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Whether or not the UFC treats its fighters well is a subject that is perennially up for debate. Sometimes, it’s clear that the promotion doesn’t exactly wish certain athletes well – particularly if they plan to depart for pastures new.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of fights booked that appear to have been put together to do little more than spite a fighter who intends to leave the UFC.
Sure, it’s a risk on behalf of the promotion, but often, their plans go to perfection and leave the departing fighter with a bad loss on their way out.
With that in mind, here are five UFC bouts that appeared to have been booked in order to spite a departing fighter.
#5. Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev – UFC 279
The most recent example is the upcoming clash between welterweights Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279.
In this case, it appears that Diaz – part of the promotion’s roster since 2007 – is being thrown to the wolves in the final bout of his current contract. The last time the native of Stockton, California fought was last summer in a loss to Leon Edwards. The last time he picked up a win was over Anthony Pettis back in 2019.
Chimaev, on the other hand, is the fastest-rising star not only in the welterweight division, but in the promotion as a whole. ‘Borz’ only debuted in the octagon in the summer of 2020, but he’s already reeled off five impressive wins and most recently defeated former title challenger Gilbert Burns.
It’s been a well-known fact that Diaz has no intention of remaining with the UFC following the end of his contract; he’s stated as much on Twitter on numerous occasions. While, at the age of 37, he might be best advised to retire, it seems more likely that he’ll move onto pastures new.
Therefore, booking him against Chimaev seems like the promotion’s way of ensuring that when he does move to those new pastures – whether that’s Bellator MMA, or a boxing match with Jake Paul – he’ll do so after suffering a brutal loss.
Sure, Diaz might prove everyone wrong and upset ‘Borz’. Stranger things have happened in the octagon, after all. However, it feels much more likely that Chimaev will punish Stockton’s favorite son, and that’s likely to please the promotion’s power brokers in the process.
#4. Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien – UFC 82
Heavyweight veteran Andrei Arlovski is one of the most experienced fighters on the current UFC roster, with his first bout in the octagon taking place way back in 2000, deep into the promotion’s so-called ‘Dark Ages’.
However, the Belarusian’s current run only dates back to 2014, as he returned from a largely self-imposed absence of six years after departing in 2008. That year, ‘The Pitbull’ won his final bout before moving to the upstart Affliction promotion, but it wasn’t without some controversy.
At the time, Arlovski was riding a two-fight win streak and seemed destined for another shot at the heavyweight title, but plans quickly changed when it became clear that he was ready to leave the promotion after the final fight on his contract.
Rather than match him with a high-level contender, ‘The Pitbull’ instead found himself matched with Jake O’Brien – an unbeaten prospect who had made a name for himself by simply stifling his opponents into defeat.
More to the point, the fight was placed on the untelevised preliminary card of UFC 82, ensuring that even if Arlovski were to win, very few fans would actually see the bout anyway.
In the end, ‘The Pitbull’ was able to overcome ‘Irish Jake’, stopping him with strikes in the second round. The fight was never mentioned on the pay-per-view broadcast and Arlovski’s departure was kept as quiet as possible.
This meant that while the UFC’s attempt to spite him didn’t quite work, the Belarusian didn’t manage to leave the promotion on a true high note either.
#3. Paige VanZant vs. Amanda Ribas – UFC 251
When she arrived in the UFC in late 2014, strawweight Paige VanZant received an immediate push from the promotion as a potential star, largely because of her good looks as well as her fighting skills.
’12 Gauge’ saw some success in her early days, beating the likes of Felice Herrig and Alex Chambers. A defeat to Rose Namajunas in her first headline bout saw her career take a different trajectory.
VanZant starred on 2016’s edition of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in second place. While she returned to the octagon later that year to beat Bec Rawlings, it quickly became clear that her focus had wavered somewhat.
