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Some UFC fighters are lucky – or talented – enough to gain a shot at UFC gold within a couple of fights of arriving in the octagon. Anderson Silva, for instance, comes to mind. But that isn’t always the case.
There have been plenty of UFC fighters who, despite putting together lengthy win streaks, either had to wait for years for a title shot or are still waiting.
So with that in mind, here are five fighters who had to wait far too long for a UFC title shot.
#1 Leon Edwards (UFC win streak: 9 fights)
We begin with a fighter who, at the time of writing, still hasn’t been granted a shot at the UFC welterweight title despite being on a ten-fight unbeaten streak (with one no-contest).
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Reportedly, Leon Edwards is likely to have to fight again, probably against Jorge Masvidal, while Colby Covington gets another shot at UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. To tell the truth, the booking simply doesn’t make sense.
Covington was knocked out by Usman in December 2019 and has only won one fight since. Edwards, meanwhile, has not lost a fight since his defeat at the hands of Usman in 2015. In the six years that have followed, he’s beaten the likes of Donald Cerrone, Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz.
Quite what more 'Rocky' can do to earn a UFC title shot is anyone’s guess. It seems like the UFC simply don’t see him as a star, which is a massive disappointment. Because at the end of the day, the fight business should be about finding out who’s the best fighter.
And right now, Edwards is likely second only to Usman in the UFC welterweight division.
#2 Jon Fitch (UFC win streak: 8 fights)
If Leon Edwards can take solace in anything, it’s that Jon Fitch had to wait just as long for his shot at the UFC welterweight title before finally being granted it at UFC 87 in August 2008.
Fitch debuted in the UFC in October 2005 as one of the highest-rated prospects in the world at 170lbs, and quickly began to show UFC fans why. He dismantled his first six opponents in the octagon, but despite finishing four of them, the wrestler unfairly gained a reputation as a dull fighter.
Even a win over Diego Sanchez in an exciting fight at UFC 76 didn’t seem to help his title chances, despite moving him onto a seven-fight win streak. To be fair to the UFC, they were trying to clean up the mess caused by Matt Serra’s upset of Georges St. Pierre at that point, meaning it would’ve been hard to grant Fitch a title shot anyway.
But despite being the clear-cut top contender for the winner of the GSP/Serra rematch, the UFC still made Fitch fight one more time – against debutant Chris Wilson – before handing him his shot.
Unfortunately for him, Fitch failed to dethrone GSP. And another five-fight win streak wasn’t enough to gain him another shot before he began to slide down the ladder in 2011.
#3 Khabib Nurmagomedov (UFC win streak: 9 fights)
Khabib Nurmagomedov is now renowned as one of the biggest UFC stars of all time, but that makes it easy to forget quite how long 'The Eagle' had to wait for a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
Nurmagomedov debuted in the UFC with a gaudy 16-0 record in 2012. He quickly continued to rack up the wins, picking up five victories before the start of 2014. A win over Rafael dos Anjos moved him into the UFC title picture, only for an injury to put him on the shelf for two years.
Khabib returned in April 2016 to beat Darrell Horcher, and that should’ve been enough to put him in line for a title shot. However, the UFC were hell-bent on allowing reigning featherweight champ Conor McGregor to have a shot at the UFC lightweight title at that point, meaning Khabib was forced to fight again – against Michael Johnson – at UFC 205.
And even after defeating Johnson to set up an apparent title shot in early 2017, a botched weight cut left him needing to defeat another opponent – Edson Barboza – before finally getting his shot in 2018.
Of course, Khabib then defeated Al Iaquinta to claim the UFC lightweight title at his first attempt, and didn’t relinquish it until his retirement last year.
#4 Tony Ferguson (UFC win streak: 9 fights)
A fighter intrinsically linked with Khabib Nurmagomedov thanks to their often-cancelled fight, Tony Ferguson also had to put a nine-fight win streak together before the UFC granted him a title shot.
And even then, 'El Cucuy' only fought for the Interim UFC lightweight championship, defeating Kevin Lee for the temporary title at UFC 216 in October 2017.
Ferguson’s win streak began way back in October 2013 at UFC 166 following a stint on the shelf with a broken arm. He defeated seven straight opponents from there, and that should’ve been enough to put him in line for a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
But like Khabib, Ferguson fell victim to the Conor McGregor-inspired shenanigans going on in the division at the time, and was forced to fight Rafael dos Anjos when he probably should’ve had a shot at the gold. And even after defeating RDA, he was forced to sit out a year before overcoming Lee to become the interim champion.
Unfortunately, that was as close as Ferguson got, as he was never given a shot at the full UFC lightweight title before slipping into a losing streak in 2020.
#5 Gray Maynard (UFC win streak: 8 fights)
One of the most successful fighters to emerge from The Ultimate Fighter, Gray Maynard was another fighter who was largely overlooked when it came to a UFC title shot.
Maynard came off the fifth season of TUF in 2007, and after an odd no-contest to start his UFC career, he reeled off six straight wins, including a one-sided beating of former poster-boy Roger Huerta.
That would usually have been enough to earn a title shot. But the UFC were wary of Maynard’s wrestling-heavy, somewhat dull style.
And so as Frankie Edgar – a man Maynard had beaten – jumped the queue for a shot at UFC lightweight champ BJ Penn, 'The Bully' was forced into two nasty fights with Nate Diaz and Kenny Florian.
Those two wins were finally enough to earn Maynard a title shot. But he fell short against Edgar in two fights, and would never again find his way back into contention.
