The 9 best UFC fighters who've never won a title
Joseph Benavidez failed to capture the UFC flyweight title on Saturday when he was knocked out in the second round by Deiveson Figueiredo. With that defeat, the 35-year-old joined a list of current and former fighters who boast impressive resumes but have never won a UFC championship.
Here's a look at nine UFC competitors who've been unable to secure a title in the promotion despite several opportunities.
Kenny Florian, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida
Florian is one of the few fighters in UFC history who's competed in four different weight classes and earned title shots in two separate divisions.
"The Ultimate Fighter" Season 1 finalist got his first title opportunity at UFC 64 against Sean Sherk for the vacant lightweight championship. However, he struggled with Sherk's strength and wrestling and ended up losing a unanimous decision. Following that setback, Florian racked up six straight victories and then faced 155-pound champion BJ Penn at UFC 101.
Against Penn, the "Anik and Florian" podcast host suffered his first career submission loss in the fourth round. Three fights later, Florian dropped down to the 145-pound weight class and took out rising prospect Diego Nunes at UFC 131. That victory earned him a third title shot against featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 136.
The Brazilian champion proceeded to pick apart Florian during a five-round affair en route to a decision victory. Shortly after his third championship loss, Florian retired from MMA due to a back injury. The 43-year-old finished his career with a 14-6 record.
Pedro Rizzo, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Mark Coleman, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski
Rizzo went undefeated through his first nine professional fights, which landed him a title shot at UFC 26 against heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman. The American's wrestling proved to be too much and Rizzo suffered his first career loss by decision.
Back-to-back stoppage victories over Dan Severn and Josh Barnett secured Rizzo a second title opportunity against newly crowned champion Randy Couture at UFC 31. Despite dominating most of the fight with powerful leg kicks, Rizzo ultimately lost on a controversial judges' decision.
That led to a rematch at UFC 34, where Couture took over the fight and picked up another victory. Rizzo left the UFC two years later for PRIDE and retired from MMA in September 2015 with a 20-11 record.
Dan Henderson, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, Fedor Emelianenko
Henderson, a former NCAA Division I wrestler, won titles in both PRIDE and Strikeforce but never earned gold under the UFC banner, where he had three opportunities.
The first came shortly after the UFC purchased PRIDE in 2007, as "Hendo" faced light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 75. Both 205-pound fighters put on a wrestling clinic, but Jackson retained his title with a unanimous decision.
The loss prompted Henderson to move back down to his natural weight class of 185 pounds, where he faced champion Anderson Silva at UFC 82. Despite a solid opening round for Henderson, Silva took over once the bout hit the mat and sunk in a fight-ending rear-naked choke for the victory.
Henderson's final UFC title shot came in his last career fight - a rematch against middleweight champion Michael Bisping at UFC 204. While Henderson was able to land a few of his patented "H-Bombs" during the bout, Bisping eked out a judges' decision on the scorecards. The Team Quest Temecula founder retired in 2016 with a 32-15 record.
Chad Mendes - 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Clay Guida, Ricardo Lamas, Myles Jury
If not for Jose Aldo, Mendes would have been a UFC featherweight champion. The champ handed Mendes his first career loss at UFC 142, knocking out the American with a second remaining in the first round.
After racking up five straight victories, the Team Alpha Male product faced Aldo again at UFC 179. The pair put on one of the best fights of 2014, but the Brazilian titleholder once again came out on top with a unanimous decision victory.
When Aldo was unable to take on Conor McGregor at UFC 189 due to injury, the promotion created an interim featherweight title in his absence. Mendes took advantage and stepped in on short notice against "The Notorious."
Mendes found success early on by securing takedowns and appeared to have the SBG Ireland product in trouble during the first round. However, once the fight ended up on the feet in the second, McGregor took advantage and knocked out Mendes with just seconds remaining.
The California native was then suspended by USADA in 2016 for a positive drug test, which kept him on the shelf for two-and-a-half years. Following a 2018 TKO loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 232, the 34-year-old Mendes retired from the sport with an 18-5 record.
Chael Sonnen, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Yushin Okami, Michael Bisping, Mauricio Rua
Sonnen is credited with participating in one of the most memorable fights in UFC history - a battle with middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 117. Despite being almost a 3-1 underdog, Sonnen dominated the majority of that bout with his wrestling and was a round away from capturing the 185-pound title. However, when the fight hit the canvas in the final round, Silva locked in a triangle armbar that forced Sonnen to tap.
