The Ultimate Fighting Championship brought back the trend of featuring the fighters in customized shorts. Back when the MMA promotion was on the rise, Chuck Liddell, Mirko Cro Cop, and many others graced the Octagon wearing their customized shorts. ‘Ice-man’ and the checkered shorts were nothing short of the ticket-grabbers during those times. Thankfully, Dana White brought the trend back and the custom shorts boomed into action since UFC 300. No wonder why many netizens wanted Venum to get a raise.

Now, the fighting community rejoiced once again as Jon Jones’ new custom shorts started breaking the internet. With so many new designs coming up, let’s take a moment and categorize the custom shorts from the best to the worst. 

Top 5 best custom shorts in the UFC

1. Jon Jones’ UFC 309 custom shorts

As the world of mixed martial arts gets ready to witness the war between the undisputed heavyweight champion and Stipe Miocic, Venum raised the heat by revealing the design for Jones’ shorts. The black shorts showcase two lion heads in red, with the heavyweight champ’s name in gold lettering. Apart from UFC and Venum’s logos, the shorts also feature a reference to one of Jones’ tattoos. 

“Phillippians 4:13”, the verse from the Holy Bible that ‘Bones’ has tattooed on his chest is also highlighted by the shorts. These shorts are indeed a reminder of the places where the heavyweight champion finds his power and solace. With a unique and personalized design, Jones’ shorts do deserve a place at the top of the list, don’t you agree?

1. Israel Adesanya’s UFC 305 custom shorts

Back when Israel Adesanya landed against Dricus Du Plessis to settle their scores with the middleweight championship title on the line, the former 2-time MW champ donned the lightning shorts in Perth. The golden lightning design on a sleek black background was everything that ‘The Last Stylebender’ could ask for. On top of that, the champion’s colors looked pretty good when paired with the golden championship gloves.

Adesanya’s name written in white provided depth to the custom design. Needless to say, these shorts rang a pretty loud bell on social media when the MMA promotion first revealed the designs. The gold and black gave the shorts a personality that greatly resonated with the ‘Stylebender’.

1. Ilia Topuria’s UFC 308 custom shorts

Ilia Topuria managed to come at the third spot with his 100% pure Spanish shorts, that he wore against Max Holloway at UFC 308. Made with a flexible and lightweight fabric, the bright red shorts successfully reflected the Spaniard’s moniker. ‘El Matador’ chose to showcase the Spanish tradition of bullfighting in these shorts, as the fabric showed his nickname with a bull’s figure outlined in gold, charging across the red background. After all, ‘El Matador’ is literally a man who fights bulls for sport.

His name was etched in gold lettering, along with the logos for UFC and Venum. The shorts also featured a few more designs in golden threads. No doubt, the entirety of Etihad Arena was left in awe, as the featherweight champion retained his championship title by defeating Holloway with a KO. It was nothing short of a shoutout to his newly acquired Spanish citizenship and on-stage success.

1. Alex Pereira’s UFC 300 custom shorts

Alex Pereira was one of the first fighters to get their hands on a personalized pair of shorts at UFC 300. The design on the ‘Poatan’s apparel highlighted the red markings on the Pataxo tribe. Being a proud member of the Pataxo tribe, the man with the hands of stone seldom fails to show his roots to the world. And UFC 300 was one such moment when the Brazilian donned the colors and patterns of his tribe.

Many fight fans often thought of the shorts’ design as one with too much going on. The black background was indeed filled with colorful patterns and strips of blue, green, red, and pink, with blotches of yellow here and there. Nevertheless, these shorts were worthy of being called some of the best custom shorts out there. 

1. Max Holloway’s UFC 300 custom shorts

Just like the light heavyweight champion, Holloway was also one of the 4 fighters to wear the custom shorts at UFC 300. Fighting Justin Gaethje for the BMF title, ‘Blessed’ wore a pair of compression shorts that attracted quite some attention. The shorts bloomed with red and blue flowers in a background of white, with a few faded greyish flowers here and there. His name was etched in black lettering.

While the shorts failed to highlight Holloway’s name properly, the compression shorts did the job of highlighting the BMF champion’s peaceful attitude during his fights. The flowers and the white had a calming effect on the audience. But that turned to the chaos of battle as soon as his strikes hit Gaethje in style.

This brings us to the end of the best custom shorts list. But what about the worst ones? Let’s find out!

Top 5 worst custom shorts in the UFC

1. Ian Garry’s UFC 303 custom shorts

Ian Machado Garry wore a pair of purple shorts as he took on Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303. Unlike the other customized shorts, Garry’s apparel had little to no design whatsoever. The Irishman’s name was also missing from the fabric. These shorts seemed to lack personality with purple all around. 

Nevertheless, the purple shorts did feature the UFC logo and Venum’s logo in white. All in all, it wasn’t something that resonated well with the fighting community. 

1. Paddy Pimblett’s UFC 304 shorts

As he prepared to go up against Bobby Green back at UFC 304, Paddy Pimblett took to social media and shared a screenshot of his chat with Venum, where he wrote, “Yoyoooo am I getting my orange shorts then for UFC 304? Everyone wants to see me in them.” However, the Britisher’s shorts were something that the fighting community didn’t like that much. 

The orange shorts were inspired by Kazushi Sakuraba, but lacked in the personalization arena. Just like Garry’s shorts, ‘The Baddy’s orange shorts were also a bit too plain for the fans. 

1. Justin Gaethje’s UFC 300 custom shorts

‘The Highlight’ wore his black and red full-sized shorts against Holloway. While these colors greatly contrasted Holloway’s white floral shorts, they looked a little plain. The former BMF champion’s name in red didn’t look good on a black and grey American flag background, and the grey strikes and pixels did no justice to Gaethje’s fighting prowess. 

A little bit of intricacy in the design and personalization could have saved the shorts as opposed to the more modern and sleek approach.

1. Dustin Poirier’s UFC 302 shorts

Fighting for the lightweight championship title for probably the last time in his career, Dustin Poirier donned a pair of floral shorts as he went against Islam Makhachev. These shorts were just one more addition to the former interim champion’s collection of floral apparel. However, the floral designs on a black background weren’t something that appealed to the fight fans. 

The shorts had too much happening with Poirier’s name etched in white and bright colors flushing out of the fabric. Nevertheless, ‘The Diamond’ seemed pretty happy with the shorts.

1. Bryce Mitchell’s camo UFC custom shorts

Bryce Mitchell often showed great enthusiasm when it came to his Arkansas garden. That was the reason why he chose to wear a camouflaged design during his fights. Hence, Venum had to call up Real Tree to form a tripartite collaboration. But that didn’t quite sit well with the fighting community. The claims were that the shorts had nothing that highlighted the fighter’s personality in the MMA cage.

However, the design meant a lot to Mitchell. Talking to the UFC, he said, “The reason I wanted those shorts is because they meant a lot to me whether I’m fighting in the co-main of the UFC or fighting in a parking lot. I want to wear camo shorts because I like it and it represents me and my family and the people I love and care about.”

Some of the honorable mentions that we shouldn’t leave behind are the shorts for Zhang Weili, Dricus Du Plessis, and Sean O’Malley. Their shorts do the perfect job of reflecting their personality in the UFC. 

What are your thoughts on the customized apparel for the fighters? Is there someone who you think should be on the list? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.