Top 5 undeserving title challengers in UFC history

Modified Jan 17, 2020 12:13 GMT

Yoel Romero is set for a questionable title shot at UFC 248

#5 Alexander Gustafsson – Light-Heavyweight title vs Daniel Cormier (2015)

Alexander Gustafsson was coming off a bad knockout loss going into his Light-Heavyweight title fight with Daniel Cormier in 2015

When Jon Jones was stripped of his UFC Light-Heavyweight title after an unsavoury hit-and-run incident in early 2015, the promotion did the logical thing, and put together a fight between the division’s two top contenders – Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson – for the vacant title. In the fight that followed, Cormier came out on top, choking Johnson out in the third round to win his first UFC title.

The next deserving contender for Cormier appeared to be Ryan Bader; in a thin division, ‘Darth’ was on a 4-fight win streak, and had already verbally sparred with ‘DC’, with Cormier even claiming he’d be the easiest fight possible in the division. But despite the two having beef, the UFC decided to overlook Bader, instead turning to Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson.

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The only problem? Gustafsson had suffered a nasty KO loss at the hands of Johnson in his previous fight, and hadn’t fought since. The last image UFC fans were given of ‘The Mauler’ was of a man coming round from unconsciousness, close to tears. Nobody was disputing his fighting skill – but it was hard to justify a title shot for him just 9 months after that major loss.

In the end, the fight turned out to be a fantastic one; in a back-and-forth five round war at UFC 192, Cormier edged out Gustafsson to retain the title. Bader meanwhile defeated Rashad Evans in the semi-main event of the show – but lost to Johnson by KO just a few months later, and was en route to Bellator by the end of 2016.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee