The Horrifying & Brutal Reign of VACANT, Part 1
A look at the history and lore of one of MMA's greatest foes.
If you’ve been watching MMA for a while, especially the UFC, you may have heard of a title holder who is arguably the most dominant champion in the history of the sport. Was it Brock Lesnar? Could it be Khabib? Perhaps it was even Fedor? Anderson Silva? If you think you know the answer, you’re wrong. Ancient texts squirreled away in the holes of the internet tell of a champion who is so feared, they don’t even have a name.
I am talking of course about VACANT, one of the toughest and most threatening forces not only in the UFC, but in all of Mixed Martial Arts. An agent of chaos sent to us by the Mixed Martial Arts Gods, they have the stealth of a sniper, as well as the strength of a viper. They are, genuinely, the ultimate fighter and today you will bear witness to this modern warrior.
Wait…why are you rolling your eyes at me? I’m being serious. This apparition we’ve come to call VACANT really is the best ever in the UFC. They have the most title reigns in the UFC, they even smash the total title reign length. Now, you may be thinking, “What about Anderson Silva?” Well I have some bad news for you, he’s a decoy used to distract you from the true horror of reality. The UFC don’t want to admit there’s this eldritch horror who keeps taking their championship belts away from them so they used a kind bald man to distract us.
However, after decades of research, months of writing, and watching hours of recommended videos through YouTube’s algorithm, I am here to present to you the total history of VACANT, the specter of MMA.
First Sightings
The first sighting of VACANT came in the long forgotten year of 1998. The excellent and criminally underrated movie Fallen had just been released into cinemas. The film, fittingly, tells the story of a demon who comes to be obsessed with possessing Denzel Washington’s character who is committed to stopping them. In January of 1998, Randy Couture was stripped of his UFC Heavyweight championship through the machinations of VACANT in the form of a contract dispute. This marks VACANT’s first ever title reign. It’s at this time VACANT seems to have grown obsessed with possessing the UFC’s championship belts, through any means necessary. They would be able to hold onto the title until Bas Rutten defeated them on May 7, 1999 at UFC 20 when VACANT took on the corporeal form of Kevin Randleman.
However, despite this setback VACANT was able to quickly reclaim the championship by tricking Rutten into moving to Light Heavyweight and also causing training injuries onto his one-time foe. Once again, VACANT held the object of their desire. During this time, Kevin Randleman would be able to shake VACANT’s grasp on their body, forcing VACANT to transfer themselves into Pete Williams and on November 19, 1999 at UFC 23 Randleman wrestled the championship away from them. VACANT was, once again, without its object of desire.
This would not be for long as they would quickly move to the Light Heavyweight division to convince Frank Shamrock there was not enough competition in the UFC and that they should vacate the UFC Light Heavyweight title belt on November 24, 1999. Days after being exorcised from the UFC Heavyweight belt, VACANT claimed the Light Heavyweight title becoming the first ever two-division UFC champion. VACANT needed a new host and would find one in Wanderlei Silva who they thought would aid them in defeating Tito Ortiz at UFC 25 on April 14, 2000. This, however, would not be and VACANT would lose and be left without a championship to covet seemingly vanquished from this realm.
A Second Coming
For a time, it seemed as though VACANT was banished from this plane of existence. Years went by without any sighting of the fiend until Marc 23, 2002 when VACANT was alleged to be able to trick Jens Pulver, the UFC Lightweight Champion, to enter contract disputes with the UFC resulting in them being stripped of the title. Acting quickly to counter VACANT’s machinations the UFC enacted a tournament to establish a new champion. However, the champion of the MMA Gods would not allow their chosen warrior to be so easily vanquished. The lightweight tournament finals would end in a draw between BJ Penn & Caol Uno at UFC 41 on February 28, 2003, allowing VACANT to maintain control. Some say the various cultists of the MMA Gods were able to infiltrate the New Jersey athletic commission to allow for such a thing to happen. The UFC, seeing this as a division where they could not contend with VACANT’s powers, would choose to abandon attempting to excise the demon from the lightweight title. For the time being, at least.
