Julianna Peña and 4 other UFC champions who never successfully defended their belt

#2. Conor McGregor never defended his UFC titles

Conor McGregor during his fight at UFC 264

Conor McGregor is a unique entry on this list for two reasons: he is responsible for Eddie Alvarez having no successful UFC title defenses, but he himself also has no successful title defenses. A trend in the Irishman's career is that he has never taken part in a title-defense bout wherein he is the defending champion.

McGregor first became a champion at Cage Warriors, capturing the promotion's featherweight title against Dave Hill at Cage Warriors: 47. His next bout was not a title defense, however, as 'The Notorious' moved up a weight class to challenge the then Cage Warriors lightweight champion Ivan Buchinger. McGregor was successful in capturing his second championship but dropped both belts upon signing with the UFC.

The Irishman then embarked on a legendary campaign in the featherweight division, defeating every foe by TKO or KO with the exception of Max Holloway, who still remains impossible to knock unconscious and even to knock down. Finally, at UFC 194, the culmination of McGregor's journey came in a 13-second knockout win over the then reigning champion, José Aldo.

But upon capturing the featherweight title, Conor McGregor showed no interest in defending it. Instead, he set his sights on the lightweight title. Though a slight obstacle in the shape of Nate Diaz emerged to hand McGregor his first UFC loss in a non-title bout contested at welterweight. The Irishman bounced back in the only rematch between the pair, claiming a majority decision win before refocusing on his goal to capture a second UFC title.

His chance came against Eddie Alvarez, and McGregor was more than successful. He stupefied his foe with his footwork and counterpunched en route to a world-class ssecond-round TKO win. Alas, as McGregor next went on to box Floyd Mayweather Jr., he neglected his duties as a champion at featherweight and lightweight before eventually being stripped of both titles without ever defending either.

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#1. Julianna Peña

Julianna Peña at the UFC 277 weigh-in

Julianna Peña chased a title bout with Amanda Nunes for years. In her words, Nunes did everything in her power to avoid the matchup. However, according to Nunes, Peña was at fault for never managing to amass a win streak.

Both women would engage in back-and-forth spats on social media, with 'The Venezuelan Vixen' repeatedly accusing Nunes of ducking her, while 'The Lioness' scoffed at the athletic merits of a matchup with Peña, claiming she hadn't earned a title fight. Finally, however, at UFC 269, the fight took place.

Nunes has bested every champion in the history of the UFC women's bantamweight division, from Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey to Holly Holm. 'The Lioness' was quickly running out of prey: a consequence of her unrivaled dominance.

In the buildup to their first fight, no one but Peña herself believed she could defeat Nunes. So when the two women locked horns, the world stood in shock as Peña answered every Nunes jab with a jab of her own, stepping in to interrupt the Brazilian great before she could build-off her jab to throw her thunderous right cross that had floored even Cris Cybog in the past.

By the second round, Nunes was exhausted and tapped out to a rear-naked choke with no hooks in. It was one of the greatest upsets in MMA history and set up a highly anticipated rematch a year later at UFC 277. Amanda Nunes explained her loss away as being due to complications from COVID, while Peña was dismissive of her rival’s claims and described them as excuses.

At UFC 277, Nunes dominated Peña, repeatedly dropping and bloodying her to recapture her title and prevent Peña from mounting a single title defense.