The WORST UFC Champions Ranked

Logically, Aspinall would be next for Jones, right? Jones can’t call himself the undisputed champion if there is an interim champion. Wrong. The fight with Miocic was rescheduled for November 2024. In a fight that Miocic had no business being in (for context, he was 42 at the time, had been out for over 3 years and his last outing saw him brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou). Jones, predictably, finished Miocic.

Aspinall next, right? Wrong. Jones is clearly avoiding the Brit and seemingly isn’t interested in facing the dangerous prospect. Is he worried about his legacy? Is he waiting for Aspinall to give up and clash with someone else? Is he going to retire? Nobody knows, but what we do know is that Jones vs Aspinall is the fight to make and there is only one person who is stopping that from happening at the moment and he holds the #4 spot on our list.

3. Josh Barnett – Heavyweight (2002-2002)

At 24 years old Josh Barnett was on the cusp of something amazing. At 12-1, The Warmaster had a history in submission grappling and knew how to use it in MMA. Ahead of his title shot he beat Bobby Hoffman, however, he was given a warning for a failed drug test. Then came the shot at Randy Couture.

Barnett won the fight via TKO in the second round, progressing to 13-1. Lifting the title for the first time, Barnett seemed to have it all. And he did, if by ‘had it all’ you mean steroids in his system. Barnett would be stripped of the title on July 26th, just four months after winning the belt, without making or being scheduled for a defence.

A heavyweight title reign that many have forgotten, mainly due to the drug stain that lies over it. Barnett would return to the UFC some 11 years later and go on a 3-2 run. He only features in this list because of the potential that he had in comparison to what actually played out.

2. Nicco Montano – Flyweight (2017-2018)

The second person on our list of the worst UFC champions in history is the somewhat forgotten Nicco Montano. The first UFC women’s flyweight champion had a reign to forget. Having competed on the 26th series of TUF to crown the inaugural champion, Montano was scheduled to face Sijara Eubanks, however, Eubanks had to pull out of the fight while trying to make weight and was replaced with veteran, Roxanne Modafferi. The Happy Warrior clearly had no business being in there with Montano at that night, losing the fight 50–45, 49–46 and 49–46.

Montano’s reign never got going. She was reluctant to face Valentina Shevchenko in her first defence, however, she finally agreed to face her at UFC 228. She would go on to be hospitalised due to her weight cut, being stripped of the title before making a defence.

She would go on to make just one more UFC appearance, a loss to Julianna Pena at bantamweight. She would have five cancelled fights before retiring and in her final attempt at making the walk would miss weight by eight pounds, coming in at 143lbs. It’s worth noting that she was the champion at 125lbs…

1. Germaine de Randamie – Featherweight (2017)

2017 was not the best year for UFC champions. Three of our top five featured during 2017. Coming in at #1 is the first ever UFC women’s featherweight champion, Germaine de Randamie.

The UFC 208 main event saw fan favourite, Holly Holm take on de Randamie in a fight to not only crown the featherweight queen, but also essentially book a date with the feared, Cris Cyborg.

The fight itself was controversial, with The Iron Lady hitting and wobbling Holm after the bell after both rounds two and three. The referee didn’t take a point, much to the criticism of Dana White. Not taking a point led to de Randamie winning the bout, despite Holm seemingly getting the better of many exchanges.

So de Randamie would face Cyborg next as everyone knew that the Brazilian was sat in the wings waiting for her chance. Or would she? The champion simply refused to face Cyborg and wouldn’t give her the chance at the strap due to her controversial past with PEDs.

de Randamie would get stripped of the belt in June, just four months after winning it. It wasn’t a good look as many believed she was ‘scared’ to fight Cyborg, however, she would drop back down to bantamweight and eventually challenge the heavy-hitting Amanda Nunes for the belt, losing via unanimous decision. An interesting career, but a title reign to forget and (hopefully) not be repeated.