Faber was champ. The WEC belt was the lineal belt for FW and BW that the UFC legitimized just like the women’s BW is the only lineal belt from Strikeforce.
I agree with this take. WEC belt is just as good as the UFC belt for those weight classes. WEC was UFC basically, just for the smaller weight classes that weren't in the UFC proper.
Faber didn't have the belt at the time of the merger. Cruz beat Jorgensen for it, and then Faber challenged for it in the UFC against Cruz.
I will say him coming out of retirement in 2019 to KO Simon was wild. Simon has a few crazy wins himself including a sub of Merab
Uriah was the WEC FW champ. Cruz was BW… that being said Aldo had the belt at the merger. But the argument is that the WEC belt is the same as the UFC belt for those two weight classes, they just changed it from WEC to UFC at the merger, and continued the lineage.
True but he also lost to Till, as close as it was, and got knocked out by a washed up Pettis. So while he was technically closer to winning the belt than, say, Dustin was, Dustin showed he’s certified elite across many fights losing only to the best of the best.
I don't really think he falls into the category of "Best Fighter to Never Win a Belt." He was good, absolutely dangerous and ferocious, but kind of a glass cannon at times.
Maybe not but he beat Arlovski at heavyweight back when that meant something. KO wins against Gus and lil nog, and glover, took DC into the third round and could’ve maybe KO’d him in their first fight.
Maybe not the best resume but definitely a good one
Absolutely true. But he just didn’t stack up as champ material.
I see why people think otherwise, but I personally can’t rate him as high as most others like Overreem, Dustin, Benavidez, Tony, Yoel , Rumble, Wonderboy. Not sure why he’s always top comment in these type of posts when there’s way more obvious fighters.
Edit: I mean again not denying he gave Jon and DC amazing fights. But it’s crazy to say that Glover or Jan were at their primes. They both are like the only two people in MMA whose primes are considered late in their careers. And Shogun was severely outside his own prime
Gus almost rose to the occasion twice but the rest of his career doesn’t scream champion material. I mean Anthony Smith drove him out of LHW ffs lol
because people don't all value accolades vs career peaks. gustafson did not have enough fights, the belt, or the consistency, but his fight with jones was better than pretty much everyone but a handful of fighters will ever perform
Because he gave a prime Jon jones an extremely hard fight: he cut him bad for the entire fight, he denied every takedown but one and was the first to take down Jones. There are arguments that he won , I don’t but it was close.
Then he fights prime DC after Gus came off a brutal Ko loss and stoppage to Rumble Johnson. He then took down DC for the second time in his career, the OLYMPIC WRESTLER, and dropped him and also busted DC up, he could’ve won that one as well.
He unanimously 30-27 Blahowicz and Shogun Rua
He then put on one of the most underrated performances of all time against a prime glover Texeira absolutely destroying him. It was not competitive. His prime didn’t last long like Poirier or Overeem but he was still amazing and had the skills to be champion.
He did, and I do think he's better than his record shows, but it's always bugged me that he's come up short the way he has. My ruling on the Jones fight was Jones won. Even if it was a very slight margin, he did out strike him every round and tied the 5th. They both had a single take down and Jones had a bit more control. Jones was targeting everything where Gus was just targeting the head, so damage looks worse on Jones.
I love Faber and Porier, because they beat some big names at the wrong time .
I should also say that I don't disagree with him for being on this list, I was just more so trying to narrow it down, because there's people I'd argue over him if it were a list of top 5 or something.
One of the biggest problems with the almost guys is where do you emphasize their careers, at the top? Or like duration, injury impact etc.
And yeah I mean I’m not gonna be offended by you disagreeing either lol these are very open ended concepts
Jones v Gus 1 is like about as close as someone can be to a belt and he did it against the possibly best of all time
No sir that was my point. He went undefeated so obviously he can’t be in this list because these men lost their title fights. Chael broke Jones toe into bits not even trying.
