Whenever there are title matches in the UFC and a major champion loses his title, UFC regularly books rematches so that the former champion can get a chance to regain his title. However, it is very rarely seen that a former champion successfully regains his title. Instead, there have been several occasions where we have seen new champions with immense confidence and they were able to withstand the challenge of the former titleholder. Let’s have a look at some former champions who failed to regain their titles in a rematch.
5. BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC 118
UFC 112 was an epic event because two of the most dominant champions, Anderson Silva and BJ Penn, were booked to co-main event the show. But while Silva successfully defended his UFC middleweight title against Demian Maia, Penn failed to live up to expectations and lost to Frankie Edgar. This was surprising because Edgar never showed anything before and only weighed 155 pounds. But that match proved his potential to handle dangerous fighters like “The Prodigy”. Penn fought a strangely flat fight, and despite many fans believing that he deserved the judges decision, he ended up on the losing end and lost the title.
There was no doubt that the UFC would book a rematch, not only because Penn was a strong and dominant fighter but also because of the controversial decision in the first contest. People were very confident about Penn regaining his title. However, at UFC 118, Edgar proved his worth by completely dominating the former champion in all five rounds and winning a decision where there was no controversy. When the match was over, there was no doubt who the rightful champion was. Sadly, this fight marked the end of the Hawaiian fighter’s career as a top-tier fighter, as he won only one of his next nine UFC bouts.
4. Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell – UFC 57
In 2004, when Randy Couture lost his UFC Light Heavyweight title to Vitor Belfort, he quickly regained it by defeating “The Phenom” in the rematch. However, he was unable to repeat the same when he lost the title to Chuck Liddell a year later. Couture’s fight with Liddell at UFC 52 broke the UFC pay-per-view buyrate record, so it made sense for the promotion to book a rematch, despite the fact that “The Iceman” knocked out Couture in the first round.
However, the match was not booked immediately by the promotion, instead both rivals had to fight different opponents at UFC 54. They both won their respective matches, Couture defeated Mike Van Arsdale, while Liddell defeated Jeremy Horn. The long awaited rematch was set at UFC 57. Once again, the fight captured the interest of UFC fans all over the world, generating another big pay-per-view buy rate.
Couture fought better this time, taking down his opponent in the first round, but the Brazilian had so much punching power that he ultimately knocked out “The Natural” in the second round. This rivalry overall propelled Liddell to become one of the biggest stars in the UFC for some time.
3. Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas – UFC 223
Joanna Jedrzejczyk won the UFC strawweight title by defeating Carla Esparza at UFC 185 and looked capable of going into a dominant title reign. JJ exactly did this and went on to defeat five consecutive opponents over the next two years, largely outshining everyone who stepped into the octagon against her. When she faced Rose Namajunas at UFC 117, some fans were actually rooting for “Thug Rose” in this fight. Fans were surprised when she actually dropped the champion with a left hook in the first round and ended her major title reign in just three minutes.
After the fight, Jedrzejczyk blamed the terrible weight cut for her loss and suggested that she was too exhausted to withstand any hard blows. The UFC apparently agreed and gave her an immediate rematch at UFC 223. The former champion must have expected to simply strike away Namajunas, but she was simply mistaken. Rose fully proved her worth by out striking Jedrzejczyk in five rounds and completely dominating her. This was an incredible performance by Rose, given her opponent’s prior dominance, that signaled an effective end to Joanna’s reign of terror over the division.
2. Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 77
When Rich Franklin defeated Evan Tanner to win the UFC Middleweight title in 2005, it was clear that the promotion saw him as their new poster boy. “Ace” received a huge boost from the promotion, including a coaching stint on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. He defended his title successfully against Nate Quarry and David Loiseau. But when he was booked to fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 64, some UFC fans believed that “The Spider” would lose.
But instead, Franklin was completely outclassed by Silva, who beat him from the clinch to the knees and won by TKO in the first round. It was one of the most lopsided title fights in UFC history. At that time, no one knew how dominant Silva would become. When the rematch for the title was booked, the contest was held in Franklin’s hometown, and many thought that the “Ace” would regain his title. But it just wasn’t meant to be. Franklin was once again dominated by Silva, who finished him off with an extremely dangerous combination in the second round.
1. Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman – UFC 168
While many fans were rooting for Franklin to reclaim his title from Silva at UFC 77, hardly anyone was picking Chris Weidman to snatch the title from Silva at UFC 162, nearly six years later. This was because Silva became the most dominant champion in UFC history, defending his title on 10 consecutive occasions. “The Spider” also fought a number of non-title fights during that time, making the 16-fight winning streak as well.
But Weidman shocked the world by knocking the champion out in the second round. Every UFC fan was surprised and stunned by this result. As expected, an immediate rematch was booked, but “The All-American” once again proved that his win was no fluke. He dominated the Brazilian and almost knocked him out in the first round. In the second round, the fight ended with Weidman smashing a leg kick and causing Silva’s leg to snap like a twig. The result of the contest was shocking for Silva’s fans, but the truth was that “The Spider” was soundly defeated by Weidman. This loss marked the end of Silva’s golden era in the UFC, as he won only one of his next seven fights before retiring in 2020.
Also Read:- Tables Turned: The Greatest Comebacks in the History of UFC
