5 UFC title reigns that were widely hated by the fans

#4. Michael Bisping – UFC middleweight title (2016-2017)

UFC fans were happy when Michael Bisping claimed middleweight gold, but his title reign itself didn't go down so well

This entry comes with a caveat of sorts, as it’s probably fair to state that Michael Bisping’s middleweight title victory over Luke Rockhold remains one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.

More to the point, given the amount of great fights and hard work he’d put in over the years, most fans also loved seeing ‘The Count’ finally get his hands on the gold.

However, it’s also fair to suggest that Bisping’s title reign was one of frustration and annoyance for the majority of fans. It arguably held up the 185-pound division for the best part of two years.

The issue seemed to be that because nobody really expected Bisping to dethrone Rockhold in the first place, his victory threw a curveball at all of the promotion’s best-laid plans in terms of the rest of the division’s contenders.

Bisping won the title in June 2016. For his first defense, he was matched with veteran Dan Henderson. On one hand, the booking made sense as Henderson had handed Bisping the worst loss of his career in 2009. On the other hand, though, Henderson had won just two of his previous five bouts and was also 46 years old at the time of the title bout.

Bisping duly defeated ‘Hendo’ and it looked like the promotion would get back on track when they looked set to match him with top contender Yoel Romero.

However, injuries kept ‘The Count’ out of action in the early part of 2017. When he was ready to return, the UFC decided to pursue a “money fight” between him and former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre.

Given the amount of high-level contenders around at the time, including Romero, Robert Whittaker and Jacare Souza, this was highly frustrating and practically made a mockery of the entire division.

Things ironed themselves out when GSP defeated Bisping and then vacated the title shortly after. However, the fact Bisping’s reign lasted nearly two years and didn’t see him face one of the top contenders made it widely disliked by the fans.

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#3, Matt Serra – UFC welterweight title (2007-2008)

Matt Serra won welterweight gold in a huge upset, but his title reign didn't go so well afterwards

In a similar vein to the way that Michael Bisping’s reign as middleweight champion was a frustrating one for UFC fans, Matt Serra’s time as welterweight kingpin came as a shock, but turned out to be one of the most disliked reigns in the promotion’s history.

As everyone knows, ‘The Terror’ won the title in April 2007 in one of the greatest upsets in MMA history. He knocked Georges St-Pierre out despite coming into the fight as a huge underdog.

Nobody really expected Serra to put together a series of impressive title defenses, but most fans probably hoped that he would at least manage to fight a top contender in the months that followed his victory.

However, the promotion instead decided to capitalize on the New Yorker’s rivalry with former champion Matt Hughes. It booked them to coach on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter, before clashing at the end of the year.

Everything seemed to be going swimmingly when the TUF season turned out to be a big hit with fans. However, Serra’s title reign then came off the rails entirely when he injured his back, taking him out of the fight with Hughes.

The promotion instead booked a resurgent St-Pierre against the former champion and GSP quickly defeated him to set up a rematch with ‘The Terror’ just over a year after their initial meeting. In a one-sided bout, the Canadian destroyed Serra to reclaim the gold.

In this instance, while Serra was a likable champion, his title reign was largely rendered as a waste of time due to his lack of defenses over an entire year, making it one of the most disliked in the promotion’s history.