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Full Contact Fighter article from 2004.
BJ Penn sued to get his "title" back from the UFC in 2004, and lost the lawsuit because the "title" is just a marketing gimmick. Its a trophy that the UFC creates and can take away. By White's own words the "title" is "purely ceremonial" There are no sanctioning bodies forcing you to defend the belt, no set rules on what keeps you champion or can get you stripped...nothing. Under any circumstance the UFC could award or strip the "title" in question to anyone they feel like. Why are we even discussing this "purely ceremonial" trophy if multiple guys won't even defend it?
"Today, White reiterated what Penn’s lead counsel Steven Strauss had stated yesterday, that Zuffa had presented to the Court its belief that the belt was purely ceremonial. "There’s a UFC champion and the belt– this is basically a trophy," White commented. "It says you’re the best fighter we have in that weight class at this time." Penn’s representation had contended that the belt was their client’s property once it was awarded to him, holding value with both MMA fans and the competitors that fought for it and that the UFC did not have the right to simply take it away from a fighter. But, White says the UFC does have that power, unlike in boxing, where separate regulatory organizations monitor and rule over such situations. "It’s not like there’s a sanctioning body out there like the WBO, WBC, ABC, to rank the fighters and hold the belts," White said."
BJ Penn sued to get his "title" back from the UFC in 2004, and lost the lawsuit because the "title" is just a marketing gimmick. Its a trophy that the UFC creates and can take away. By White's own words the "title" is "purely ceremonial" There are no sanctioning bodies forcing you to defend the belt, no set rules on what keeps you champion or can get you stripped...nothing. Under any circumstance the UFC could award or strip the "title" in question to anyone they feel like. Why are we even discussing this "purely ceremonial" trophy if multiple guys won't even defend it?