SUMMARY
- Marlon Vera's UFC 299 title shot sparks debate.
- History of undeserved championship opportunities in the UFC.
“Dana, I want a title shot.” And there you go, folks, I am fighting for the UFC welterweight championship in three months. Thatâs how the UFC CEO is handing out championship opportunities to fighters. Or at least, some of us believe he is.
While the introduction might have been a gross exaggeration of the current UFC landscape, it is hard to justify some of the title shots Dana White has handed out. Most recently, we saw Marlon Vera (23-9-1) get completely dominated by Sean OâMalley (18-1, 1NC) for five straight rounds.
Some even went so far as to call the opportunity ‘undeserved.’
Chito really got 50-44ed in an undeserved title shot pic.twitter.com/kejuuxEcso
â teawhy (@WedontgetTyler) March 10, 2024
Sean O’malley just beat the f*ck out of Chito. This is what happens when you give undeserved title shots. #UFC299
â MaakicxđȘ (@maakicx) March 10, 2024
Chito got a title shot off of beating Pedro Munhoz folks. Most undeserved title shot in UFC history. Sean did what he had to do. Still undefeated. đŹ đŹ đŹ
â Connor (@23cmcpadres) March 10, 2024
But could this have been prevented? Were there no other fighters eligible to fight OâMalley at UFC 299?… What was that?… Merab who? Never heard of him.
On a serious note, the UFC absolutely had a contender who could have tested Sean OâMalley last weekend. In case you missed it, ‘Chito’ came off with a 1-1 record in his last two fights before bumping into OâMalley again.
But what about the story? Okay Cody Crybabies, I hear you. OâMalley had to avenge the only loss of his career. But didnât Sean OâMalley already consider himself undefeated? Besides, this is not the WWE.
Undeserved title shots end badly for UFC fighters
That wasn’t the only instance where a fight felt forced. You donât have to dig too deep to find another example. After retiring in May 2020, the âKing of Cringeâ and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo (16-4) returned to the UFC. Cejudo, in an attempt to recapture his throne, dropped a split decision to then-champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288.
Cejudo would then get humiliated by Merab Dvalishvili (17-4) in his own realm at UFC 298, further cementing the point that the Olympic gold medalist might have skipped a few steps to a title shot. The question still remains: Why wasnât Cejudo moved to the back of the queue?
You guys will love to sh*t on the next one. Following a 21-month layoff, Colby Covingtonâs mouth earned him what his fists couldnât. Covington (17-4), who defeated former journeyman fighter Jorge Masvidal (35-17) at UFC 272, was rewarded with his third and most undeserving title shot of his career. Call it ring rust or depleted âDragon Energy,â Covington was a shell of his former self that night against Leon Edwards (22-3, 1NC).
Remember Journeyman Jorge from the previous paragraph? He was awarded a rematch against Kamaru Usman (20-4) for the welterweight strap just because he showed up on Fight Island; He got knocked out straight to the shadow realm.
Will the trend of undeserving title shots stop? It should, but probably wonât. All of the fights mentioned in this article ended badly for the challengers. However, most fans feel completely okay with the quality of fights, given that the UFCâs revenue surged 13% to $1.3 billion in 2023. Even Chito Vera vs. OâMalley 2 was a sellout event with 19,165 fans in attendance.
