Injuries, Illness, and Defeat: The Curse of the UFC Heavyweight Title

Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic went into their heavyweight title clash with the potential for a war; the well-matched competition rendered it anyone’s guess who would emerge with the belt when the dust cleared. However, Stipe Miocic did not allow enough time for the dust to accrue. He needed just 2 minutes and 47 seconds to flatten Werdum with a right hand while retreating. Miocic’s intentions extended beyond defeating Werdum to capture the world championship, explaining in the post-fight press conference that he also wished to break the championship curse of his native Cleveland, Ohio. The championship-starved city has famously waited for a winner since 1964, and Miocic is bringing the gold home.

But he carries on his shoulder another curse, one even more relevant to his journey: The Curse of the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

The UFC heavyweight championship belt has never found comfort in its owner. Since its inception in 1997, no titleholder has defended it more than twice consecutively. It has existed longer than any other UFC title belt – 21 years if its predecessor, the Superfight Championship, is counted – but of the five UFC titles that have existed for 10 years or longer, heavyweight is the only belt that has never been at least three times consecutively.

The heavyweight championship has been vacated five times; no other belt has been vacated more than twice. Injuries and illness created five different interim heavyweight champions, whereas the UFC’s other nine championships have created six different interim titlists combined.

This is the history of the cursed UFC heavyweight title.

Fittingly, the first UFC heavyweight title fight almost didn’t happen. In fact, the entire show had to be packed up and flown down to Dothan, Alabama, on a midnight flight the night before the show. The heavyweight championship bout between Dan Severn and Mark Coleman took a back seat to the battle between the UFC and New York State, which handed promoters a heavy 111-page rulebook once they were unable to ban the show outright. UFC, unable to meet regulations on such short notice that would have changed the entire product even if they could meet them, took the fight to the courtroom and lost the day prior to the show, forcing them to migrate down south or cancel the show.

Severn was among UFC’s most successful fighters, winning the UFC 5 and Ultimate Ultimate (1995) tournaments. He was also the final superfight champion, a title UFC largely ignored in mention and did away with completely after Severn took it from Ken Shamrock in a disastrously dreadful fight. However, due to its direct lineage to the heavyweight title, it remains a clear forerunner to the belt, and one could argue Severn and Shamrock deserve the retroactive “heavyweight champion” title. When the UFC began collecting its greatest talent for its last ever one night, eight-man, open-weight tournament, Severn refused to participate, citing in part a lack of steroid testing. However, he would agree to face the winner in a super fight main event. The UFC agreed, but a hand injury to tournament winner Don Frye nixed the bout immediately. In his stead, Coleman stepped in.

A powerhouse wrestler, Coleman had already beaten Frye and everyone else in his path, taking home tournament wins at UFC’s 10 and 11. In only five bouts, he’d gained a fearsome reputation to the point that when Coleman was declared the UFC 11 winner by default, some speculated the tournament alternate that was to fight him exaggerated an injury to avoid doing so. He was a favorite to win the Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament before a virus knocked him out the tournament weeks before any fighter could.

Going in, the difference between Coleman and Severn was looked upon as a sprint vs. a marathon. Coleman was a powerful mauler that struck fast. Severn could strike fast too when he met an overmatched opponent, but against top competitors he was more apt to play the long game: he’d won 18 and 30 minute fights to win the Ultimate Ultimate, and only a few months earlier won a 40 minute fight in Brazil. The longer he could drag Coleman out, the better his odds, particularly since Coleman’s virus shortened his training window. Coleman needed to pounce quickly, and that’s just what he did. As the stronger, younger, and more active wrestler, Coleman gained the early edge and never looked back. In less than three minutes, he submitted Severn with a neck crank to become the first UFC heavyweight champion.

Coleman’s reign promised to be dominant. It was an era of dominant wrestlers, and Coleman was the dominant wrestler dominating the other dominant wrestlers.

