5 UFC fighters who became victims of a logjam in their title picture

In the world of the UFC, timing is often just as important as key wins when it comes to becoming a title contender. Sean Brady and Carlos Ulberg, for instance, should've earned title shots with their recent wins, but may well have to wait in line.

Over the years, a number of UFC fighters have found themselves victims of a logjam in the title picture of their division, robbing them of a potential shot at the gold.

On a couple of occasions, these fighters were able to claim a shot later down the line, but often, that wasn't the case and they were simply unfortunate.

Here, then, are five UFC fighters who became victims of a logjam in their title picture.

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#5. Clay Guida - former UFC lightweight contender

Released from the UFC at the end of 2024 following nearly two decades there, it'd be easy for newer fans to mistake Clay Guida for a career journeyman.

However, in his prime, 'The Carpenter' was a very real threat to the lightweight title. In fact, it's arguable that, were it not for a logjam at 155 pounds, he could easily have challenged for the crown in 2011.

Already boasting wins over Nate Diaz and Mac Danzig, Guida bounced back from a loss to Kenny Florian in 2009 to win both of his fights in 2010. When he then beat former PRIDE champ Takanori Gomi in January 2011, it was clear that he was capable of beating anyone.

Guida's next fight, though, was the one that should've netted him a title shot. He defeated WEC champ Anthony Pettis in the latter's octagon debut, which should've allowed him to steal his spot as the top contender.

Unfortunately, there was one problem: champ Frankie Edgar had gone to a semi-controversial draw with challenger Gray Maynard a few months prior, and the two needed a rematch. To make things even worse, that rematch was delayed due to an injury.

The logjam meant that rather than be able to wait for his shot, Guida was forced to fight once more, and ended up losing a top contender's bout to Benson Henderson.

'Smooth' went onto dethrone Edgar the following year, while 'The Carpenter' slipped out of contention entirely. The whole situation remains one of the more unfortunate cases of a title logjam perhaps changing the entire trajectory of a fighter's career.

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#4. Johny Hendricks - former UFC welterweight champion

There have been rare examples of fighters who survived a logjam in their title picture to claim UFC gold anyway. The best of these is probably former welterweight kingpin Johny Hendricks.

'Bigg Rigg' came into the promotion via the WEC with plenty of hype in 2009, and by 2011, it appeared that the former NCAA Division I national champion had hit his stride.

When he knocked out longtime top contender Jon Fitch that December, a title shot should've been within his grasp. However, going into 2012, the 170 pound title picture was a mess to say the least.

Longtime champ Georges St-Pierre was stuck on the shelf with a knee injury, while Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz fought in a controversial interim title bout that was won by the former.

It would've been easy for Hendricks to get lost in the shuffle, but when he beat Josh Koscheck and then knocked out Martin Kampmann on the same night that St-Pierre beat Condit, a title shot seemed to be his.

Even then, though, that wasn't the case. The UFC instead granted Diaz a shot at 'GSP', feeling he was the more marketable challenger. 'Bigg Rigg', meanwhile, was put into another very dangerous bout with Condit.

Of course, things did pan out nicely in the end, as Hendricks beat 'The Natural Born Killer' to claim his shot at St-Pierre, and even though he lost that fight, he won the vacant title in 2014.

Still, though, the logjam in the title picture at the time meant Hendricks had to travel a much harsher road to the top than he probably ought to have done.

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#3. Erin Blanchfield - UFC flyweight contender

Title fights that end in draws or are close enough to warrant immediate rematches tend to be the main reason for UFC title pictures becoming logjammed.

That was certainly the case in the women's flyweight division in 2023, and it almost certainly cost Erin Blanchfield a title shot.

'Cold Blooded' came into the promotion in 2021 as a highly touted prospect, and quickly reeled off five wins, culminating in a victory over former strawweight champ Jessica Andrade.