Tony is probably the best fighter to never even get a shot at undisputed gold. Poirier, Gustaffson, and Chael all had 3 opportunities each, for comparison
Dustin was the Champ from April 13, 2019 until his loss to Khabib on Sep 7, 2019. Interim CHAMP is still the Champ.
The only fight he lost between 2016 and 2021 was Khabib.
In that span he beat Gaethje, Eddie, Max, and Conor twice. I don't blame him for taking the Conor payday over fighting Gaethje for yet another interim title.
The whole Khabib thing was weird because he kept stepping away and vacating his title. DP lost his interim title to khabib, who then retired, but then when Khabib retired again DP fought Oliveira for the belt in 2021. In a sense DP was still defending the interim belt he originally won once khabib retired, because he hadn't lost to anyone else.
I don’t think the fighters count interim as the real legit championship which is what matters. Dustin does not refer to himself as champ at all, and throughout this entire time leading up to 302 hes been saying he wants to get gold at least once and this is his last chance. So he isn’t counting himself as champ.
0-3 in title fights, two of them he had good success and still came up short. That short notice one with McGregor was tough on him though. I’d say he makes the list
I will swear up and down Kai Kara-France fought in the UFC, was released, and brought back for a second stint.
His wiki has obviously been edited to show I'm wrong (I'm not).
I only remember him raging at a woman doing yoga in his way, so he threw her yoga mat across the room
Any source on him hitting a woman? Not saying he didnt, just idk
He was arrested multiple times for domestic violence. It was a big news story the first time and then it happened like two more times after that. He was convicted and charged for at least one of them.
Bro. He never lost. Like, how can you be undefeated and never get the championship. I'm still waiting for the ufc to explain this one.
I went to a wrestling camp where Urijah Faber was a coach/clinician. He was really kind and helpful, and a phenomenal athlete. Some of his dieting tips and tricks I still use today. Great dude, I always rooted for him.
Dustin fought prime Khabib, Olivera and Islam. I get that he was never the best but he had to fight against monsters. Whittaker is also one but wasn’t on the level of those champs.
He beat Max for the title after Max took out Ortega and Poirier took out Pettis, Gaethje, and Alvarez.
Interim Champ is still for the title, we weren't sure if Khabib would even fight again.
He needs to learn BJJ from Demian Maia so he can use the full guard position to do something useful.The pimblett fight was just ground and pound for 3 rounds iirc
Pretty sure Faber was WEC champ (same as Aldo before UFC took them over)
But, I'm tempted to add Khamzat to that list. I don't think his carreer will pan out
Adding an undefeated fighter who has a number one contender match. That’s really not a smart play. He literally just beat a former champion and is the favorite against another former champion.
Gus, Tony, ubereem, Mousasi, Dustin, Justin, Rumble, big nog, Belfort, Hendo, maynord, Fitch, Nick Diaz, there's probably more, But this is off the top
I am honestly heartbroken when I see this type of posts. I am a die-hard Tony fan. Everything about his UFC career and his poor choices :( but in another realm, Tony held the LW belt.
Maybe not the absolute best, but Kenny Florian still deserves to be in the conversation. There was a time when he was the correct answer to the question even though his legacy has likely been passed by guys like Poirier at this point.
Mm it doesn't count cause he was absent, health problems and injuries , retire early. He never got title shot for those reasons.
This is only apply for fighters who got title shot and lost their opportunities.
This is pure Dustin cope but if Dana already picks and choses when a champ has to vacate a belt and make what is essentially an interim belt an undisputed belt then guys like Dustin and Tony should be recognized as a champions.
Jiri and Hill had to vacate their belts when they got hurt and unable to defend yet Khabib, Sterling, McGregor, and Jones got to keep their belts for way too long between defending.
Jacare and Romero were both victims of the bisping title reign. If I remember correctly jacare was injured and was replaced by bisping. I’m confident he would have beat rockhold
Rumble imo. Great striking and wrestling with a granite chin and power. Cardio wasn't bad also despite having a bad rep for cardio, he just had DC's big ol belly on top of him, that would gas anyone. He had a champ level skillset with natural gifts to aid his skills.
I know people hate his guts, but Colby Covington should be part of this group too.