UFC planned a rematch between Coleman and Frye, even having Frye commentate during the Coleman-Severn match, but Frye left the promotion and MMA altogether for a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling. They looked to put Marco Ruas against Coleman, but settled on Extreme Fighting champion Maurice Smith when the competing promotion went under. Smith was a kickboxer who had upset grappler Marcus “Conan” Silveira to win his title, but Coleman was a different kind of grappler. In the grand scheme of things, Smith was looked at as a bridge that would move Coleman closer to a title showdown with burgeoning young superstar Vitor Belfort.

In a performance that the Fighting Sports Newsletter hailed as “one of the most outstanding strategic and spirited efforts in fighting history,” Smith scored what was at the time the biggest upset in MMA history by defeating Coleman in a decision. He survived on the back and made Coleman work, tiring out the champion and making easy pickings in the overtime rounds.

While training for an immediate rematch at UFC 15, Coleman tore his ACL and Dan Severn took his place. Meanwhile, Tank Abbott agreed to fight Gary Goodridge on the debut event for an upstart Japanese company six days prior to the UFC. Abbott was then allegedly involved in a fracas with a friend of his, causing his lawyer to advise him against leaving the country. Severn then agreed to face Goodridge in place of Abbott for a purse that was far higher than what he was earning to fight Smith for the UFC title. He still planned to compete in both events and UFC retained Kimo as a contingency in case Severn was injured against Goodridge, but ultimately the UFC got cold feet, pulled the plug on Severn’s title challenge, and in his place put the biggest name available: Tank Abbott. Abbott rocked Smith at one point, but was otherwise dominated.

The initial plan for UFC 15 was to have Smith vs. Coleman for the title and to feature Vitor Belfort. The winner of Smith vs. Coleman would then fight Belfort in what the UFC hoped would inject life into a sinking promotion. Of course, Smith wound up fighting and defeating Abbott, while Belfort fought UFC 13 champion Randy Couture. In a major upset, Couture routed Belfort to earn his title shot. At the UFC’s first event in Japan, a 34-years-young Couture controlled Smith to a unanimous decision victory to earn a belt he’d never defend.

The UFC made plans for Couture to defend his title against Mark Coleman and later Bas Rutten, but both fell through. When the promotion alerted the champion that they were cutting his pay, he (along with his Real American Wrestlers teammate Dan Henderson) walked. The promotion went the entirety of 1998 without a heavyweight title fight, and set a four-man tournament in 1999 to determine the new heavyweight champion.

Bas Rutten, billed as the world’s greatest martial artist, and Kevin Randleman emerged from the semi-finals to meet for the vacant UFC heavyweight title. Randleman, who personified the term explosive wrestler, took it to Rutten early, pounding him until his nose was nice and misshapen and had bled enough to feed a mid-sized family of vampires. However, he couldn’t sustain the early onslaught. Although he remained in top position for the large majority of the contest, Randleman didn’t do much. When the scores were read, Rutten was handed a belt he’d never defend. He decided he was better suited for the middleweight division (now light heavyweight), and vacated the belt before retiring due to injuries.

Randleman took the vacant belt later in the year, beating Pete Williams. UFC celebrated his first defense by subtitling UFC 24 just that – “First Defense” – but it wasn’t to be. While warming up backstage, Randleman slipped on loose pipes and slammed his head on the ground, knocking him out. His first defense was rescheduled for UFC 26 – “Ultimate Field of Dreams” this time – and he defeated Pedro Rizzo.

Randleman had the duty of greeting Randy Couture back to the UFC in 2000. Couture’s success outside the UFC had been middling with a record of 2-2, but his former titleholder status and the relatively thin division made him an obvious choice. He was outpaced by Randleman early, but as the clock ticked the momentum changed, and Couture stopped him in the final minute of the third round to take the belt back. This time, he’d defend it twice, both times against Pedro Rizzo. The first match was a classic, back-and-forth affair, while Couture’s supremacy was definitive in the second meeting.

Next on his to-do list was Josh Barnett, a 24-year-old catch wrestler that made his name submitting Dan Severn. Barnett was larger than Couture, and once on top rained down blows that the champion struggled to deal with. The referee stopped the bout, and Barnett became the youngest champion in UFC history. However, his reign in the top spot would be short lived. On the UFC’s first show with steroid testing that could result in punishment, Barnett failed and was stripped of the title. He left the UFC due to financial disagreements and headed for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Ricco Rodriguez was a grappler that had pounded out the competition heading into a shot at the title. He and Randy Couture clashed at UFC 39 to decide the vacant heavyweight title. The tide was firmly in Rodriguez’s favor by the fifth round when he scored another takedown on the two-time former champion. An elbow struck Couture and broke his orbital bone, causing him to submit during a barrage of strikes. The Reign of Rodriguez wouldn’t last.

