Is Cain Velasquez the Most Disappointing UFC Champion Ever?

Junior dos Santos' dominating beatdown of Cain Velasquez Saturday night shocked the world of mixed martial arts. But does Velasquez's humiliating loss to dos Santos rank him as the most disappointing UFC Champion of all time?

Of course, it's a tremendous task to successfully defend a title belt, but several have entered the Octagon only to have their championships taken away in embarrassing fashion. 

Let's take a look at the top 10 choke artists as UFC title holders.

Dave Menne

Muay Thai kickboxing specialist Dave Menne won the first middleweight championship in UFC history at UFC 33 against jiu-jitsu blackbelt Gil Castillo via unanimous decision.

His first title defense came against Brazilian Murilo Bustamente. After a first round full of excellent grappling from both fighters, Menne was dominated in the second. The fight ended 44 seconds into the second round, and Bustamente won the next middleweight championship by TKO.

Dave Menne only held his championship for 105 days.

Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner won the middleweight title belt after defeating David Terrell at UFC 51 by first-round TKO. An underdog in that fight, the win gained Tanner a great fanbase.

His first defense came against Rich Franklin, who had defeated Tanner earlier in their careers.

After knocking down Franklin in the first with a big right hand, Franklin soon fought back until Tanner was too bloodied up to continue.

Tanner's reign of the middleweight division lasted only 119 days.

After a string of wins and losses, Tanner fought his last fight against Kendall Grove in June of 2008. He lost via a split decision.

Tanner died of heat exposure during a camping trip three months later.

Georges St. Pierre

St. Pierre's name on this list may come as a surprise to many people out there, but then again, so was his loss to jiu-jitsu practitioner Matt Serra at UFC 69. 

He first won the welterweight title by finishing Matt Hughes at UFC 65 with a barrage of punches and a tremendous head kick in the second round.

Months later, St. Pierre was knocked out by Ultimate Fighter winner Matt Serra, 3:25 into the first round. Serra was an 11-1 underdog going into the fight.

St. Pierre later explained that he lost because of distractions in his personal life.

He reclaimed his belt from Serra at UFC 83 when Serra became incapable of defending strikes from St. Pierre's knees. He's been unbeatable ever since.

Ricco Rodriguez

Months after a dominating TKO over future champion Andrei Arlovsky, Ricco Rodriguez, the first heavyweight champion of Mexican heritage, won the title in September of 2002. Rodriguez won in the fifth round with a dominating flurry of strikes on the ground, over future Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

Tim Sylvia, a 6'8" giant, was Rodriguez's first challenger. At UFC 41 in February of 2003, Sylvia dominated Rodriguez and knocked him out minutes into the very first round.

Rodriguez never returned to the UFC after that loss, fighting only in smaller regional promotions.

Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans, a fast-handed striker, has had plenty of success in the UFC, with wins over some of the biggest names in the brand. However, after winning the light heavyweight crown with a tough fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, Evans definitely disappointed.

Evans defeated Forrest Griffin in the third round of their championship matchup with some excellent ground-and-pound work. 

Lyoto Machida was Rashad's first challenge. At UFC 98 the unorthodox, karate-style striker, Machida dominated Evans, who seemed completely unprepared for his opponent's awkward new style. 

During an onslaught of punches from Machida, Rashad started trash talking Machida telling him "his hands were made of pillows." Machida continued the attack, knocking Rashad out.

The always-talkative Evans lost his title 147 days after claiming it, falling victim to his own antics.

Vitor Belfort

Most well known for his career at PRIDE Fighting Championships, Vitor Belfort is one of the faces of the sport. However, his reign as light heavyweight champion of the UFC was very short lived.

In January of 2004, Belfort won the title from Randy Couture. Despite the loss of his sister Priscila Belfort, who went missing on January 9, Vitor won the fight in less than a minute after cutting Couture's eye. Couture suffered a corneal abrasion, and the referee stopped the fight.

Couture reclaimed the belt in August later that year, winning via doctor's stoppage in the third round. The rematch was Belfort's first and only title defense.

Belfort left the UFC in 2005 after a controversial loss to Tito Ortiz but returned to the company in 2009.

Forrest Griffin

Forrest Griffin, winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter series, is one of the most popular fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. Known for his submissions and strong chin, Griffin earned his first title shot in July of 2008, against aggressive striker and former PRIDE champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Viewed widely as a heavy underdog, Griffin upset the champion Jackson in an incredible five round unanimous decision, that UFC President Dana White dubbed "Fight of the Night."