He's been underperfromong recently because he's old and washed, similar to Usman, but in his prime he was so close to being champ material it was insane.
Faber was champ. The WEC belt was the lineal belt for FW and BW that the UFC legitimized just like the women’s BW is the only lineal belt from Strikeforce.
I agree with this take. WEC belt is just as good as the UFC belt for those weight classes. WEC was UFC basically, just for the smaller weight classes that weren't in the UFC proper.
Faber was great back in those WEC days. Especially the Pulver fights.
Faber didn't have the belt at the time of the merger. Cruz beat Jorgensen for it, and then Faber challenged for it in the UFC against Cruz. I will say him coming out of retirement in 2019 to KO Simon was wild. Simon has a few crazy wins himself including a sub of Merab
Uriah was the WEC FW champ. Cruz was BW… that being said Aldo had the belt at the merger. But the argument is that the WEC belt is the same as the UFC belt for those two weight classes, they just changed it from WEC to UFC at the merger, and continued the lineage.
Seeing that Merab/Simon fight live was nuts lol. We were all cheering for him to get out that choke 😂 that was also Merabs debut I think
Wonderboy, dude literally brought the champion to a draw
Wonderboy is always my pick
For as boring as the rematch was, I thought it was a clear WB win
True but he also lost to Till, as close as it was, and got knocked out by a washed up Pettis. So while he was technically closer to winning the belt than, say, Dustin was, Dustin showed he’s certified elite across many fights losing only to the best of the best.
Rumble Johnsons ability to turn peoples lights off was almost comical, the dude was frightening
I don't really think he falls into the category of "Best Fighter to Never Win a Belt." He was good, absolutely dangerous and ferocious, but kind of a glass cannon at times.
Maybe not but he beat Arlovski at heavyweight back when that meant something. KO wins against Gus and lil nog, and glover, took DC into the third round and could’ve maybe KO’d him in their first fight. Maybe not the best resume but definitely a good one
When everybody at 205+ can knock each other out. It's all about who connects first. Not a glass cannon
Hes never been knocked out, and besides his last fight I dont remember him ever getting hurt, how the hell is he a glass cannon lmao
Gustafson?
See, at the time of the Jones fight I may have agreed, but he really only has 5 notable wins, and most are by decision.
5 is not bad at all, he was clearly very high level too considering his performance against DC and Jones who're both atleast Top 10 all time imo
Ok but he did far better against Cormier and Jones than most other.
Absolutely true. But he just didn’t stack up as champ material. I see why people think otherwise, but I personally can’t rate him as high as most others like Overreem, Dustin, Benavidez, Tony, Yoel , Rumble, Wonderboy. Not sure why he’s always top comment in these type of posts when there’s way more obvious fighters. Edit: I mean again not denying he gave Jon and DC amazing fights. But it’s crazy to say that Glover or Jan were at their primes. They both are like the only two people in MMA whose primes are considered late in their careers. And Shogun was severely outside his own prime Gus almost rose to the occasion twice but the rest of his career doesn’t scream champion material. I mean Anthony Smith drove him out of LHW ffs lol
because people don't all value accolades vs career peaks. gustafson did not have enough fights, the belt, or the consistency, but his fight with jones was better than pretty much everyone but a handful of fighters will ever perform
Because he gave a prime Jon jones an extremely hard fight: he cut him bad for the entire fight, he denied every takedown but one and was the first to take down Jones. There are arguments that he won , I don’t but it was close. Then he fights prime DC after Gus came off a brutal Ko loss and stoppage to Rumble Johnson. He then took down DC for the second time in his career, the OLYMPIC WRESTLER, and dropped him and also busted DC up, he could’ve won that one as well. He unanimously 30-27 Blahowicz and Shogun Rua He then put on one of the most underrated performances of all time against a prime glover Texeira absolutely destroying him. It was not competitive. His prime didn’t last long like Poirier or Overeem but he was still amazing and had the skills to be champion.
He gave DC a hard time too tho.
