The largest stars in UFC historical past have just about all held a divisional championships. There are exceptions such because the Diaz brothers, however for essentially the most half UFC stardom has been intently tied to championship belts.
Wanting on the present UFC titleholders, former two-division champion Daniel Cormier would not see loads of star energy.
“There was a time within the UFC the place the champions had been absolute stars. They had been blockbusters. They had been must-see points of interest,” Cormier mentioned on the Good Man/Unhealthy Man podcast. “It was Anderson Silva. It was Jon Jones. It was Conor McGregor. Each man that held that belt appeared to warrant you coming and paying consideration. Brock Lesnar. Cain Velasquez. Like so many. BJ Penn. Nice fighters that you just needed to watch.
“In the present day, it would not appear a lot,” Cormier continued. “Is there a void of that massive star? As a result of proper now it appears like solely Jon Jones and [Alex] Pereira – Pereira and Jon Jones is likely to be the one two champions proper now which might be fully transferring the needle.”
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In the mean time, the largest attracts on the UFC roster don’t maintain titles, and lots of of them are coming off of loses. Former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is among the hottest UFC fighters however simply misplaced the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. Former middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a global fan favourite however is coming off back-to-back losses for the primary time in his 12-year blended martial arts profession. There’s additionally McGregor, who hasn’t fought since 2021 however stays the largest star within the promotions historical past.
“Jon Jones, proper now, is a confirmed draw. He’ll promote pay-per-views. Alex Pereira, below the correct circumstances, will promote pay-per-views,” Cormier mentioned. “However after I checklist these different names to you: Zhang Weili, the 125-pound champion, [Alexandre] Pantoja, Merab Dvalishvili, Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, Belal Muhammad, [Dricus] du Plessis… I’ve received to inform you, there’s one one that can promote and it is Jones.”
