win streak at the time, and there was no one more worthy waiting in the wings at the time).
25. Georges St-Pierre def Josh Koscheck
26. Georges St-Pierre def Jake Shields
27. Carlos Condit def. Nick Diaz (interim title)
28. Georges St-Pierre def Nick Diaz (First WW UFC fighter to get back-back title shots as the challenger. Hooray!)
29. Georges St-Pierre def Johny Hendricks (GSP subsequently vacates the title)
30. Johny Hendricks def Robbie Lawler
31. Robbie Lawler def Johny Hendricks
32. Robbie Lawler def Rory MacDonald
33. Robbie Lawler def Carlos Condit
34. Tyron Woodley def Robbie Lawler

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So there is the list. Here are the picks:

3) Pat Miletich def Jorge Patino

If I was being honest, which I like to avoid at all costs, the Miletich matches would probably dominate the top 3. Nevertheless, I decided to pick only one. It was a bit of a toss up between Patino and Pederneiras, but this is ultimately the more inexplicable challenge. Nobody coming off back-to-back losses should be allowed to fight for a title. That is terrible. This fight would be higher on the list, but that would break my rule against picking on pre-Zuffa UFC too hard.

2) Georges St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz

Before I get shot by some stoner screaming 209, Diaz is/was a very good fighter. He deserved his shot against Condit for the interim title. What he did NOT deserve, was to fight GSP for the title immediately afterwards, without doing anything to earn the shot. This fight was cynical UFC money matchmaking at its worst; in other words, par for the course.

3) Matt Serra def. Georges St-Pierre

This fight. This f*cking fight.

Look. Just to get this out of the way. I am not one of the crowd that thinks that Serra 'got lucky' in his first fight with GSP. He had a gameplan, he implemented it, and it was successful. He clearly had GSP uncomfortable throughout the entirety of the admittedly short fight before he hit GSP clean, capitalized, and got the finish.

That being said, Matt Serra's victory does not justify him getting the title shot in the first place. TUF was a stupid gimmick, and Matt Serra should never have been allowed within a mile of a title shot that he was incapable of earning normally, considering his 9-4 record going in, half of those fights being at WW, and the fact that his best WW win was a split over Chris Lytle, who at the time was 22-13-5.

Did I mention that Serra got his shot based off of a reality TV show?

Honourable Mention: Pat Miletich def Andre Pederneiras. Did I mention Pederneiras was 1-0 going into this fight?

 

[MMAFan232]

Randy coming out of retirement at 40 plus years old and beating the hell out of sylvia(Even being sylvia he was still the defending HW champ and had just beaten arlovski twice who was looking unstoppable) was one of the greatest moments in UFC history. Everyone was going insane during that fight