5 UFC fighters who were most unlucky to miss out on a title shot

In the UFC, a title shot can often be extremely difficult to come by. Even fighters on lengthy winning streaks can often miss out on one.

Over the years, we've seen a number of fighters who were extremely unlucky to miss out on a UFC title shot, often falling at a final hurdle that maybe shouldn't have been there.

For the most part, circumstances worked against these fighters, rather than their own work in the octagon sabotaging them.

With this in mind, here are five UFC fighters who were most unlucky to miss out on a title shot.

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#5. Matt Brown - former UFC welterweight contender

Former welterweight contender Matt Brown, who recently announced his retirement, was, at his peak, one of the UFC's most popular fighters.

Once considered little more than a journeyman, 'The Immortal' developed into a highly dangerous contender around a decade ago. However, the one thing that eluded him in his storied career was a title shot.

The closest Brown came to a shot at welterweight gold undoubtedly came in 2014, and had things been slightly different, he almost certainly would've gotten his chance.

Beginning with a TKO of Chris Cope in 2012, 'The Immortal' put together a remarkable win streak of six fights, stopping the likes of Stephen Thompson and Mike Swick.

A crazy win over Erick Silva in a Fight Night headliner seemed to have netted him a shot at then-170 pound kingpin Johny Hendricks, but there were two issues.

Firstly, 'Bigg Rigg' was out of action due to a torn bicep. Secondly, he had unfinished business with Robbie Lawler, who he'd edged out to become the champ in the first place.

Under normal circumstances, the UFC probably would've matched the red-hot Brown with Hendricks were the champ healthy. When that wasn't the case, though, 'The Immortal' was instead paired with Lawler in a top contender's fight, where he saw his winning run snapped.

It was a hugely unfortunate turn of events for Brown, who never really came as close to a title shot again.

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#4. Jim Miller - UFC lightweight contender

Lightweight veteran Jim Miller holds numerous UFC records, including the most bouts and the most wins in the history of the promotion.However, despite toiling away in the octagon since 2008, the New Jersey favorite has never received a title shot in his career.

That's unlikely to change now, as Miller is 40 years old and is clearly beginning to wind down. Howver, he should consider himself highly unlucky to have not received a shot at the gold during his 2011 pomp.

At that point, he'd put together a long seven-fight win streak dating back to 2009, finishing most of his foes too. Under normal circumstances, it would've been enough to net him his chance.

Unfortunately, at the start of that year, lightweight champ Frankie Edgar fought top contender Gray Maynard to an epic draw over five rounds. The result meant that a rematch was impossible to avoid, and matters only got worse when an injury to Edgar meant that rematch was delayed for nine months.

Rather than fighting for the title, then, Miller ended up facing former WEC champ Benson Henderson that summer, and was subsequently defeated.

Although he would put together numerous winning streaks after the loss, he never quite moved back into contention and now stands as one of the best fighters in octagon history to never fight for gold.

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#3. Melvin Guillard - former UFC lightweight contender

Melvin Guillard was another victim of 2011's lengthy rivalry between then-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard.

'The Young Assassin' is widely remembered as a fighter who never really lived up to his potential, but many fans have forgotten how close he came to receiving a shot at the 155 pound title in 2011.

At the start of that year, Guillard was on a three-fight win streak. However, it was his late-notice TKO win over the highly-rated Evan Dunham that catapulted him into contention.

Suddenly, 'The Young Assassin' was on the cusp of a title shot, and a vicious knockout of Shane Roller only furthered his claim. When Jim Miller then slipped out of contention with his loss to Benson Henderson, the shot appeared to be his for the taking.

Unfortunately, Guillard shot himself in the foot and fell at the final hurdle.

Faced with Joe Lauzon on the undercard of the event headlined by the Edgar vs. Maynard title rematch, a big win would've allowed 'The Young Assassin' to leapfrog Henderson in the queue.

However, Guillard suffered a stunning defeat, being knocked down and choked out inside a single round. The loss wrecked any momentum he had and essentially marked the end of his time as a top-level contender.

Under different circumstances, though - circumstances that would've seen the Edgar/Maynard rivalry end far earlier - 'The Young Assassin' would almost certainly have had his opportunity.

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#2. Raphael Assuncao - former UFC bantamweight contender

All of the fighters on this list so far essentially fell at the final hurdle before they received their title shot, even if they could be considered unlucky.

However, none of them could be considered quite so unlucky as Raphael Assuncao. The Brazilian was actually offered a shot at the bantamweight title by the UFC in 2014, only for timing to conspire against him.

Assuncao was riding a six-fight win streak at the start of that year, and so it came as no surprise when he was handed a shot at 135 pound kingpin Renan Barao that May.

Unfortunately, a lingering rib injury sustained in his win over Pedro Munhoz meant that he wasn't going to be ready to fight at UFC 173. Worse for the Brazilian, the promotion weren't willing to wait for him.

Instead, they handed the shot to TJ Dillashaw - who Assuncao had beaten seven months beforehand - and he shocked everyone by battering Barao to claim the title.

Assuncao eventually returned with a win over Bryan Caraway in October, but broke his ankle shortly after. This time, his stay on the shelf lasted for almost two years, and by the point he came back, the division had basically moved on without him.

He fought Dillashaw - who had, by then, lost the title - and was defeated, then never really found his way into title contention again.

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#1. Diego Sanchez - former UFC welterweight contender

Unlike the other fighters on this list, Diego Sanchez did fight for a UFC title during his storied career. He clashed with BJ Penn for the lightweight crown in 2009, losing via fifth round TKO.

However, had circumstances been slightly different, 'The Nightmare' would've faced off with Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight crown in 2007. Had the fight been put together, it would've pitted two of MMA's most exciting young talents against one another.

Sanchez burst onto the scene in 2005 when he became the inaugural winner of the Ultimate Fighter reality show. Defeating Kenny Florian to win the season's middleweight bracket, he immediately dropped to 170 pounds afterwards, and it didn't take him long to find success.

'The Nightmare' defeated top contenders Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Joe Riggs to extend his already impressive record to 17-0. At that point, there was no doubt that he deserved his shot at the gold.

Sadly for him, the success of the inaugural TUF meant that the promotion had quickly produced more seasons. The fourth, which took place in late 2006, saw veterans competing with the winner promised a title shot.

Matt Serra duly won the season and the title shot, and Dana White and company essentially couldn't allow Sanchez to leapfrog 'The Terror'. Instead, he found himself faced with a horrible stylistic match in Josh Koscheck and lost for the first time in his career.

Given that Serra famously upset 'GSP' in his title shot, it's perhaps not a stretch to suggest that without TUF 4, not only would Sanchez have claimed a welterweight title shot - he could've become the champion, too.