Many UFC fighters have come close to achieving the sport’s ultimate goal, but have just fallen short. Some have gone on incredible winning streaks and never even gotten a title shot. Some have gotten multiple opportunities, but just couldn’t quite capitalize.
There are many great fighters who haven’t won a UFC title. On Saturday, one of the flyweight division’s staples, Joseph Benavidez, will get his third crack at the 125-pound title when he takes on Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant belt in the UFC on ESPN+ 27 main event.
Ahead of that headliner, we take a look at 14 of the best fighters to never win a title in the UFC – offered alphabetically; we’ll leave it to you to debate their rankings.
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Joseph Benavidez
Joseph Benavidez might have one of the best UFC records in history, and Saturday things could drastically change for his career.
Benavidez will take on Deiveson Figueiredo for the vacant UFC flyweight title at UFC on ESPN+ 27 in his third attempt to capture the title. One man has stood in his way, and that’s former champion Demetrious Johnson, who beat Benavidez twice.
Their first meeting was in 2011, when the UFC 125-pound title was being introduced to the promotion through a flyweight tournament. They met in the finals for the inaugural belt, and Johnson narrowly edged Benavidez with a split decision.
Benavidez picked up three straight wins, including finishes of Darren Uyenoyama and Jussier Formiga, to earn another shot at the title. But Johnson got a much more definitive win when he knocked out Benavidez in the first round.
That started a very long road back to the title for one of the division’s best, who again has earned his way back to the top. Benavidez won six straight, but suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for more than a year. Eighteen months later, he made his return against Sergio Pettis, but saw his winning streak halted with a split decision loss.
Benavidez quickly rebounded with three straight wins over Alex Perez, Dustin Ortiz and Formiga to get his third shot at flyweight gold.
Benavidez had to remain patient with the uncertainty of the division, Johnson’s eventual surprise move to ONE Championship, and Henry Cejudo’s reign over two divisions. But the title picture finally is much clearer. After Cejudo relinquished the flyweight title, 35-year-old Benavidez has his latest shot at a UFC belt.
Donald Cerrone
Anyone, any time, anywhere, Donald Cerrone loves a scrap.
The UFC’s record holder for most wins, most finishes, most knockdowns and most bonuses, Cerrone also is one of the most active fighters in the promotion’s history. After a long run in the WEC, “Cowboy” made his UFC debut in 2011 and won seven of his first 10 fights.
Cerrone then put together a streak of eight in a row in the span of less than two years to earn a title shot against then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in 2015.
The fight was over before Cerrone could really get started. Dos Anjos stormed at him with a barrage of punches for a first-round TKO. Following the loss, Cerrone decided to move up to welterweight and put together another string of impressive wins. He won four in a row, but saw his run come to a halt at the hands of Jorge Masvidal.
Since then, Cerrone has lost six of his past 10, most recently a 40-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor. But he remains one of the most beloved and game fighters on the roster and has accomplished plenty despite not winning a UFC title.
Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz is one of the sport’s most popular fighters. His journey to stardom started by winning the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” on which he finished every fight in the tournament.
After winning “TUF,” Diaz put together numerous winning streaks while collecting an array of bonuses, but he fell short in some big fights. After a small stint at welterweight, going 2-2, Diaz moved back to lightweight and won three straight, which earned him a shot at then-champion Benson Henderson.
In similar fashion to his brother Nick’s lone undisputed UFC title shot against Georges St-Pierre, Diaz was controlled over five rounds and lost a unanimous decision to Henderson. Though he hasn’t gotten another shot at UFC gold, the rest of his career has played out in remarkable and unexpected fashion.
After defeating Michael Johnson in 2015, in one of his best performances, Diaz called out Conor McGregor and got the opportunity of a lifetime on short notice when McGregor’s original opponent, then-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, was forced out due to injury.
The fight was contested at 170 pounds, and Diaz shocked the world by submitting McGregor in the second round at UFC 196. A star was born, and Diaz became one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster. Diaz and McGregor rematched later in 2016, and McGregor narrowly edged him with a majority decision in an instant classic at UFC 202. It was a fight Diaz was adamant he won.
After his rise to stardom and a few big paychecks, it took a lot to get Diaz up for a fight. That resulted in a layoff of nearly three years. Instead of a desired trilogy with McGregor, Diaz fought former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, someone he had history with. Pettis defeated his teammate Gilbert Melendez, and he and Diaz have had a little bit of bad blood in the past.
But Diaz proved ring rust was not much of a factor for him. He pressured Pettis, pouring it on him for 15 minutes at UFC 241. That set up a “BMF” title fight against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244, a belt Diaz basically spoke into existence.
