Marlon Vera and 4 other UFC fighters who froze in title fights

Oftentimes, a UFC title fight is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a fighter. If they fail, there is no guarantee that they will climb their way back into title contention. Naturally, championship challengers fight with every fiber of their being to realize their dreams of capturing UFC gold.

While many fighters would rather go out on their shield, this isn't always the case. In fact, there have been several instances of challengers who simply shell up in title fights, doing little to nothing inside the octagon despite finally being given the opportunity to achieve their greatest professional goal.

Sometimes, the magnitude of the occasion overcomes them. In other cases, the enormity of having to finally face the all-conquering champion of their division causes them to lose before the fight. Though on the rarest occasions, even champions find themselves frozen in the octagon.

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#5. Darren Till, UFC 228

Back in mid-2018, Darren Till seemed like a superstar in the making. As an undefeated southpaw with dynamite in his left hand and a Scouser accent, he drew comparisons to MMA's most popular Irishman, Conor McGregor. Unfortunately, 'The Gorilla' failed to achieve anything of significance.

At UFC 228, he faced then-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in the Englishman's only career title fight. Despite his overstated confidence ahead of the bout, Till was as toothless a challenger as there's ever been, throwing just seven strikes and only landing one over two rounds.

Meanwhile, Woodley looked the most dominant he ever had as a champion, dropping 'The Gorilla' and submitting him with a brabo choke to defend his title and earn his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

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#4. Yoel Romero, UFC 248

Whenever counterpunchers face each other, there is a strong likelihood that their matchup will be a low-volume affair. This was the case when at UFC 248, when Yoel Romero was handed an undeserved title shot against then-middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya.

Neither man tried to impose themselves in the bout. For Romero, this was somewhat expected, as his primary strategy is to spend long stretches doing little to establish a slow, labored rhythm, only to suddenly shift gears with a knockout blow once he spots an opening.

However, against Adesanya, he tried nothing at all and spent the entire fight eating hard low kicks in one of the most widely criticized title fights in the promotion's history.

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#3. Irene Aldana, UFC 289

No one expected Irene Aldana to mount much of a challenge against Amanda Nunes. After all, 'The Lioness' is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter of all time, who has dominated former champions and all-time greats. So when Nunes defended her 135-pound title at UFC 289, the conclusion was foregone.

Unfortunately, the conclusion was foregone in Aldana's mind as well. She completely froze up in front of Nunes and seemed more concerned with not getting finished than actually pushing the pace and doing something to win a round. Thus, she was on the receiving end of a lopsided unanimous decision.

The criticism aimed at her following the bout was so severe that Aldana issued a post-fight apology, promising to never be so complacent again. However, at 35 years old, she may very well never find herself in a title fight ever again.

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#2. Rose Namajunas, UFC 274

It is generally assumed that title challengers bear all the pressure ahead of a championship bout. However, at UFC 274, this was not the case. The then women's strawweight champion, Rose Namajunas, was tasked with turning away Carla Esparza, whose five-fight win streak earned her a title shot.

The pair had last fought nearly 10 years ago on Namajunas' promotional debut, which saw 'Thug Rose' suffer a third-round submission loss. Come to their rematch, their first bout was still fresh on Namajunas' mind, as she fought with tremendous fear of Esparza's wrestling and never committed to any strikes.

Even after proving her ability to stuff her foe's takedowns and scramble out of grappling sequences, Namajunas still did nothing. Her output was exceedingly low, and she lost her title simply because she did less than Esparza, who also did little in a title fight that's since been criticized as the most boring in UFC history.

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#1. Marlon Vera, UFC 299

Marlon Vera's greatest flaw as a fighter is how often he drops rounds in favor of waiting for an opening to land a knockout blow. He is an extremely low-volume fighter, which has become increasingly obvious in recent years. At UFC 299, he took part in an undeserved title fight with Sean O'Malley.

The pair had crossed swords before, with 'Chito' handing O'Malley his first-ever loss years ago. The result, often dismissed as a fluke by O'Malley, may have given Vera unjustified confidence. But when they finally clashed again, O'Malley proved dominant, completely overwhelming his foe.

This was pronounced by Vera being highly inactive, relying only on his toughness to survive. He hardly threw a strike, with only two being memorable, including a body shot in round five. 'Chito,' simply put, froze under the bright lights in his only championship opportunity.