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Injuries and last-minute changes have plagued the UFC for years. There are few things more frustrating for the fans than events and fights being switched on late notice.
Over the years, though, there have been examples of last-minute changes in the UFC that turned out to be for the better – while there are plenty more that turned out to be for the worse.
With the nature of MMA as a sport, it’s likely that we’ll continue to suffer last-minute changes in the future. Fans can only hope that they turn out to be like the former and not the latter.
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Here are five UFC fights that were changed on late notice for the better (and five that were changed for the worse).
#5. Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman changed to Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping – UFC 199
When the UFC announced that Luke Rockhold would be defending his newly won middleweight title against former champion Chris Weidman in a rematch in the summer of 2016, most fans felt a little underwhelmed.
It wasn’t that the first bout between Rockhold and Weidman had been bad at all – it was, in fact, quite exciting. However, at that point, fans were seemingly being fed rematches constantly, even if the fighter being granted it hadn’t really earned it.
In this instance, Weidman had taken a beating from Rockhold and so it made more sense to let him rebuild himself rather than give him a second crack right away. However, when ‘The All-American’ injured his back, the promotion was forced to replace him with perennial contender Michael Bisping on late notice.
Given that Rockhold had dispatched ‘The Count’ with ease in their first meeting, it was hard to get excited for the clash – but Bisping’s trash talking abilities made the fight more intriguing than Rockhold vs. Weidman 2.
When Bisping then shocked everyone by knocking Rockhold out to claim the title in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, it became clear that the last-minute change was a massive positive for all involved, except for Weidman and Rockhold, of course!
#4. Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra changed to Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre – UFC 79
When Matt Serra pulled off one of the greatest upsets in UFC history by knocking out Georges St-Pierre to claim the welterweight title, the promotion decided to capitalize on his burgeoning feud with former titleholder Matt Hughes by having them coach the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The season was supposed to lead to a title bout between the two at the end of 2007, with the only negative being that St-Pierre was essentially left out in the cold.
However, when Serra injured himself prior to the clash, GSP agreed to step in on late notice to complete his trilogy with Hughes, with an interim title on the line.
St-Pierre shellacked the former champion, submitting him in the second round. With Hughes dispatched, the promotion were able to book a rematch between the Canadian and Serra, drawing a huge crowd in Montreal to see GSP gain some vengeance.
Serra and Hughes did eventually meet about a year later, with Hughes winning a decision. That meant that were it not for Serra’s injury, fans would likely never have gotten the rematch between ‘The Terror’ and St-Pierre.
If that were the case, it’s hard to dispute the idea that everyone would’ve been worse off – meaning the late change was a blessing in disguise.
#3. Shogun Rua vs. Rashad Evans changed to Shogun Rua vs. Jon Jones – UFC 128
In early 2011, it looked like light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua and former titleholder Rashad Evans were on a collision course with the gold on the line.
They were set to headline UFC 128 in March. Although Shogun hadn’t fought in almost a year thanks to an injury, it looked like an excellent fight on paper.
However, things changed that February. When Jon Jones, the division’s hottest prospect, defeated Ryan Bader, he was told by Joe Rogan that Evans had blown his knee out and the promotion wanted him to step in and fight Shogun for the title.
Naturally, ‘Bones’ accepted the offer, smashed Shogun in the third round and beginning one of the most legendary title reigns in the promotion’s history.
Would Shogun vs. Evans have been a good fight? Most likely, but it wouldn’t have led to the changing of the guard that fans were actually treated to.
Sure, Jones probably would’ve won the title at some point anyway, but a decade later, it’s hard to imagine missing out on his first epic reign, meaning this was a late change that definitely ended up benefiting the fans and the UFC overall.
#2. Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev changed to Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson – UFC 279
The most recent positive late change came at this month’s UFC 279. The event was supposed to be headlined by a welterweight bout between Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev. While that fight garnered a lot of hype, many people didn’t actually want to see it.
That was because everyone expected Chimaev, the best prospect in the world, to smash Diaz, who was seen as a past-his-prime veteran looking to complete his contract with the promotion. It felt as close to ritual sacrifice as MMA could get.
At the weigh-in, though, ‘Borz’ could only make 178.5lbs, meaning that the Diaz fight was instantly nixed. Instead, the UFC switched things around, matching him with Kevin Holland and Diaz with Tony Ferguson in what was a much fairer-sounding bout.
In the end, things worked out basically perfectly. Chimaev throttled Holland and became a much bigger star – and a villain – in the process, while Diaz and Ferguson put on a wild and entertaining clash that ended with Diaz winning via submission.
It really couldn’t have gone better for all parties, which probably explains the amount of outlandish conspiracy theories that have emerged surrounding the event since.
#1. Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos changed to Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz – UFC 196
Probably the most beneficial last-minute change in UFC history took place in early 2016, as an injury to lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos led to the sparking of one of the promotion’s greatest-ever rivalries – as well as two of its biggest-drawing shows.
Dos Anjos was all set to defend his crown against newly minted featherweight kingpin Conor McGregor in a champion vs. champion bout at UFC 196. When the Brazilian broke his foot, the promotion understandably wanted to keep ‘The Notorious’ on the card.
They turned to Nate Diaz, who had called McGregor out a couple of months beforehand. He agreed to meet McGregor on late notice, albeit at 170lbs.
The two men instantly began to throw verbal barbs at one another. The mind games meant that the fight had far more intrigue around it than McGregor vs. RDA would’ve done.
Incredibly, Diaz pulled off a huge upset in the bout, surviving some huge shots to choke the Irishman out. When the show drew a record pay-per-view buyrate of 1.3 million, a rematch was inevitable.