Rodriguez was heavily favored moving into a match with 14-0 Tim Sylvia, an unpolished, awkward fighter who stood 6’8”. Sylvia had just one match in the UFC, a prelim barnburner against Wesley “Cabbage” Correira that made you really believe Correira’s head was made of “cement and stuff.” He was unproved heading into his championship opportunity, but it didn’t stop him from making the most of it. Rodriguez’s attempts to take the fight to the ground were met with stubborn resistance. Everything he did, Sylvia found a way out, but skill or strength. Then, a right hand flattened Rodriguez, and put the gold around Sylvia’s waist, where he would keep it for trips around town.

Sylvia’s first defense came at UFC 45 against 6’10” Gan McGee in what UFC billed as a battle of giants. Sylvia won the battle in short order, but the Nevada Athletic Commission would win the war. After the fight, Sylvia tested positive for stanozolol. The UFC stripped him of the title, but booked him in a match for the vacant title with Andrei Arlovski at UFC 47. A day before the event, Sylvia’s drug test still shown signs of stanozolol in his system, so he was pulled from the fight. He was rebooked for a title match two months later against Frank Mir, who snapped his arm to take the title.

The UFC lined up Andrei Arlovski, who defeated replacement Cabbage Correia at UFC 47, as Mir’s first opponent. However, three months after winning the title, Mir was involved in a motorcycle wreck that put him on the sideline.

With its champion unable to compete for an unknown length of time, the UFC created its first interim championship, and matched Arlovski with Tim Sylvia at UFC 51. Arlovski dropped and submitted Sylvia within a minute to take the crown. Arlovski made one interim title defense, a first-round TKO win against Justin Eilers, a replacement for Ricco Rodriguez. The UFC stripped Mir of the championship in August 2005 and promoted Arlovski to the undisputed heavyweight champion. After defeating Paul Buentello in 15 seconds, Arlovski met Sylvia again. Again, he dropped Sylvia early, but this time Sylvia got up. Arlovski, sensing blood, let his guard down and ate a punch that sent him to the mat. More than two years after being stripped of the belt, Sylvia was back on top.

Sylvia successfully defended the title against Arlovski in a dreadful fight, and didn’t do his reputation any favors in his next defense against Jeff Monson. Brandon Vera made the most sense as Sylvia next challenger, but the fast-rising heavyweight was in the midst of a contract dispute. Gabriel Gonzaga was the next logical opponent, but the UFC needed a fight that could headline a pay-per-view, and Sylvia vs. Gonzaga would die a death at the box office. So when Randy Couture, who’d retired a year earlier after losing a light heavyweight title challenge, told the UFC he was looking to return at 43-years-old, the UFC knew where they needed Captain America to save the day.

Couture was a major underdog, but it took him all of seven seconds to make clear that the fight wouldn’t go as most anticipated. In seven seconds, Couture dropped Sylvia with a right hand and swarmed him. He didn’t get the finish, but he controller the champion for the remainder of the fight for a dominant decision victory. The box office prospects of the heavyweight division were looking up with Couture at the helm. In August 2007, he took out Gonzaga, but two months later, he was gone. In October, Couture abruptly resigned from the UFC in attempt to leave the promotion to fight heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko, who UFC had failed to sign. Lawsuits were filed, and the UFC kept the heavyweight championship around Couture’s waist for legal purposes.

To fill the void in Couture’s absence, they’d create an interim title. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Tim Sylvia in early 2008 to take the belt. Earlier in the night, Frank Mir submitted a debuting Brock Lesnar, setting up a Nogueira-Mir clash later in the year. However, before Nogueira and Mir could sort out the interim title, the UFC and Couture came to terms.

