Stipe was granted his first title shot after a 2 fight win streak since his last loss in his first fight with JDS.
After losing his title he was granted an instant rematch and got his 2nd title shot.
After losing now vs Ngannou he will become the first fighter in UFC history to be granted two title shots coming off a loss and one of a very short list of fighters to earn their first UFC title shot with just a two fight win streak.
Some fighters have to win 6,7,8,9,10 fights in the UFC to get title shots and for others, two is enough and they can get additional title shots coming off loses or go 1-0 like TJ after his EPO suspension while Aldo was on a 3-0 streak.
Blaydes has gone 13-3 since 2016 and he can’t get the next shot with twice as many wins as Stipe who is 7-2 since 2016. Heck Stipe does not even need to be coming off a win while Blaydes is riding a three fight streak here.
I remember when Demian Maia lost to Rory MacDonald he earned FOTN and then had to go 7-0 vs total killers to finally get his WW title shot when he was just about to turn 40 years old.
If the promotion wanted to push him, he would have gotten a title shot when he was much younger.
Not all title shots are created equal and the UFC can certainly increase or decrease the odds of certain fighters becoming champions based on the fights they offer them and based on what opportunities they are offered or not offered.
What if say Maia was given his WW title shot after a couple wins and then say he won the belt and lost it and was granted more title shots without having to go win fights? How many UFC title defenses would be on his record? We will never know.
All I know if when UFC handles certain fighters a certain way… it increases their chances of getting the gold.
If Conor got treated like Maia and had to win 7 in a row vs killers or got treated like Makhachev and had to win 10 in a row to get a title shot…that big money making star might have never got as big and he might never have become champ in the first place.
If Stipe is getting the next shot then why is Pavlovich the alternate for Jones-Gane? It should be Pavlovich who gets the next shot, Stipe has had his time at the top.
Not true. Off the top of my head, Randy Couture got an instant rematch against Vitor Belfort after a loss, and then got a HW title shot against Tim Sylvia after losing to Chuck. Sure the loss against Vitor was a bs situation but point stands
Pavlovich is alternate because I’m sure Stipe would not agree to be an alternate.
Palovich is fighting Blaydes in April. See despite going 3-0 last year with three finishes while Stipe went 0-0 in 2022 and 0-1 in 2021…Stipe is getting the shot.
Blaydes went 2-0 last year himself and had two finishes.
Well I guess you are right but that 2nd Couture fight should have been a no contest and UFC knew that so they rewarded him the rematch so they could actually have a real fight. It was a totally different situation but you are technically correct.
Point doesn’t really stand bro. Vitor was one of the weirdest title changes in fighting history. And he moved up to fight somebody 60lbs heavier later. Plus there was absolutely no good UFC heavyweights ready. #NONGAYPRIDE
Another interesting what if scenario: If the judges had scored Jones v. Reyes correctly, Reyes becomes a champion and Jones gets an instant rematch. This means Jan Blachowicz never gets booked in a title fight against Reyes. Instead he likely would have to fight Glover in a number one contender matchup, which he loses. So Jan got to become a champion and Reyes missed out on being a champion solely because of a bad judging decision.
It does stand. The heavyweight division is worse now than any other time in history so you can’t even use that as an excuse for Randy getting a shot against Tim.
Also my second post about Cormier getting 2x shots after losses is another example.
You are wrong to a degree. DC fought Volkan after getting KOed by Jones but that fight was a NC due to Jones cheating. DC retained the title and defended it vs Volkan.
Now DC did get a title shot vs Rumble after he lost to Jones in the 1st fight and then Jones got stripped then DC got another title shot vs Stipe after he lost the title so DC actually found himself in three title fights after losing in the cage in his previous fights.
Ok so DC has been in three title fights after losing in the cage in his prior fight and Stipe will be in two title fights after losing in the cage in prior fights.
Not only that, Blaydes takes WAY more risk than most of those guys. He fights the elite at heavyweight AND the guys coming up. When you’re forced to do that, you’re more likely to lose at some point. It’s bullshit he hasn’t gotten a title shot yet, but the year 2023 is for my boy Curtis.
All of those are legitimate situations where DC deserved what he got though. He didn’t legitimately lose to Jones the second time, Jones was stripped, rematch against a guy he beat a year earlier.