5 UFC champions who were unfairly written off going into title defenses

#4. Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn - UFC 118

Frankie Edgar silenced his doubters when he defeated BJ Penn for a second time in 2010

After defeating Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez to defend his UFC lightweight title in 2009, B.J. Penn looked absolutely unstoppable at 155 pounds. When he was booked to defend his title against Frankie Edgar, an undersized lightweight, in early 2010, it looked inconceivable that ‘The Prodigy’ would lose.

However, Penn produced an under-par performance. Despite landing some heavy blows on Edgar, the judges favored the higher workrate of ‘The Answer’ and rewarded him with a stunning decision victory.

Naturally, it made sense for the two men to rematch later that year. To say everyone was writing Edgar’s chances off would be an understatement.

Not only did many people feel that Penn had deserved the nod in their first fight anyway, but it seemed highly doubtful that the Hawaiian would produce a performance quite so disappointing again. At his best, it was thought that Penn would have far too much for ‘The Answer’.

Incredibly, though, the opposite was true. Penn used his striking to at least some effect in the first bout. However, in the second, Edgar was simply too quick and too accurate for him. He danced around ‘The Prodigy’, outboxed him and even smashed through his legendary takedown defense throughout the fight.

When the bout was over, there was absolutely no doubt as to who the rightful winner was. Sure enough, Edgar was declared the victor again. ‘The Answer’ would quieten his doubters on more than one other occasion later in his octagon career, but this remains his best example of a champion who proved that he could never be written off.

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#3. Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya - UFC 259

Jan Blachowicz stunned his doubters by overcoming Israel Adesanya in 2021

When Jan Blachowicz knocked out Dominick Reyes to claim the UFC light heavyweight title in the summer of 2020, fans were quick to declare the Polish fighter one of the most unlikely champions in the promotion’s history.

After all, Blachowicz had been on the verge of being cut from his contract following a losing streak just a few years prior. He simply didn’t look like the caliber of fighter who could hold gold inside the octagon.

Unsurprisingly, then, when the Polish powerhouse was matched with middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya, who was on a quest to become a double champion in early 2021, nearly everyone wrote off his chances.

Not only was Adesanya unbeaten in the octagon at 10-0, but he was seen as simply being too accurate, too fast and too skilled on the feet for the more plodding Blachowicz to handle.

However, when it came to fight time, Blachowicz proved that while Adesanya was – and still is – an all-time great at 185 pounds, making the step up to light heavyweight would be tougher than he could ever have imagined.

Not only was the Polish fighter able to land the harder strikes when the two were standing, but he was also able to take Adesanya down and keep him there to land some thudding ground strikes, slowly breaking him down over the stretch.

Blachowicz was duly given a victory via unanimous decision. Although he lost his title in his next defense, he quietened the doubters more than anyone could’ve expected by handing Adesanya his first loss in MMA.