Unearned title shots: 2025 edition

[Dr Fong]

I wasn't going to weigh in, but I'd like your opinion. Do you consider Renato Moicano's current LW undeserved?

Obviously very late notice fights don't count. But late notice fights where the promotion had a reasonable chance of securing a proper contender do.

*Edit* - Actually it does count, the point is just to track title shots that take place, not to dwell on the exact circumstances. The UFC can always have a deserving contender as a backup for a fight that falls through.

 

[RockyLockridge]

The UFC can always have a deserving contender as a backup for a fight that falls through.

Yeah but notice for this fight they didn't? It was weird for them not to have any higher ranked lws available on this card

 

[Harlekin]

Guess their strategy is to not pay for a backup, if the have #9 and #10 on the card anyway

 

[CroCopsLHK]

Strickland and DDP was close

Screw Chimaev. He fights like once a year at best and always overseas. Sean deserves it

 

[Dr Fong]

Guess their strategy is to not pay for a backup, if the have #9 and #10 on the card anyway

U Fight Cheap will U Fight Cheap. Of course.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

You definitely have a bias against Strickland if you can’t see how he’s earned it.

Also Moicano jumping into the fight with 1 day notice.. he might not have the resume but he has the balls.

TS is a complete idiot.

 

[Dr Fong]

You definitely have a bias against Strickland if you can’t see how he’s earned it.

If you think beating Strickland in controversial split decision earns you the title, you’d be right.
I happen to think Sean should've got the judges' decision against DDP. I guess that automatically makes me an incel. Lol

Strickland's getting it because the first fight with DDP was razor close and inconclusive. Khamzat - the next contender in line, has shown to be woefully unreliable and has ruined multiple big events for the UFC.

Just cause you're too daft to understand the reasoning behind it it doesn't make it "unearned".

you can't just shrug off a talking point that plooks your argument up the ass and out the mouth and just say "not part of my criteria. That's not how an objective fair debate works.

You're doing more crying in this thread than Strickland on a Podcast. The entire premise of this thread is so you can bitch & moan about Sean. What a pussy lol

Did you incel retards enjoy Strickland's performance coming off his amazing split decision win over the corpse of Paulo Costa?

Please understand the thread next time.

He is just the most boring fighter in the UFC and a particularly egregious example of the UFC's WWE shenanigans. This thread will list all bullshit title shots.

But seriously - imagine being a Sean Strickland white knight. Deeply embarrassing on many levels.

 

[Dr Fong]

Thread updated

 

[Dr Fong]

Thread updated

 

[Dr Fong]

Thread updated

 

[Beastslayer47]

I fully agree. Ankalaev was earned a long time ago

 

[Oscar Madison]

Alright folks, 2023 and 2024 were amazing years for guys getting title shots coming off losses, long layoffs or wins over random bums, so time to start a new thread to keep track of this nonsense for 2025.

(Note that WMMA is not included because who knows what is and isn't earned in that context)

Islam vs Moicano: Unearned

Merab vs Umar: Earned (Umar may not have really earned his title eliminator bout in the first place, but once he won that, you can't argue against his title shot).

DDP vs Strickland: Unearned - cue incel tears. Zero defence champion. A one-fight split decision win streak over a non-serious contender coming off a loss and 1-3 in his last 4 fights.

Poatan vs Ank - Earned

Volk vs Lopes - Laughably unearned. Volk riding a double KO losing streak, 3 in 4 fights AND a year-long layoff. Even Lopes is getting the shot over an undefeated guy who beat him.

Belal vs JDM - Tough one. I'm not sure beating an elderly Burns in the middle of a 3-fight skid really 'earns' you a shot. But JDM is also on an undefeated 7-fight streak. Also a replacement. I'll be generous and go 'earned'.

Merab vs O'Malley: Unearned. Title shot rematch off a dominant loss.

Topuria vs Charles: Unearned. 1-0 in the division over a nobody 3 years ago

Pantoja vs KKF: Unearned. 1-2 in last 3. Win was over guy ranked 10 now riding a 3-fight losing streak.

DDP vs Khamzat: Earned.

JDM vs Islam: Unearned. Never fought at 170.

Earned: 4
Unearned: 7

Nice work!

So -- Who should have fought instead?

This is your Dana White Elevator Job Interview.

 

[Dr Fong]

*edit* I fucked up and included a fight twice. Fixed. Not that anybody gives a shit.

 

[AMAZINGUFC]

Pimblett

 

[muaythaibeast]

One of us indeed has incel tears clouding his vision.

If you think beating Paulo Costa via split decision in 2024 earns you a title shot, you are not a serious person.

The split decision thing is a bit of a farce. He flat out dominated Costa from bell to bell, after losing his belt in a close fought decision, which quite a few think he won.
Champ loses title in close fight, doesn’t get instant rematch, goes out and dominates a top 10 middleweight, at a time when no one else has really done anything to knock the door down. Strickland was comfortably the number one contender when he had that shot.

 

[muaythaibeast]

Strickland and Volk definitely weren't unearned.
Volk got caught in a competitive fight after dominating the division for years. He already deserved the rematch before Topuria left.
Lopes was an obvious choice, but Volk was the only choice that made any sense for him to fight.
Strickland lost his belt in a competitive split decision, then put on a complete shut out over a top 10 guy, at a time when no one else in the division had done anything. Khamzat was the alternative, with zero ranked wins at middleweight, or Adesanya on a losing streak.

 

[Dr Fong]

The split decision thing is a bit of a farce. He flat out dominated Costa from bell to bell, after losing his belt in a close fought decision, which quite a few think he won.
Champ loses title in close fight, doesn’t get instant rematch, goes out and dominates a top 10 middleweight, at a time when no one else has really done anything to knock the door down. Strickland was comfortably the number one contender when he had that shot.

Imagine being such a Strickland incel that not only would you degrade yourself enough to argue that beating Paulo Costa earns you a title shot in 2025, but you would randomly do so 5 months after Strickland already embarrassed himself in the rematch he didn't earn.

 

[spinitch]

Sean rematch depends on whether Khamzat was available willing. If Khamzat not willing then who else was ahead of Sean? Might put Sean as a neutral , could view he sort of earned it by being best opponent available if not Khamzat. If UFC passed up Khamzat , ok as unearned.

 

[Kourtland]

Sean rematch depends on whether Khamzat was available willing. If Khamzat not willing then who else was ahead of Sean? Might put Sean as a neutral , could view he sort of earned it by being best opponent available if not Khamzat. If UFC passed up Khamzat , ok as unearned.

Yeah, I think ufc just had no other options that's why Sean got it. I disagree with most of the op's list.

 

[muaythaibeast]

Imagine being such a Strickland incel that not only would you degrade yourself enough to argue that beating Paulo Costa earns you a title shot in 2025, but you would randomly do so 5 months after Strickland already embarrassed himself in the rematch he didn't earn.

How weak of a bloke do you have to be to whine about incels. Well done pal, you're on a par with fat lasses on tik tok when you don't accept that 50% body fat is beautiful.
As for the topic at hand, yep, DDP destroyed him, as he will any middleweight or light heavyweight you put in front of him today. The outcome of the fight, however, is completely irrelevant in whether it was deserved.
The other options were:
Whittaker, who had already been destroyed by DDP, coming off a win over an unranked guy I couldn't even name.
Khamzat, without a ranked win at middleweight, coming off a win over a 7 days notice Kamaru Usman who hasn't won a fight in years.
Adesanya, coming off a one sided beatdown against Strickland, who hadn't won in years.

Who exactly deserved that shot more than Strickland? Cannonier? Vettori?