5 legendary former UFC champions who wouldn't cut it today

#2. Tito Ortiz – former UFC light heavyweight champion

Tito Ortiz's failure to evolve would probably cost him in the modern-day UFC

While his accomplishments are often talked down today, largely due to the apparently questionable level of his opposition, it’s hard to deny that Tito Ortiz was one of the most dominant UFC champions of his time.

‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ held the light heavyweight crown from 2000 through to 2003. He made five successful defenses of his title before dropping it to Randy Couture. Even after this, he remained one of the 205-pound division’s more feared fighters, defeating the likes of Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin.

But could Tito, in his prime, have succeeded in the modern era? It’s highly doubtful.

Ortiz’s bread-and-butter was always his wrestling ability. For the most part, his gameplans were simple; he looked to take his opponents down and punish them into submission with a steady diet of elbows, punches and forearm strikes.

However, even in his prime, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ had a hard time with opponents that he couldn’t overpower. Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture both whitewashed him when he found he couldn’t take them down.

It’s probably fair to say that it’s hard to judge Ortiz on his UFC career after 2007, as he suffered a lengthy list of injuries – particularly to his knees, back and neck – that left him with far less explosive athleticism than he once possessed.

Even if you ignore his losses to fighters like Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill, though, it’s safe to say that Ortiz’s stubborn refusal to switch up his gameplans would stop him from succeeding today.

‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ did possess underrated submission skills and did attempt to tune up his striking, but his straight-ahead approach meant that he often appeared lost if he couldn’t secure a takedown early on.

Therefore, it’s hard to imagine him succeeding against fighters such as Glover Teixeira, Magomed Ankalaev and Jiri Prochazka today.

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#1. Ronda Rousey – former UFC bantamweight champion

Ronda Rousey remains a UFC legend, but whether she would succeed now is up for debate

Despite the fact that her accomplishments have since been surpassed by Amanda Nunes, it’s probably arguable that Ronda Rousey remains the most iconic female champion in UFC history.

Rousey entered the promotion as the Strikeforce bantamweight champion and was awarded the UFC’s version of the title prior to making her first defense against Liz Carmouche. ‘Rowdy’ then went onto defend her crown on a further five occasions, beating the likes of Sara McMann and Cat Zingano.

However, her loss to Holly Holm exposed a pretty major hole in her game: her questionable stand-up. That left her on the shelf for over a year. When she returned, only to have those flaws exposed again by Nunes, she retired and moved to the world of WWE.

Rousey is now clearly past her athletic prime. She’s 35 years old and has started a family. While she continues to compete in professional wrestling, it’s very different to the octagon.

However, could ‘Rowdy’ in her prime have competed in the modern-day UFC? It’s very debatable. On one hand, she comfortably defeated some high-level opponents in her time with the promotion, but on the other, it’s fair to say that the likes of Bethe Correia and Alexis Davis would certainly not be part of today’s top 10.

More importantly, Rousey’s main problem was her one-dimensional nature. Due to her loyalty to coach Edmond Tarverdyan, her stand-up skills lagged behind her stellar grappling. That refusal to evolve would probably see her lose to the likes of Irene Aldana and Julianna Pena today.

Rousey is different to the other fighters on this list in that in her athletic prime, if she’d been more willing to round out her skills, she could still be near the top of the bantamweight division today.

However, if the version we knew from 2015 entered the octagon now, it’s unlikely she’d find the same success she once had.