Simultaneously, VACANT began a new assault on the UFC heavyweight division. On July 26, 2002 Josh Barnett’s post-fight drug test was reportedly tampered with by followers of VACANT so that anabolic steroids were found. He would subsequently be stripped of the UFC Heavyweight title as a result of these efforts. For a third time, VACANT had claimed the divisional belt. For months they loomed over the heavyweight division until Ricco Rodriguez was possessed by VACANT in a bought against a former pawn in VACANT’s schemes, Randy Couture. However, when the two fought in battle on September 27, 2002 at UFC 39, Couture was able to defeat VACANT regaining the UFC Heavyweight title. The celebrations did not last long however, as VACANT floated down to the Middleweight division and convinced Murilo Bustamante he would be richer in PRIDE FC if they would just grant VACANT control of the UFC Middleweight championship. Bustamante fell for this ploy and did just that, fooled by the demon’s honeyed words. VACANT was now a four divisional champion.
Not content, VACANT returned to heavyweight and once again sent their followers to tamper with post-fight drug tests to cause Tim Sylvia to test positive for steroids on October 15, 2003. Much like with Barnett, VACANT’s actions caused Tim Sylvia to be stripped of the title giving them control of the belt once more. VACANT was a now a three division champion simultaneously, a full decade before McGregor could claim to be a lowly Champ-Champ. This did not satisfy the wraith, and on May 17, 2004 they once again claimed another championship, this time the UFC Welterweight title when they whispered poisoned words into the ear of BJ Penn convincing them to leave the UFC for K-1. Much like with Bustamante, all Penn had to do was give the belt to VACANT and they could see themselves grow richer than if they stayed in the UFC.
VACANT’s control of the UFC Heavyweight championship would come to an end on June 19, 2004 when Frank Mir defeated Tim Sylvia, VACANT’s new host, at UFC 48 casting the specter out. Sensing weakness, the UFC then attempted to purge the UFC Welterweight championship by having Matt Hughes and Georges St-Pierre face off at UFC 50 On October 22, 2004. Luckily, this did just the trick and VACANT’s miasma was removed from another UFC title belt. Now on the offensive for the first time, the UFC sought next to purify the UFC Middleweight championship. On February 5, 2005 at UFC 51 they were successful for a third time in a row. VACANT was removed from all the title belts. The lightweight title is argued to be meaningless as the UFC had shut down the division during this time, limiting VACANT’s influence and control.
This success in eliminating VACANT would be short lived as on August 12, 2005 they once again claimed the UFC Heavyweight title by causing Frank Mir’s motorcycle to crash, injuring the champion and forcing him to relinquish the belt. However, the UFC were quick to act and were able to secure the safety of the belt through ensuring Andrei Arlovski took control of the belt through the occult magic of using an interim belt. This deception angered VACANT, but it would prove to be a useful tool to trick the spirit.
For two years after this, VACANT was once again seemingly destroyed. The UFC experienced a time of relative stability. On October 14, 2006 the final vestige of VACANT’s lingering presence was removed when the UFC purged the fiend from the UFC Lightweight championship at UFC 64. In hindsight, this would prove to be a foolish action, and would only reinvigorate VACANT’s fury and tenacity. After a year of plotting, on December 8, 2007 VACANT would reclaim the UFC Lightweight championship title through their favorite trick, a positive steroid test result. However, VACANT seems to have been still groggy from their slumber and their reclamation of a UFC belt was shortlived. The UFC discovered a new way to vanquish their foe, ritual sacrifice. On January 19, 2008 UFC 80, the UFC sacrificed Joe Stevenson through a blood ritual overseen by BJ Penn, angry at VACANT’s previous deception and seeking to get revenge. The gambit worked and once again VACANT was banished to the ethereal plane from whence it came.
This covers the first portion of the history of VACANT, but dear god…we’re only at 2008.