The Curse of the Lost Title: What Is The Impact of Giving Up The Belt?

In the highly unpredictable environment of MMA, where one shot can end a fight, much is made of the difficulty to get a title shot, with many fighters needing to rack up long win streaks to be in contention. Most recently, UFC featherweight Max Holloway put together an impressive nine fight run before being handed an interim shot at UFC 206, the same as lightweight Tony Ferguson, while the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone both managed eight straight victories in their respective divisions. Middleweight Yoel Romero is also expected to match the nine straight having been overlooked for a shot at Michael Bisping's title, with the Brit opting to fight the returning Georges St-Pierre.

However, it appears another difficult situation is often overlooked. As a champion, there can be no greater pain than losing your title, and recovering from this setback takes real courage and guts. Nevertheless, this does not always go to plan. Ronda Rousey can attest to this, with her return to the Octagon following the heart-breaking loss to Holly Holm ending in a 48 second TKO defeat to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. With the idea of the ex-champion being on a two fight losing streak unthinkable less than 18 months ago, it seemingly follows that the initial defeat had a significant impact on momentum and confidence, leading to the second.


This situation is certainly not an uncommon one among ex-UFC champions. In fact, if we look at the stats, this has happened on 23 occasions, representing 60 per cent of all champions. The list of names is astonishing, including the original heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture - twice! Hardly transitional champions, I think you'll agree!

As you can see, minus flyweight, which has yet to see a former champion, this transcends a wide range of weight classes and time periods, from Rafael dos Anjos at lightweight through to Kevin Randleman at heavyweight, and has made its way into the comparatively fledging women's division, affecting every former bantamweight champion. Sure, there are more heavyweights on this list than any other, but that makes sense given the number of champions in that division versus the rest.



So if there are no trends that can be identified by weight class or time period, is there a reason behind this? The obvious argument to make would be momentum, and how the loss of one fight can very easily lead to declining confidence, resulting in further defeats. However, this is undermined by some additional statistics. The eagle-eyed (or perhaps MMA-nerds) will have noticed that the above list neglects to mention those that did not lose their belts inside the Octagon. The likes of Tim Sylvia, Frank Mir, Dominick Cruz and Jon Jones were either stripped of their titles, or were forced to relinquish due to injury or contractual issues. No momentum loss for them, you may think?

Well actually, revisiting the statistics, we see that of the 10 former champions that were either stripped or relinquished their titles, five went on to lose their following fight. While both of the most recent examples did return with a win, fighters that failed include Couture, Sylvia, Mir and Sherk, meaning that the ratio is not significantly altered whether the belt is lost inside the cage or out.

If not momentum, were these former champions simply outclassed by the same opponent? Again, no. Of the 48 former champions, only three have lost consecutive bouts to the same foe. Belarusian heavyweight Andrei Arlovski suffered a shock KO defeat to Tim Sylvia in April 2006, before losing the rematch by decision three months later, while BJ Penn lost consecutive unanimous decisions to Frankie Edgar in 2010. Most recently, the greatest of all time, Anderson Silva, was famously knocked out by Chris Weidman while clowning in the cage, before suffering a horrendous broken leg in the rematch in 2013. While I'd argue that the latter shouldn't really be counted in the same way as a KO or decision defeat, the loss remains on his record, so requires inclusion.

The answer is unlocked when we look at the statistics from the UFC's greatest rival, Bellator. While comparatively in its infancy, the promotion has had a total of 26 previous champions across its male and female divisions. Surprisingly, nearly a quarter of those have already either been stripped or relinquished the title, meaning that we have a measurable sample size of 20 ex-title holders. Of those, just 35 per cent lost back to back fights, a significant departure from the majority seen in the UFC.

When you look at some of the cards put out by mixed martial arts' secondary organisation, it's easy to see why. Outside of the main and co-main, there is a distinct lack of strength in depth at Bellator, meaning that an ex-champion can ease themselves back into the title picture with a win over a fighter that really isn't in their league. Meanwhile, look at the top 10s of all of the UFC's weight classes. Apart from the heavyweights, it's a murderers row, and there are no easy fights to recover. For example, look at each of the most recent ex-champions' return fights in the UFC, and judge for yourself:

• Heavyweight - Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne
• Light-heavyweight - Jon Jones vs Ovince Saint-Preux
• Middleweight - Chris Weidman vs Yoel Romero
• Welterweight - Johny Hendricks vs Matt Brown
• Lightweight - Rafael dos Anjos vs Tony Ferguson
• Featherweight - Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar
• Bantamweight - TJ Dillashaw vs Rafael Assuncao
• Women's Bantamweight - Miesha Tate vs Raquel Pennington
• Women's Strawweight - Carla Esparza vs Julianna Lima

With the awareness of MMA growing seemingly by the day, and the number of individuals taking up the sport also on the rise, this is an issue that is only going to become more pronounced as the quality of fighters continues to improve. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see not just the returns of the likes of Eddie Alvarez, scheduled to face Dustin Poirier, Luke Rockhold, Robbie Lawler and Dominick Cruz, but to see how future defeated champions are able to cope as they are thrust back into the hungry lions' den that is mixed martial arts competition.

MMA Awards 2017: The Case For... Michael Bisping

It's been a busy year for The Count, during which he has achieved feats the majority of the MMA world thought impossible. I'm sure there are occasions where even he may have felt his dreams were going to elude him, but in typical stoic British fashion, he overcame his hurdles and ends the year atop arguably the most stacked division in the UFC. With the top 10 containing the likes of Romero, Weidman, Rockhold, Jacare, Mousasi, Silva and Whittaker, it's a real murderer's row for any potential champion.