The fight delivered as expected, and while it was all Masvidal early, Diaz was still in it firing back, as always. After three rounds, the doctor decided to stop the fight due to a nasty gash suffered by Diaz for a controversial ending. With no fight booked yet, Diaz may have unfinished business with both McGregor and Masvidal, but it’s all big things ahead for the superstar from Stockton, Calif.
Nick Diaz
Despite having not competed in more than five years, Nick Diaz continues to draw interest from the MMA community.
Diaz made a name in Strikeforce, winning and defending its welterweight title numerous times. He also captured the WEC’s welterweight title. He had various stints in the UFC, first in 2003 when in a notable win, he knocked out Robbie Lawler at UFC 47. After returning to the promotion in 2011 with a unanimous decision win over B.J. Penn, Diaz earned a shot at the interim welterweight title against Carlos Condit.
Diaz lost a unanimous decision, but despite the loss to Condit, Diaz’s next fight came against then-welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.
St-Pierre used his grappling to control all five rounds, and beat Diaz with a unanimous decision to retain his title. Almost two years later in 2015, Diaz returned to face former middleweight champ Anderson Silva in a rare non-title pay-per-view main event at UFC 183. He lost the fight by unanimous decision and has not fought since.
Urijah Faber
It’s hard to leave off the list Urijah Faber, a man responsible for the rise and popularity of the lighter-weight divisions. The former WEC featherweight champion failed to capture a UFC title on several attempts, but had a memorable chapter with arch-rival Dominick Cruz that helped build the UFC’s bantamweight division.
Faber handed Cruz his lone loss at the time early in his WEC career when he submitted him in the first round to retain the WEC’s featherweight title. Their rivalry spilled over to the UFC when WEC bantamweight champ Cruz was promoted to UFC 135-pound champ upon the introduction of the weight class to the promotion.
His first title defense came against Faber, and he got his revenge in a back-and-forth battle in 2011. Faber earned another shot at the title with a submission win over Brian Bowles, but it was for the interim title against Renan Barao with Cruz sidelined due to injury.
Faber lost the fight to Barao, but went on to win his next four in a row and earned yet another shot at Barao. The third time was not the charm for Faber, who was stopped by Barao in the first round at UFC 169. He won three of his next four, though, and found an opportunity to close out the chapter with Cruz, who reclaimed his throne after a year and a half away.
Faber wasn’t able to get the job done and lost to Cruz for the second straight time by unanimous decision. While Faber may no longer be chasing gold, he’s still a staple in the division and a massive part of the traction of the lower-weight divisions.
Alexander Gustafsson
Alexander Gustafsson has had a few heartbreaking losses.
One of the best talents to ever come out of Europe, Sweden’s Gustafsson made waves in a light heavyweight division that champion Jon Jones was in the process of dominating. After going 7-1 to start his UFC career, Gustafsson earned a shot at Jones at UFC 165 and was a heavy betting underdog going into the fight.
Very few gave Gustafsson a chance, but he surprised the masses by taking it right to Jones. He became the first to take Jones down and bloodyied and battered him over the course of 25 minutes. Jones never had taken so much damage thanks to Gustafsson standing toe-to-toe with the champion.
But after the judges rendered their scorecards, Jones was awarded the decision win in a fight many people thought he lost. A distraught Gustafsson may have lost on the night, but he went on to become one of the sport’s biggest stars.
He rebounded with a finish over Jimi Manuwa, but was knocked out by Anthony Johnson in front of a sold-out home crowd in a title eliminator fight. Despite the loss, Gustafsson got another shot at the title against then-champ Daniel Cormier.
Gustafsson put on another fantastic effort and even dropped Cormier early. But the judges once again decided his fate, and Cormier was awarded the decision in another tightly contested title bout. Back-to-back wins over Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira earned Gustafsson a third UFC title shot in a much anticipated rematch with Jones at UFC 232.
But the second fight was hardly as thrilling as the first. After some good exchanges on the feet, Jones took the fight to the canvas and was able to finish the fight shortly after. Following the loss to Jones, Gustafsson dropped another fight in his home country to Anthony Smith and proceeded to hang up his gloves.
He recently expressed interest in coming out of retirement. But whether or not he decides to return, Gustafsson is certainly one of the division’s greatest fighters.
Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson has won numerous titles in major organizations. The former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has competed against the sport’s best.
Famous for his big overhand right, the “Hendo Bomb,” Henderson has dispatched the likes of Renzo Gracie, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – and the list goes on.
After winning the PRIDE middleweight title, it marked an end of an era. Henderson made his UFC debut in 2007 and challenged then-light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson in a title unification bout. He fell short, but got a shot at a different champion right after: then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva. But Henderson fell short once again.