Her win over former title challenger Taila Santos appeared to have netted her a shot at the 125-pound belt, particularly as champ Alexa Grasso and former titleholder Valentina Shevchenko were set to rematch the next month.

Unfortunately for Blanchfield, that rematch ended in a draw, warranting a rematch and leaving her out in the cold.

Worse still, fellow prospect Manon Fiorot was also inching towards a title shot in her own right, and rather than keep the women apart, the UFC matched them up and Fiorot won a decision.

'Cold Blooded' may claim a title shot in the future. At 25 years old, she still has plenty of time.

However, it's hard to shake the idea that, had Grasso or Shevchenko won that second fight clearly, she'd have been granted her chance already. To that end, she was a definite victim of a logjam.

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#2. Curtis Blaydes - UFC heavyweight contender

While he's seemingly never been a favorite of Dana White's, Curtis Blaydes has undoubtedly marked himself out as one of his generation's best heavyweights.

However, the closest that 'Razor' has come to the UFC heavyweight crown is his interim title bout with Tom Aspinall in 2024. To that length, Blaydes should be considered a huge victim of a title logjam.

Back in 2020, 'Razor' had beaten eight of his nine opponents in the octagon, with the only loss coming to Francis Ngannou. His knockout win over former champ Junior dos Santos that January probably should've been enough to net him a title shot.

However, at that stage, even Ngannou hadn't been granted his shot at the gold. Instead, the promotion pursued a trilogy bout between champ Stipe Miocic and former titleholder Daniel Cormier, and that year's COVID-19 pandemic slowed the title picture down even further.

Blaydes won another fight that year, outpointing Alexander Volkov, but his performance garnered criticism from White.

Even then, his streak would still have usually been enough to net him a shot at either Miocic or Ngannou. However, the logjam meant that title fight didn't even take place until March 2021.

Poor Blaydes instead found himself on the end of an upset knockout loss to Derrick Lewis, and found himself on the outside of the title picture too. While he did regain enough traction to face Aspinall last year, his real chance was arguably robbed from him by 2020's logjam.

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#1. Yoel Romero - former UFC middleweight contender

Perhaps the most unfortunate example of a UFC fighter who got caught in a logjam and never got a proper crack at a title in the octagon is Yoel Romero.

'Soldier of God' quickly became the hottest contender in the middleweight division back in 2015, only to find himself pressed against a glass ceiling of sorts.

While the Cuban did eventually fight for an interim title in 2017, and missed out on two chances to become champ in 2018 due to missing weight, the truth is that his big shot should've come far earlier.

Romero first burst into the 185-pound title scene when he stopped Lyoto Machida in the summer of 2015. By the end of that year, it felt like the promotion had put together a mini-tournament of sorts around the middleweight title at UFC 194.

Champ Chris Weidman was booked against Luke Rockhold, while Romero was faced with fellow top contender Jacare Souza, with the winners surely destined to meet for the title in 2016.

However, despite 'Soldier of God' beating Jacare, the matchmakers instead put together a rematch between new champ Rockhold and Weidman, leaving Romero out in the cold.

Remarkably, things got even worse for the Cuban. When Weidman was forced out of the title bout, Michael Bisping stepped in on late notice and stunned everyone by beating Rockhold for the title.

For reasons that are still difficult to understand, then, 'The Count' was granted a title defense against the ageing Dan Henderson, rather than Romero. The Cuban was instead forced to fight Weidman, and duly knocked the former champ out.

Incredibly, even then he wasn't given a shot at Bisping, who decided to wait for a bout with Georges St-Pierre - who'd never fought at 170 pounds before.

At that point, Romero's luck ran out. He lost to Robert Whittaker in an interim title bout, and while he remained in the title picture for the next few years, he never quite regained his momentum.

In this case, it's more unfortunate because the Cuban would've almost certainly have been favored to beat Bisping and become the champ had he been granted his rightful title shot. In that sense, he's the biggest victim of a logjam we've ever seen.