Griffin's first title defense came in December at UFC 92, against an undefeated Rashad Evans. Griffin controlled the first two rounds with exceptional striking. However, Evans caught one of Griffin's kicks in the third round for a take down, defeating Griffin by TKO from the top position. The loss was Griffin's third since joining the UFC. Griffin broke his hand in the fight, keeping him out for several months.

Tim Sylvia

After Tim Sylvia's destruction of Ricco Rodriguez, the 6'8" giant defended his title with a quick finish of Gan McGee at UFC 44.

At UFC 48 in June 2004, Sylvia took on Frank Mir for his second defense of his belt. Early on, Mir trapped Sylvia's right arm in an armbar submission. As Sylvia struggled to escape, Sylvia's right radius bone snapped a few inches away from the elbow. Referee Herb Dean immediately stopped the action.

Sylvia tried to argue the call, but it was much too obvious that his arm was definitely broken.

Upon recovery, Sylvia was submitted by Andrei Arlovsky with an Achilles lock. After a few consecutive wins in the Octagon, Sylvia eventually earned a rematch with then-champion Arlovsky, and at UFC 59, Sylvia reclaimed the heavyweight crown with a TKO victory.

Sylvia was able to rack up a few title defenses in a weak division after beating Arlovsky, however, most people will remember Tim Sylvia for being the tower of a man who had his arm snapped by Frank Mir.

Brock Lesnar

With a 1-1 record in mixed martial arts, former college wrestling champion Brock Lesnar was given a title shot against Randy Couture, a legend of the sport. Lesnar received the opportunity due to his sheer size, strength and talent. Couture lost in two rounds, and the former WWE superstar Lesnar cruised to the UFC Heavyweight belt with a TKO victory.

Lesnar, who has custom-made gloves for his freakishly large hands, was able to successfully defend his title on two occasions. He dominated Frank Mir at UFC 100, avenging his loss to Mir in his professional debut in February of 2008.

After suffering from the disease mononucleosis, Lesnar returned in 2010 to defend his belt against former division two wrestler Shane Carwin. After barely escaping a dominating first round by Carwin, Lesnar was able to secure an arm-triangle choke in the second and was just able to leave with his championship belt still around his waist.

Cain Velasquez was the third challenger. With excellent striking on his feet, Cain had complete control of the fight, defeating a clumsy-looking Brock by a humiliating TKO early into the first round.

Lesnar has faced several medical issues since his championship days, but he is seemingly working towards reclaiming the belt. If Lesnar can defeat kickboxing phenomenon Alistair Overeem, he will have himself a title shot against current champion Junior dos Santos.

Sean Sherk

Sean Sherk is one of the most dominant lightweight fighters in the history of the UFC.

After a short term in PRIDE in 2004, a win over Nick Diaz set Sherk up for a title shot against Kenny Florian. At that time the lightweight title was vacant, due to the departure of Jens Pulver from the company.

Sherk dominated Florian for all five rounds earning him the championship by unanimous decision. 

Hermes Franca was Sherk's first opponent as champion, and Sherk was easily victorious. After the fight, doctors claimed that Sherk tested positive for Nandrolone—a banned steroid.

Weeks later UFC President Dana White stripped Sherk of his championship, which was later won by B.J. Penn over Joe Stevenson.

Penn later defended his title against Sherk, who lost via TKO after Penn landed a flying knee, followed by several clean blows to Sherk's face.

Plenty of fighters have lost their title belts in embarrassing fashions. However, Sean Sherk lost his in the most humiliating way and will forever be remembered as a cheater.

Cain Velasquez

With an incredible TKO victory over then-champion Brock Lesnar in October of 2010, Cain Velasquez seemed to be capable of cruising through the UFC's heavyweight division.

The victory seemed almost effortless to Velasquez, finishing the giant Lesnar with a swarm of ferocious punches.

Cain became the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion in the history of combat sports, winning him an enormous following.

After a 385-day wait, Velasquez finally stepped back into the Octagon for his first title defense Saturday night against the heavy-handed Brazilian Junior dos Santos. Neither fighter had lost since entering the UFC, and an incredible fight was expected to take place, with Cain barely favored to win.

Dos Santos cruised to victory, knocking Velasquez out with a huge hook a minute into the fight. 

A huge shock to the world of mixed martial arts, Cain's loss is the most disappointing because it took place during the UFC's network television debut. A record amount of viewers tuned in to FOX on Saturday, hoping to witness an epic battle between two titans. Instead, they discovered the outcome after only 64 seconds of action.