He then notched three straight wins, including one of the most recognized knockouts in UFC history, a massive overhand right that put Michael Bisping out cold at UFC 100. Then Henderson made the move to Strikeforce, where he captured the promotion’s 205-pound title with a finish of Rafael Cavalcante. Henderson then picked up another notable win, taking out Emelianenko in the first round at heavyweight.
Henderson returned to the UFC in 2011 and took on former 205-pound champ Rua in an instant classic in which he outlasted “Shogun” in a five-round war.
He dropped his next three, and eventually made the move down to middleweight. In the final fight of his career, Henderson rematched Bisping at UFC 204 for the middleweight title, but was edged out on the judges’ scorecards in a fight in which he dropped and badly hurt Bisping on numerous occasions. It would have been a fairy tale ending for Henderson, but even without a title he is a UFC Hall of Famer, nonetheless.
Rory MacDonald
One of Canada’s greatest mixed martial artists, Rory MacDonald came ever so close to winning a title in one of the greatest fights in UFC history.
He entered the promotion undefeated, but suffered his first career blemish in just his second UFC fight with a TKO loss to Carlos Condit. After that, MacDonald tore through the welterweight ranks with wins in eight of his next nine. The lone loss came to Robbie Lawler. After defeating Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine, MacDonald got a shot at then-welterweight champion Lawler, the last man to beat him.
His fight with Lawler at UFC 189 marked one of the greatest back-and-forth battles in the promotion’s history. Three judges had MacDonald up 3-1 heading into the fifth round. But after taking an incredible amount of damage to his face, MacDonald took one final blow that shattered his nose and dropped him to the canvas. Lawler swarmed him and the referee stopped the fight. He was four minutes away from winning the UFC title in a valiant effort.
After dropping his next fight to Stephen Thompson, MacDonald decided to make a surprise move to Bellator, where he quickly won the promotion’s welterweight title. He attempted to move up in weight to take on fellow UFC veteran and then-middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi, but was quickly shut down in the second round. MacDonald lost his 170-pound title to Douglas Lima in his most recent outing and subsequently left the promotion for the PFL.
Demian Maia
One of the greatest grapplers in UFC history, Demian Maia has proven to be a nightmare matchup for anyone who stands across from him. A fourth-degree jiu-jitsu blackbelt and ADCC world champion, Maia has had a long and illustrious UFC career and is still trucking at 42.
His first shot at UFC gold came in 2010 against then-middleweight king Anderson Silva in what turned out to be a bizarre fight. Silva taunted Maia and was heavily criticized for his performance despite picking up a one-sided unanimous decision win.
Maia went on to alternate wins and losses, then eventually dropped down to welterweight. He strung together a seven-fight winning streak with wins over the likes of Gunnar Nelson, Carlos Condit and Jorge Masvidal en route to a welterweight title shot against then-champion Tyron Woodley. He fell short once again in a lackluster fight, then dropped his next two to Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman.
But just when it looked like things may be coming to an end for Maia, he rebounded from a three-fight losing skid with three straight wins over Lyman Good, Anthony Rocco Martin and Ben Askren, proving he’s still one of the best 170-pounders in the sport.
Jorge Masvidal
It’s about time people hopped onto the Jorge Masvidal train. Growing up street fighting in Kimbo Slice’s backyard, Masvidal has been known to never back down from a fight. He’s fought the who’s who in the sport across various major organizations but finally got his big break in 2019.
The former Strikeforce lightweight title challenger Masvidal, joined the UFC roster in 2013, winning five of his first six fights. He was then edged out by Al Iaquinta in a controversial split decision loss, that would spell a common theme in his upcoming losses.
He moved up to welterweight, bouncing back with a knockout win over Cezar Ferreira. But then Masvidal dropped two straight to Benson Henderson and Lorez Larkin, both by the way of split decision. He notched three straight wins after that, most notably stopping Donald Cerrone’s run at 170 pounds, which earned him a title eliminator bout against Demian Maia.
But the nightmare would continue, with Masvidal losing out to Maia yet again via split decision, which started to define Masvidal’s career, the fighter that would fall just short.
Rejuvenated after an appearance in a reality show, Masvidal returned after a year and a half, to take on Darren Till in enemy territory, kickstarting an incredible 2019. Masvidal silenced the O2 Arena with a knockout over Till, which set him up with a matchup vs. the undefeated Ben Askren at UFC 239.
With questions if Masvidal could handle Askren’s wrestling, Masvidal shut the naysayers up in a record five seconds, throwing a flying knee knockout for the ages. He closed out the year taking on Nate Diaz for the “BMF” title, in a matchup pitting two of the baddest fighters on the roster. Masvidal was putting on a striking masterclass, but the doctor intervened and stopped the fight due to a big gash on Diaz’s eye, awarding him the TKO win.
With rumors swirling that Masvidal will face champion Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title in the summer, it will remarkably be his first shot at UFC gold.