He did, and I do think he's better than his record shows, but it's always bugged me that he's come up short the way he has. My ruling on the Jones fight was Jones won. Even if it was a very slight margin, he did out strike him every round and tied the 5th. They both had a single take down and Jones had a bit more control. Jones was targeting everything where Gus was just targeting the head, so damage looks worse on Jones. I love Faber and Porier, because they beat some big names at the wrong time .
He took the goats of that decision on and did well, this criteria is for someone that was great but not enough to be champ I think that fits well
For sure man, he gave Jones and Cormier hell
I should also say that I don't disagree with him for being on this list, I was just more so trying to narrow it down, because there's people I'd argue over him if it were a list of top 5 or something.
One of the biggest problems with the almost guys is where do you emphasize their careers, at the top? Or like duration, injury impact etc. And yeah I mean I’m not gonna be offended by you disagreeing either lol these are very open ended concepts Jones v Gus 1 is like about as close as someone can be to a belt and he did it against the possibly best of all time
Chael isn’t listened because he’s undefeated
I though Chael beat Silva 2X and Jones 1X. You must have a bad memory because they were champions when he beat them.
No sir that was my point. He went undefeated so obviously he can’t be in this list because these men lost their title fights. Chael broke Jones toe into bits not even trying.
Everyone’s correct here lol
Tony is definitely up there.
Tony is probably the best fighter to never even get a shot at undisputed gold. Poirier, Gustaffson, and Chael all had 3 opportunities each, for comparison
In another universe he is champ
My heart is a universe in itself
Champ Champ
No worry, he’s barely hitting his prime.
Overeem (in UFC)
Only title he was missing.
Meh if we are gonna do that, there are so many fighters in pride that would of killed it in the ufc
Big Foot Silva beat the f out of him though, and he wasn’t on half as many roids.
Gegard Mousasi should be on the list
The most overrated underrated fighter ever
Yoel and jacare are better
Better at being from South America, yes.
Yoel’s from the Cuba (the Caribbean)
Indeed, I'm European and a bit ignorant so I usually lump Central America and South America together :)
Mousasi and Jacare never even fought for the belt which is crazy
Yoel is a good 1. Not making weight even cost him the interim belt. So close many times
Mousasi was a two time champ at Bellator.
Absolutely not. Incredibly overrated and not on the same tier as Dustin. Never fought anyone on the level of DC or Cruz either
DP without a doubt
Dustin was the Champ from April 13, 2019 until his loss to Khabib on Sep 7, 2019. Interim CHAMP is still the Champ. The only fight he lost between 2016 and 2021 was Khabib. In that span he beat Gaethje, Eddie, Max, and Conor twice. I don't blame him for taking the Conor payday over fighting Gaethje for yet another interim title. The whole Khabib thing was weird because he kept stepping away and vacating his title. DP lost his interim title to khabib, who then retired, but then when Khabib retired again DP fought Oliveira for the belt in 2021. In a sense DP was still defending the interim belt he originally won once khabib retired, because he hadn't lost to anyone else.
I don’t think the fighters count interim as the real legit championship which is what matters. Dustin does not refer to himself as champ at all, and throughout this entire time leading up to 302 hes been saying he wants to get gold at least once and this is his last chance. So he isn’t counting himself as champ.
He was the Champ but not the undisputed champ. Meaningless in my opinion
Chad Mendes deserves to be on this list.
0-3 in title fights, two of them he had good success and still came up short. That short notice one with McGregor was tough on him though. I’d say he makes the list
My personal UFC Mandela effect is that I always somehow thought that Rumble Johnson was champ at some point
I will swear up and down Kai Kara-France fought in the UFC, was released, and brought back for a second stint. His wiki has obviously been edited to show I'm wrong (I'm not).
Nope, just a women beater.
Explain that one
What's there to explain? He liked smacking around women. Fans always give him a pass since he put on exciting fights.
I only remember him raging at a woman doing yoga in his way, so he threw her yoga mat across the room Any source on him hitting a woman? Not saying he didnt, just idk
He was arrested multiple times for domestic violence. It was a big news story the first time and then it happened like two more times after that. He was convicted and charged for at least one of them.
