Flat 5: The UFC's worst title fights of all time

Talented fighters. A heated rivalry. A shiny gold belt on the line.

When all of these elements come together for a fight, the results can be magic.

Then again, sometimes UFC 209 happens.

Saturday's disastrously dull main event rematch between UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson had many in the Twittersphere searching their memories for a worse title fight.

Look no further than this list of five championship bouts that are best left forgotten for a reason:

Dan Severn vs. Ken Shamrock - UFC 9

To create an added attraction to the tournament format that defined the UFC's early days, the promotion introduced the Superfight Championship, the first belt its top stars could battle over.

Results were mixed from the start, as two of the first four Superfight Championship matches went to a draw, but at least UFC posterboy Ken Shamrock had established himself as a marketable commodity. He defeated Dan Severn to win the title and the two were booked for a highly anticipated rematch at UFC 9 in Detroit.

Their second meeting was limited by a bizarre ruling from the Michigan courts that threatened the arrest of any fighters on the card using closed-fist strikes to their opponents' heads. Though several competitors broke the rule, Severn and Shamrock adhered to it, resulting in a fight that was almost entirely comprised of the two men circling each other and staring intently.

Apparently, Severn's steely gaze was more convincing, as he went on to win a tepid split decision.

Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture - UFC 46
Light Heavyweight Championship

Not all of the duds on this list are because of their seemingly interminable length.

This January 2004 encounter between Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture lasted just 49 seconds, and it wasn't due to Belfort scoring with one of his blazing combinations. A counter left hook from Belfort led to a seam on his glove slicing Couture around his eye, and the ringside physician deemed the cut too severe for the match to continue.

Belfort became the UFC light heavyweight champion because of this freak win, a title that he would relinquish when he and Couture fought again seven months later.

Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski - UFC 61

UFC 61 was titled "Bitter Rivals," but the only thing bitter about this event was the taste in viewers' mouths after watching Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski throw down for a third time for the UFC heavyweight championship.

With each man owning a finish over the other, the stage was set for a dramatic ending. That did not happen.

Perhaps they'd wasted all of their intensity in the first two fights, because Sylvia-Arlovski 3 was a dreary affair in which Sylvia used his 80-inch reach to completely control the action and prevent Arlovski from ever getting out of first gear.

Even in victory, "The Maine-iac" was often criticized by fans for his uneventful performances, and this title-fight flop is Exhibit A.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites - UFC 97

Anderson Silva is so revered by MMA fans that they appear to have wiped from their memories a three-fight stretch of title defenses that rank among the most unwatchable encounters ever.

Sandwiched between horrible bouts opposite Patrick Cote and Demian Maia was this stinker against Thales Leites in which the old adage "styles make fights" was never more true.

Leites was a gifted Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist with limited striking skills, making him the worst possible opponent for middleweight king Silva, who was the deadliest stand-up fighter on the planet at the time.

There was nothing Leites could do but repeatedly fall to his back and hope that Silva dared jump into his guard to turn the fight into a BJJ contest. Unsurprisingly, Silva refused to accommodate, and instead spent the majority of the match inventing new ways to kick Leites, none of which were particularly effective:

Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields - UFC 129

55,000-plus packed Rogers Centre for the UFC's debut in Toronto to watch Canadian icon Georges St-Pierre defend the welterweight title against Jake Shields, a fighter who hadn't lost in over six years.

Unfortunately, both men were also known for their calculating, methodical styles, and that was evident when they engaged in 25 minutes of lukewarm kickboxing. Making matters worse was GSP being half-blind for most of the match after taking an early poke to the eye from Shields.

In the end, it was another successful title defense for St-Pierre, but not one that you'll see on his highlight reel as the UFC hypes his impending comeback.