Gegard Mousasi
Gegard Mousasi is perhaps one of the most under appreciated fighters in MMA history. At only 34, Mousasi has already competed in over 50 pro fights, winning titles in every major organization except the UFC.
The UFC title may have alluded him, but the former kickboxer has won the Bellator middleweight title, Dream middleweight and light heavyweight titles, Cage Warriors 185-pound title and the Strikeforce 205-pound title.
Mousasi didn’t have the greatest start to his UFC tenure, going 4-3 in his first seven outings. But he would go on to win his next five straight, including a win over former UFC middleweight champ, Chris Weidman. Although on a solid win streak in the 185-pound division, Mousasi did not re-sign with the UFC, thus never getting the opportunity to compete for a UFC title.
Instead, Mousasi signed with Bellator, where he captured the promotion’s 185-pound title, his fifth world title in MMA. After one title defense, defeating then Bellator welterweight champ Rory MacDonald, Mousasi lost his title in an upset to Rafael Lovato Jr.
He rebounded with a win over Lyoto Machida, and after Lovato was forced to relinquish his title due to medical reasons, Mousasi has been booked to face current Bellator 170-pound champ Douglas Lima, for the vacant middleweight title at Bellator 243 in May.
Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou is as scary as he looks.
Possessing incredible power, the Cameroonian-born UFC heavyweight has finished every single one of his pro MMA fights. He started out pursuing a career in boxing, and has heavily relied on his power throughout his MMA career.
After stopping his first six UFC opponents, including an uppercut for the ages against Alistair Overeem, Ngannou earned a title shot against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. He entered the fight as a betting favorite despite being the challenger, but it would be a long night for Ngannou.
Miocic evaded Ngannou’s big, lunging punches early, and was able to get the fight to the ground. A visibly gassed Ngannou didn’t have much to offer but showed a lot of heart and toughness to survive the full 25 minutes. A valuable lesson learnt, early in his career.
But things would get worse for Ngannou, who faced fellow hard-hitting heavyweight, Derrick Lewis, in what turned out to be a lackluster affair. With both guys hesitant to throw, Lewis defeated Ngannou via unanimous decision, and some wondered if Ngannou would ever be the same after his one-sided loss to Miocic.
However, Ngannou would erase any doubt very quickly, making his back-to-back losses a vague memory. He rebounded emphatically with three straight first-round knockouts over Curtis Blaydes, and former UFC heavyweight champs Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Itching for another crack at the title, Ngannou draws undefeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the UFC on ESPN 8 headliner, in what could very well be a No. 1 contender fight.
Alistair Overeem
Arguably the heavyweight with the most decorated striking background in UFC history, Alistair Overeem is one of only two fighters to hold world titles in both MMA and K-1 kickboxing simultaneously.
The former Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight champion, finally made his UFC debut in 2011, taking on superstar and former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. In a dominant performance, Overeem ran through Lesnar, notching a marquee win in his promotional debut. He would go on to lose three of his next four, but bounced back big with four straight finishes, earning him a shot at UFC heavyweight champ, Stipe Miocic at UFC 203.
After a strong start, dropping Miocic early, things would go south real quick for Overeem, who was taken down and pounded out on the ground, suffering a knockout loss. Seven of Overeem’s last eight wins have come by the way of knockout, and despite losing his last outing to Jairzinho Rozenstruik by a hail Mary shot, he is still very much a player in the heavyweight division. He returns to action in April, when he takes on Walt Harris in the main event of UFC Portland.
Yoel Romero
Few have come as close to capturing a UFC title as Yoel Romero.
Still going strong at 42, Romero has had three tries at UFC gold, and has come very close in all three attempts.
He started his UFC career going 8-0, starching middleweight contenders right, left and center. Four years after making his promotional debut, Romero would get his first crack at the title, for the interim middleweight title against Robert Whittaker.
After a strong start, winning the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, Whittaker would rally, and take the last three rounds, winning a unanimous decision.
Whittaker was promoted to undisputed middleweight champion, and was originally scheduled to face Luke Rockhold at UFC 221, before an injury forced him out. Romero got the call to face Rockhold on short notice, for the interim middleweight title.
Romero knocked Rockhold out in the third round, but was ineligible to win the title due to missing weight by 2.7 pounds. The win earned Romero a rematch with Whittaker regardless, but once again Romero was ineligible to win the title due to missing weight, this time by 0.2 pounds.
It was a back-and-forth battle where Romero rallied late, dropping Whittaker twice in the fifth round, but ultimately, Whittaker had done enough overall in two of the judges’ eyes, awarding him the split decision win. Yet again, Romero came so close to capturing the title.
He will get his fourth opportunity on March 7 at UFC 248, when he takes on newly-crowned UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, despite coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 241.
