UFC 321 has been labeled one of the most criticized pay-per-views of 2025, drawing negative attention even before the chaotic main event concluded.
Prior to the Oct. 25 event, analyst Din Thomas made comments about the co-main event featuring Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern fighting for a vacant strawweight title. Given that previous champion Zhang Weili vacated the belt to pursue a superfight, it was not surprising that Jandiroba and Dern’s title fight was not held in high regard. Still, Thomas labeling it “insignificant” came off as quite harsh.
However, you can’t compel people to care about certain events, and even after Dern secured a tough decision victory against Jandiroba to officially become the UFC champion, the significance of her win and its implications for Dern’s ranking continue to be debated.
At MMA Fighting, we don’t view Dern vs. Jandiroba as one of the most trivial title bouts in UFC history. With this perspective, our team—comprising Alexander K. Lee, Mike Heck, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew—sat down to reminisce and identify our favorite UFC championship fights that seemed to lack importance.
These are the best of the least meaningful, if you will.
Nicco Montano vs. Roxanne Modafferi at The Ultimate Fighter 26 Finale
Lee: I have a deep appreciation for The Ultimate Fighter and for Roxanne Modafferi and what she represents. However, when “The Happy Warrior” got an unexpected opportunity to become the UFC’s first women’s flyweight champion, the situation felt questionable.
- The title fight was positioned as the finale of TUF 26.
- Modafferi was in her second TUF season, having previously been eliminated from TUF 18 and lost a semifinal match in TUF 26.
- Sijara Eubanks was pulled from the final due to health issues, leading to Modafferi stepping in against the lesser-known Nicco Montano.
- At that point, Valentina Shevchenko was fighting at bantamweight.
Determining a world champion through a reality show is already a tough sell, and given the launch of a new division, this title fight faced an uphill battle even before Eubanks’ withdrawal. Montano triumphed, although her journey was marred by a series of misfortunes that included being stripped of her title before a single defense, leading many to overlook her achievement.