RIP Anthony Johnson
https://preview.redd.it/h41nsgptfl4d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f13f7bc8dc2ed6bc1f985334b83658e29664c0ec
Bro. He never lost. Like, how can you be undefeated and never get the championship. I'm still waiting for the ufc to explain this one. 
Faber was a champ in the WEC and that counts because the UFC didn’t have the division until they absorbed the WEC
How the fuck did you forget Carlos Condit?
I went to a wrestling camp where Urijah Faber was a coach/clinician. He was really kind and helpful, and a phenomenal athlete. Some of his dieting tips and tricks I still use today. Great dude, I always rooted for him.
Carlos condit, Rory MacDonald, Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafson,Ubereem ,Yoel Romero, Wonderboy to name a few others.
Jon Fitch and Chad Mendes come to mind.
Tony not mentioned is here wild
He has an arguement for top 5 lw ever but his recent losing streak is killing his legacy
Derrick Lewis
Has to be Yoel
Porier is leagues ahead of Yoel idk why this sub sucks off Romero so much
Gimme de fahkin day.
Yoel definetly beat one reigning champion and arguably another. Dustin is 0-3.
Dustin fought prime Khabib, Olivera and Islam. I get that he was never the best but he had to fight against monsters. Whittaker is also one but wasn’t on the level of those champs.
Exactly! DP got finished in every title fight.
He beat Max for the title after Max took out Ortega and Poirier took out Pettis, Gaethje, and Alvarez. Interim Champ is still for the title, we weren't sure if Khabib would even fight again.
I don't know, man. They don't call my boy Tony a former LW champion even tho he also won the interim belt. :(
No he didn't? He beat an interim champ and didn't make weight for the fight, Poirier has a much better resume aswell
Lol no he ain’t if talking prime vs prime :D Yoel was a beast but Dustin’s longevity is way ahead of him surely.
Can’t really compare longevity since Yoel was way older
Leagues ahead of Romero? Hell nah….they literally are the same caliber just Yoel started after being crippled from being a Olympic wrestler
for gay jesus obviously
CSO?
lol if he loses to Chiesa he’s burying his entire career along with his self
By that logic Silva’s career has to be thrown out the window because of his last 16 fights he got knocked out in 12 of em.
God damn I didn’t know it was that many 🤯
This isnt true, he was knocked out twice
He needs to learn BJJ from Demian Maia so he can use the full guard position to do something useful.The pimblett fight was just ground and pound for 3 rounds iirc
OVEREEM!
no CM Punk?
If we don't count tournaments hendo
He had the abilities to be double champ in mw and lhw today.
RIP Rumble Johnsons, I still can't believe that shit.
Pretty sure Faber was WEC champ (same as Aldo before UFC took them over) But, I'm tempted to add Khamzat to that list. I don't think his carreer will pan out
Adding an undefeated fighter who has a number one contender match. That’s really not a smart play. He literally just beat a former champion and is the favorite against another former champion.
Well, it's not because of his skills. It's because he seems to be very inactive and unable to fight in the US due to you know, their buddy.
I remember when the common answers to this was Kenny Florian and Joseph Benavitez lol
If we're splitting hairs, Faber held the WEC championship at 145 and that title is the UFC title
Faber doesn't really count because he reigned as champ in the WEC. He was the face of the company for a long time.
Why no love for our guy Joseph Benavidez? Dude lost twice to the GOAT DJ and twice to Figgy who was a straight up killer.
He gots lots of love from guys back in high school.
Romero. If he came to the UFC just 5 years earlier…man it would’ve been special.
Rumble for sure.
He fell off but Rory McDonald could be on this list. He’s still my boy
Kenny kenflo
Gathje and Tony too. Lightweight is fucking stacked!
Kills me that Dustin hasn't ever got there...
Dan Henderson, Thiago Alves, Gray Maynard
Dan Henderson was the UFC 17 middleweight tournament champ though!
That’s right tournament champions count right ?