The Team Quest product went on to defeat Brian Stann and Michael Bisping before facing Silva in a rematch at UFC 117. Unfortunately, the second bout wasn't anything like the first, as Silva finished Sonnen with strikes in the opening round to retain his title.
After those two setbacks against Silva, Sonnen returned to the light heavyweight division and squared off against champion Jon Jones at UFC 159. Sonnen was a sizable underdog once again, but Jones broke his toe in the first round. However, Sonnen was finished by strikes at the 4:33 mark of the round. Had he survived long enough to reach the second, a championship would likely have been in the cards due to Jones' injury.
Sonnen competed seven more times in his career and then retired from MMA in April 2019 with a 31-17-1 record.
Alexander Gustafsson, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Mauricio Rua, Jan Błachowicz, Glover Teixeira
After amassing an impressive 15-1 record early in his career, Gustafsson secured a title shot against light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 165. The Allstars Training Center product put on one of the best championship fights in UFC history, pushing Jones to the brink and nearly winning the five-round war. In the end, however, Jones came out on top with a unanimous decision victory.
Three fights later, Gustafsson again found himself in a position to take home the light heavyweight title, this time against champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 192. "The Mauler" landed several takedowns in the second and dropped Cormier with a knee in the third, but it wasn't enough, as the judges awarded Cormier a split-decision victory to retain the 205-pound title.
In December 2018, Gustafsson got a third chance at UFC gold when he secured his long-awaited rematch against Jones at UFC 232. This one didn't reach the judges, as Jones finished Gustafsson with strikes in the third round. The 33-year-old Gustafsson retired shortly after with an 18-6 career record.
Urijah Faber, 0-4 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao, Michael McDonald
The longtime WEC veteran earned his first UFC championship fight in 2011 against 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz in a rematch at UFC 132.
Cruz's technical striking and speed proved to be too much for "The California Kid," as he retained the title with a unanimous decision victory. But Cruz was soon forced to the sidelines, which gave Faber another opportunity to earn a UFC championship.
This time, Faber faced Brazilian standout Renan Barao for the interim bantamweight title at UFC 149. The Team Alpha Male founder came up short in that bout, losing a unanimous decision.
Following four straight victories, Faber got his rematch with Barao at UFC 149. This time, the Sacramento native suffered just the second knockout loss of his career in the first round.
In 2016, a lack of bantamweight contenders led to Faber securing a trilogy match against Cruz at UFC 199. But just like his first three title attempts, Faber was unable to earn the belt.
Joseph Benavidez, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Jussier Formiga (twice), Ali Bagautinov, Henry Cejudo
Benavidez fell short in his third opportunity on Saturday but had two chances for UFC gold in the past. The first came in September 2012 as part of the flyweight tournament final, where the California native met Demetrious Johnson for the vacant championship at UFC 152.
While both fighters put everything on the line, Johnson earned a split decision to take home the first-ever UFC flyweight championship. The rematch took place more than a year later at UFC on FOX 9, with Johnson emerging as the winner by first-round knockout.
In the wake of his latest setback, there's no word on what could be next for "The Beefcake."
Yoel Romero, 0-3 in UFC championship fights
Notable wins: Lyoto Machida, Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
Romero could remove himself from this list by defeating middleweight champion Israel Adesanya on Saturday at UFC 248.
The 42-year-old's first title opportunity came in July 2017 against Robert Whittaker for the interim middleweight title with champion Michael Bisping sidelined. Despite entering as the betting favorite, Romero couldn't finish Whittaker, who walked away with a unanimous decision victory.
Romero's next chance at UFC gold came in his next fight against Luke Rockhold at UFC 221. With Whittaker suffering an injury - and with Bisping still sidelined - this was set to be another interim title fight. However, Romero missed the 185-pound weight limit the day before and was ineligible to capture the title. He ended up knocking out Rockhold in the third but didn't take home any hardware.
That victory put the "Soldier of God" in a position to rematch Whittaker for the title at UFC 225. But Romero again missed weight and then lost a controversial split decision for good measure.
On Saturday, despite coming off two straight losses, Romero will have what's likely his final shot to win a UFC title when he battles Adesanya in the main event.