If the state of the division plays in Bisping's favour, it makes it all the more impressive that the Brit won all three of his fights over the course of 2016. And it's not like he was fighting mid-carders. Both Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson are MMA legends, and while the argument could be made that they are perhaps not at the same level that they were in years past, these were the battles that gave him the most trouble. And no matter who you're fighting, a title fight is never easy.

In comparison to the other fighters on the shortlist, both Donald Cerrone and Cody Garbrandt have better records at 4-0, but barring the recent title fight for Cody at UFC 207, the level of competition has been the lower end of the top-10 rather than title contenders. Conor McGregor lost spectacularly to Nate Diaz, and while the fight did take place outside the Irishman's natural weight-class, Diaz is hardly a natural welterweight, and had taken the fight on 10 days' notice. Only Stipe Miocic can match the Brit in terms of both record and level of opponents faced, with Arlovski, Werdum and Overeem all of the highest calibre.

However, it was the way in which Bisping won each of his fights that really sets him apart from his competition. If there is one thing we've learnt about The Count this year, it's that he never does it the easy way. He took his title fight against Rockhold on 11 days' notice, walking straight off a movie set to knock the champion out in the first round. Meanwhile, in both the Silva and Henderson fights, the Brit found himself in deep trouble, only to find the inner strength and resilience to not only fight on, but win on both occasions. 

In comparison, Miocic has spent a sum total of eight minutes and nineteen seconds inside the Octagon this year, with none of his fights making it out of the first round. While that is impressive in itself, the heavyweight champ has spent the majority of the time in a dominant position, and despite being clipped by Overeem, has not had to battle through the same adversity as Bisping throughout the year.

The Brit's fighting style has also seen drastic improvement this year, with his now legendary cardio backed up by first class head movement and a left hook that put both Silva and Rockhold on the canvas. In addition, it certainly seems like Bisping has added patience to his game this year. Despite the flailing limbs and antics of Silva designed to distract, Bisping remained calm and composed in the opening rounds, with his only mistake leading to the flying knee that nearly shut his lights off. This same patience has allowed him to mix up his striking and try new techniques, with the switch kick utilised frequently against Henderson a newer move to the arsenal.

There is also the sense that Bisping has had the fight won in the pre-show exchanges, making a name for himself as one of the most notorious trash-talkers in the sport today. While he may not be as charismatic as the original 'Notorious One' McGregor, and perhaps is not as creative with his barbs, there can be little doubt that the Mancunian has a way of getting under his opponent's skin. In the lead up to the Rockhold fight, you could feel the tension and anger radiating off the champion during press engagements, eventually losing his cool with the challenger at the pre-fight conference. With Rockhold emotional and over-confident, Bisping took full advantage to shock the MMA world.

Nevertheless, Matt Hughes famously said "you're not a true champion until you defend your belt". Having campaigned for a revenge rematch against Dan Henderson, who brutally KO'd the Brit at UFC 100, the fact that the bout took place at Bisping's home arena in Manchester added further pressure to that first title fight as champ. While some may argue that home advantage is exactly that, the expectation of the crowd can also be a hindrance. Add in the fact that Bisping had to walk through two H-bombs, and his unanimous decision win was more than a little impressive.

And so, ten years after he entered the Octagon in The Ultimate Fighter, the Brit has beaten the greatest of all time, put an full stop on a bitter and storied rivalry, as well as ending the career of a legend, and claimed UFC gold in his first title fight - and on short notice at that. If that's not deserving of recognition, I'm not sure what is.

As always, share your thoughts with me in the comments section below, or on Twitter @TheWeighInMMA

MMA Awards 2017: The Case For...

At the beginning of a new year, it is always good to take a look back at the accomplishments of the months past. 2016 was another outstanding year of growth for the sport of mixed martial arts. Outside of the cage, we saw an unprecedented $4bn deal for the UFC, bringing in new investment and ideas, Bellator strengthen its ranks with a host of free agent signings including Rory Macdonald, Matt Mitrione, Benson Henderson and Chael Sonnen, and the move towards a unionised fighter association get ever closer.

The year wasn't bad for in-cage action either. Having overturned the corrupt ban on the sport in New York, UFC 205 broke practically every record going, from pay-per-view buys to Conor McGregor becoming the first ever fighter to hold two UFC titles simultaneously, while Brock Lesnar sensationally returned at UFC 200.

Hosted on March 2nd, predictably in Las Vegas, the Fighters Only World MMA Awards looks to recognise the greatest of the sport each year. Dubbed the 'MMA Oscars', the 22 awards are designed to cover the entire mixed martial arts eco-system, appreciating everyone that makes the sport what it is today.

As a result, categories range from the predictable 'Fighter of the Year' and 'Breakthough Fighter of the Year', to performance related awards, covering the most spectacular ways of finishing a fight, to journalists, personalities, coaches and gyms associated with the sport.

The shortlists for each have been released, and the public have been asked to vote for their winners at the link below:

http://www.worldmmaawards.com/vote/

I have already taken this opportunity, and over the next few weeks, I'll be posting new content every Friday outlining my case for some of the headline awards.

So take a trip to the website above, vote for your favourite, and let me know your thoughts on mine each week, either in the comments here or @TheWeighInMMA on Twitter.