Sure enough, the two did battle again a few months later, and drew another record number – 1.65 milliom – as McGregor gained some revenge by winning a decision.
‘The Notorious’ then went onto the champion vs. champion bout, albeit against Eddie Alvarez, but his rivalry with Diaz remains unfinished. Given the amount of money the two drew against each other – as well as the fan interest their feud drummed up – it’s fair to say the last-minute change paid off handsomely.
While those fights were changed for the better on late notice, the following five were definitely changed for the worse.
#5. Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem changed to Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir – UFC 146
Back in 2011, Alistair Overeem was easily the hottest heavyweight outside the UFC. When he finally made his way to the promotion and destroyed Brock Lesnar in his octagon debut, the entire MMA world was excited.
The UFC understandably decided to strike while the iron was hot, handing ‘The Demolition Man’ a title shot against champ Junior dos Santos just five months later. However, it turned out the suspicion around Overeem’s hulking physique was probably justified, as he failed a drug test and was pulled from the event.
Frank Mir stepped in to face JDS on late notice. While their eventual fight was decent enough, with the Brazilian winning via TKO, it just didn’t garner the same kind of excitement that an Overeem title shot would’ve done.
The Dutchman did end up facing dos Santos, albeit three years later, and Overeem won via TKO. However, it was still frustrating that fans were prevented from seeing what would’ve been one of 2012’s most highly-anticipated title bouts.
#4. Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort changed to Tito Ortiz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko – UFC 33
UFC 33 is usually cited by Dana White as the promotion’s worst-ever show, as it famously featured a number of dull bouts and ran over its allotted time on pay-per-view.
Part of the reason for it becoming such a disaster was the late change to the main event, which saw a highly anticipated light heavyweight title clash between Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort become Ortiz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko.
Not only was Matyushenko nowhere near the star that Belfort was, but he was also a grappler rather than a striker, something that forced Ortiz to change up his gameplan.
Rather than produce any excitement, ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ instead fought in a safety-first way, largely focusing on taking ‘The Janitor’ down. The two men produced a dull fight that ended in a decision.
The bout turned out to be the tip of the iceberg on a disastrous show. When Ortiz and Belfort finally did battle in a stone-cold classic in 2005, it was hard not to imagine what might’ve been had they clashed when they were first meant to.
#3. Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones changed to Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 200
UFC 200 was supposed to be the biggest event in the promotion’s history, but in the end, it turned into somewhat of a damp squib, largely thanks to a series of late changes.
The initial main event of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz was replaced by a rematch between bitter rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. While that felt like a fair switch, plans went out of the window when Jones failed a pre-fight drug test.
Not only did the event lose its headliner, with the bantamweight title bout between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes being shoved into the spot, but given the late notice, the promotion struggled to find a replacement for Jones.
In the end, legendary former middleweight champion Anderson Silva stepped in on a couple of days’ notice. If a fight between him and Cormier sounded cool on paper, it didn’t work like that in execution.
Firstly, Silva was past his prime at that point, moving up to 205lbs for the first time in years. On short notice, he didn’t really stand a chance against ‘DC’. The only problem was, no fans wanted to see ‘The Spider’ take a beating.
Cormier, meanwhile, had far more to lose than gain by fighting Silva. So, he did the bare minimum to get by, essentially wresting the Brazilian for three straight rounds to take a decision.
The fight was dull, nobody really wanted to see it, and it couldn’t have been further from the heated rematch between Cormier and Jones – making this one a definite change for the worse.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort changed to Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia – UFC 112
Every time Vitor Belfort withdrew from a fight during his tenure with the UFC, it seemed like the replacement fight failed to deliver. The fallout from his withdrawal from his 2001 bout with Tito Ortiz has already been mentioned, but his replacements against Wanderlei Silva (2012) and Chris Weidman (2014) were also disappointing.
However, when Belfort was forced out of his planned middleweight title clash with Anderson Silva in late 2010, things definitely changed for the worse when Demian Maia stepped in to replace him.
Maia was a genuine title contender, but it was quickly apparent when the fight began that he stood no chance against Silva. It looked like ‘The Spider’ would be able to dispatch him quickly and easily.
Instead of doing that, though, Silva decided to play with his food and essentially bored the crowd in Abu Dhabi, as well as the fans watching at home, to tears.
The fight was one of the worst title fights in UFC history, point blank, and after the debacle was over, the promotion did not return to the Middle East for another four years, making this one of the worst last-minute changes ever.
#1. Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov changed to Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje – UFC 249
By early 2020, it was fair to label Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov the most cursed fight in UFC history. The two lightweight stars were booked to face off on a total of four occasions, only for the bout to always fall apart.
When they were booked to headline UFC 249, though, it felt like the pieces had finally fallen into place. Both men were healthy and were set to do battle for Nurmagomedov’s lightweight title. However, just weeks before the event, the COVID-19 pandemic threw everything into flux.
By the time the promotion was ready to put on shows again, Khabib was still unable to get into the US. Rather than simply wait for him to be able to, the UFC replaced him with Justin Gaethje, clearly hoping that Ferguson would win to set up the Khabib clash later on.
Unfortunately, though, ‘El Cucuy’ was destroyed by ‘The Highlight’. When Khabib returned to beat Gaethje and then retired, the idea of him ever facing Ferguson went up in flames.
Given that Khabib vs. Ferguson remains probably the ultimate missed opportunity in UFC history, it’s hard to deny the idea that this one is the worst last-minute change ever seen in the promotion, even if Gaethje benefited hugely.