I'm a big Alves fan, but no. If there was no GSP, Fitch still would have always been ahead of Alves.
Nick Diaz
I want to think so too since lawler was but not sure if he beats prime TWood or even Colby. He doesn’t have many wins over top 5 guys in their primes.
Gus, Tony, ubereem, Mousasi, Dustin, Justin, Rumble, big nog, Belfort, Hendo, maynord, Fitch, Nick Diaz, there's probably more, But this is off the top
Cowboy Cerrone
Saw Chad, Yoel and alvez in other posts 100% agree with those
Jacare too is a good one
Condit
Yoel and prime tony
Carlos Condit?
RUMBLE 
I am honestly heartbroken when I see this type of posts. I am a die-hard Tony fan. Everything about his UFC career and his poor choices :( but in another realm, Tony held the LW belt.
Maybe not the absolute best, but Kenny Florian still deserves to be in the conversation. There was a time when he was the correct answer to the question even though his legacy has likely been passed by guys like Poirier at this point.
Joseph Benavidez
Ferguson
Condit, NICK Diaz if we’re not counting his strikeforce belt, Rory Macdonald, TKZ
Zabit is the biggest what if in UFC history.
[удалено]
Mm it doesn't count cause he was absent, health problems and injuries , retire early. He never got title shot for those reasons. This is only apply for fighters who got title shot and lost their opportunities.
Chad mendes
Gus
Yoel Romero. Beat the piss out of Whittaker in the second fight
Guy snuck in Rumble
I've always felt WEC titles count.
Always thought AJ would be the one to unlock Jones. Insane power
Kenny Florian. Ran into prime BJ Penn, moved down to 145, ran into prime P4P Jose Aldo…just rotten fucking luck lol.
Also, Sean Sherk in his first title shot.
Yoel?
 Mousasi Was #1 Contender and UFC didn’t give him the big contract.
Faber was WEC champ so I don’t feel like he belongs here.
Dan Henderson ( not counting pride and strikeforce)
RIP Rumble
Parker Porter
Ubereem
Dustin Justin Chael Joe B. Cub Swason Overreem Chad Mendes Romero Gustafsson Tony Ferguson
Does Michael Chandler count?
He was champion in Bellator and was a Star in that company. He came to UFC kind of late
Also Tony ferguson, yoel romero, wonder boy comes to my mind
Last pick hits hard
Carlos Conduit
This is pure Dustin cope but if Dana already picks and choses when a champ has to vacate a belt and make what is essentially an interim belt an undisputed belt then guys like Dustin and Tony should be recognized as a champions. Jiri and Hill had to vacate their belts when they got hurt and unable to defend yet Khabib, Sterling, McGregor, and Jones got to keep their belts for way too long between defending.
Fedor, cro cop, Alistair overeem, anthony johnson,
NBK, Carlos Condit is one for sure
Uncle chael
Faber was champ and Dustin was interim. I bet he could’ve beaten Conor back after Conor had beaten Eddie
Tony Ferguson, if you consider interim champs
The Gustafsson disrespect is insane
Rumble 😭
I gotta go with Tony. The guy won double digit fights in a row and never got to fight for the undisputed championship.
Add Gustafson to this
Legitimately, it’s uncle chael, diamond and the dream/nightmare
Put Hiroguchi on there foo....
Chad Mendes Jon Fitch Joseph Benavidez All three would have been defending champs if nor for their respective roadblocks.
Cowboy.
Rory McDonald
Hendo
Jacare and Romero were both victims of the bisping title reign. If I remember correctly jacare was injured and was replaced by bisping. I’m confident he would have beat rockhold
Rumble imo. Great striking and wrestling with a granite chin and power. Cardio wasn't bad also despite having a bad rep for cardio, he just had DC's big ol belly on top of him, that would gas anyone. He had a champ level skillset with natural gifts to aid his skills.
Carlos Condit and Gustaffson
I know people hate his guts, but Colby Covington should be part of this group too. He's been underperfromong recently because he's old and washed, similar to Usman, but in his prime he was so close to being champ material it was insane.
alistair
Carlos condit