Long before Jon Jones held the heavyweight title up, the UFC discovered their champions months after winning the belt.
Lately there has been a lot of talk about UFC Heavyweight Champion Jones who may be stripped of his title, because he still has to agree against interim champion Tom Aspinall.
Aspinall won the Interim -Riem 555 days ago and he waited patiently for the Jones fight to flourish since then. In the absence of Jones, Aspinall defended his interim belt against Curtis Blaydes last summer, while Jones retired a 42-year-old Stipe Miocic on UFC 309 on UFC 309 in November.
Jones, who had previously been stripped of his light heavyweight title several times, did not seem to give that his heavyweight title was stripped in a recent update on the Aspinall fight.
Three months before Jones was stripped of the light heavyweight title (for the third time) in 2017, due to a positive drug test for the steroid Turinabol, the UFC discovered a champion that was considered one of the worst in company history.
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Germaine de Randamie lost the UFC title because she refused to fight Cris Cyborg
Germaine de Randamie became the inaugural UFC Ladies Feed Waard Champion at UFC 208 in January 2017 when she defeated Holly Holm in a controversial decision.
At the time, Cris Cyborg was the unmistakable #1 candidate for the title with two TKO victories in the UFC and an undefeated line of 16-Vecht.
The Randamie refused to fight against Cyborg because of an earlier drug test for Cyborg, one that suspended her in 2012 for a year after testing positive on an anabolic steroid. Cyborg was also exempt from a suspension of the USADA in 2017 after a positive test for the drug spirorolactone, a widely used masking agent for steroids that she used for a 'medical state'.
In June 2017, four months after the Randamie won the title, the UFC discovered her of the featherweight title.
“UFC has informed Germaine de Randamie and her management team that she will be removed as the women's federation champion because of her unwillingness to combat the number 1 ranked competition, cris 'cyborg' Justino,” said the UFC in a statement.
“UFC claims that every champion is expected to accept fighting against the best contenders in their respective weight classes to maintain the integrity of sport.”
After the news, the Randamie told MMA Fighting that she 'had absolutely no idea' that she was stripped of the belt and discovered via social media.
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UFC stripped Nicco Montano immediately after she withdrew from Valentina Shevchenko Title Defense
In the same year Jones and the Randamie of their titles were stripped, Nicco Montaño won the inaugural women's fly weight championship in 'The Ultimate Fighter 26' with a victory over Roxanne Modafferi in December 2017.
10 months later, the 4-2 Montaño would defend its title against #1 Competier and former title finer Valentina Shevchenko in the Co-Main event of UFC 228 in September 2018.
Eventually Montaño would not get the fight because she was admitted to the hospital before they road due to health problems.
Immediately afterwards, Montaño was stripped of her belt, and she said that the movement of the UFC was 'completely worried', stating: 'there have been many other hunters who have not been punished much anymore'.
Montaño also stated that she had asked for a fight in October, a month later, claiming that she was 'forced to accept the date' on UFC 228 or the risk of being stripped.
Before the title fight was canceled on the last minute, Shevchenko expressed doubts to Montano would get the Octagon and she was right.