14 of the best fighters to never win a UFC title

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.