Couture, 45, was too old to wait out the courts. He returned in November against Lesnar, an enormous, strong wrestler and freak athlete. It was a close contest until Lesnar clipped Couture with a punch in the second round, earning him the heavyweight championship. One month later, Mir destroyed Nogueira for the interim title. The rematch was set.

At UFC 100, Lesnar, in only his fifth fight, obliterated Mir in a second round TKO victory. With the victory, it was clear he was more than just a major attraction and the hottest star in the sport, he could be the dominant champion the heavyweight division had always lacked.

Lesnar had a November date with contender Shane Carwin, a fighter selected for the bout as much for his similarities to Lesnar as his in-cage success. Carwin had a similar hulking build to Lesnar and a successful collegiate wrestling background. In the cage, he was 11-0; his longest fight was 2 minutes 11 seconds. Weeks before the challenge, Lesnar fell ill and pulled out of the bout. The fight was expected to be delayed only for a short time, but Lesnar’s illness persisted, then worsened. After nearly dying in Canada, Lesnar was diagnosed with diverticulitis. In Lesnar’s absence, UFC held an interim title bout between Carwin and Mir. Carwin overpowered Mir, battering him against the fence to win the title. At UFC 116, Lesnar returned for the unification bout, weathering a long storm in the first round to submit Carwin in the second. Although a victor, Lesnar was not the dominant force he’d been previously. His illness and resulting new diet had taken about 20 pounds from him, and likely some of his ability.

Cain Velasquez was the next title challenger – a spot he’d been groomed for since he’d stepped into the gym. Before he’d made his UFC debut, with only two fights on his record, Velasquez’s trainer Javier Mendez would boast how the collegiate wrestling star would beat then-champion Randy Couture and could win the K-1 kickboxing World Grand Prix. He was on the ladder up, and Lesnar was on a chute down. Lesnar tried to start fast but none of his attacks found success or phased the challenger. Velasquez took over in short order and sent Lesnar tumbling across the cage. Within one round, Lesnar’s stronghold came down.

An injury kept the new champion out of action for more than a year. His return fight was the biggest spot in UFC history: the promotion’s debut on Fox. His opponent was rising contender Junior dos Santos in a fight nobody figured would be their last. Heading into the bout, both suffered knee injuries that under normal circumstances may have caused them to reconsider competing. On fight night, Velasquez attempted one takedown that was easily avoided, and was otherwise unusually calm. In 64 seconds, dos Santos connected with a right hand that put Velasquez down.

Dos Santos was the new hope for a dominant heavyweight champion. Alistair Overeem defeated Lesnar to earn the first shot, but failed an out of competition drug test. Frank Mir took his place, but dos Santos’ striking was too much for the former champion. Fulfilling the prophecy, dos Santos and Velasquez met in a rematch in December 2012, this time with Velasquez at least appearing at full health. It made the difference, as he dominated the entirety of the bout.

At the time Velasquez regained the title, dos Santos figured to be his sternest challenger, and he’d just beaten that stern challenger handily. Velasquez seemed as good a bet as any to break whatever curse plagued the heavyweight title, particularly after dominant defenses against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and a rubber match against dos Santos. Then things turned south. Velasquez spent all of 2014 on the shelf with injuries – pushing back a heavyweight title defense with Fabricio Werdum to the middle of 2015. When he returned, he was competitive early, but not adequately conditioned for the long haul. He tired badly in the second round, and Werdum submitted him in the third.

Then it came to Werdum. He won the title at 37 years old – not the most likely age to begin a long championship run, but he had a long going for him. His jiu-jitsu was the best in the heavyweight division, and his striking quite formidable. He was set to rematch Velasquez in February 2016 before Velasquez withdrew from the match with an injury. The UFC called upon Stipe Miocic to save the fight and the pay-per-view card, but then Werdum pulled out of the bout citing injury. Upon scheduling Werdum’s next title defense, they again called Miocic.

Miocic isn’t the most likely candidate to break the curse. He’s a very good striker, but there are other very good strikers that could end his reign just the same. He’s never proven himself against a strong wrestler, although there is only one top contender that fits that description, Cain Velasquez. If he can navigate through three more championship fights without incident, it will be two broken curses in one title reign. That will be one for the history books.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.