’12 Gauge’ suffered back-to-back losses to Michelle Waterson and Jessica-Rose Clark, and a broken arm in the latter fight saw her shelved for over a year. She did return with a win over Rachael Ostovich, but when her arm was re-injured, she ended up sidelined for another lengthy period.
During her time out, VanZant revealed in an interview that not only did she intend to test free agency after her next fight – the final one on her contract – but that she’d made more money from her appearance on Dancing than she had during her entire tenure in the octagon.
Dana White and company didn’t outright respond to this, but when VanZant’s next fight was booked, it became clear that they probably weren’t happy.
Despite ’12 Gauge’ being just 1-2 in her last three bouts and coming off a year on the shelf, she found herself faced with dangerous prospect Amanda Ribas, who had reeled off three straight wins in the octagon.
Sure enough, the Brazilian whitewashed VanZant – finishing her with an armbar in the first round. White then offered a parting shot, suggesting that '12 Gauge’ was doing the right thing by moving into free agency after she’d been “smoked” in her final bout.
#2. Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard – UFC Fight Night 19
While more recent fans probably don’t remember him, it’s fair to suggest that few fighters were given the kind of promotional push that lightweight prospect Roger Huerta received when he arrived in the UFC in 2006.
After winning his first two bouts in exciting fashion, ‘El Matador’ was given a main card showcase against Leonard Garcia. When the fight turned out to be one of the best of 2007, Huerta was suddenly unavoidable.
Not only did the UFC push him as a star in the making, they even allowed a photo from his fight with Garcia to be used as the cover image of a Sports Illustrated story on MMA. This made Huerta the first fighter to ever appear on the cover of the famous magazine.
Three more wins in the octagon moved Huerta to the cusp of title contention, but a loss to Kenny Florian slowed him down. However, rather than look to jump back on the horse, early 2009 saw ‘El Matador’ announce that he’d turned down a new deal with the UFC in order to pursue a career in acting.
When it later became apparent that Huerta intended to return to fighting, but also intended to move to the new Bellator MMA promotion after the final fight on his UFC deal, the promotion quickly seemed to become spiteful.
‘El Matador’ was matched with the toughest possible stylistic match in the form of the unbeaten Gray Maynard. More to the point, the fight was not even placed on pay-per-view, instead acting as the semi-main event at Fight Night 19.
Unsurprisingly, ‘El Matador’ suffered a comprehensive defeat to ‘The Bully’ and left the promotion with a whimper, rather than a bang – ensuring that he took no momentum with him to Bellator.
#1. Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida – UFC 84
The most infamous example of the UFC appearing to book an outgoing fighter into a tricky fight out of spite remains Tito Ortiz’s 2008 clash with Lyoto Machida.
Although he would later return to the octagon, at the time, the former light-heavyweight kingpin couldn’t have had a worse relationship with the promotion, Dana White in particular.
Not only had ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ reneged on a planned boxing match with the UFC President, but he’d spoken out on more than one occasion about the promotion’s treatment of its fighters, most notably slamming their pay scale.
When it came to the final fight on his contract, it seemed that White was determined to send Ortiz packing to his next destination off the back of a humiliating loss. White matched him with the unbeaten Machida, who had last been seen violently stopping Thiago Silva.
Even when ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ arrived at the weigh-ins for the fight sporting a t-shirt that stated 'Dana is my b*tch', the President didn’t seem too bothered. After all, nobody was giving Ortiz a chance in the fight, with many fans outright labelling Machida as White’s 'hired gun'.
In the end, the bout proved to be closer than many expected. ‘The Dragon’ did pick off Ortiz for the majority of the three rounds, knocking him down with a knee to the gut in the third round – but a last-gasp triangle choke attempt from the former champion saw him come remarkably close to a Hail Mary submission – and no doubt sent White’s blood pressure through the roof.
In the end, though, the promotion had the last laugh, and Ortiz departed on the back of one of the biggest losses of his career – even if he returned in 2009. Later, Machida even claimed that White had paid him extra to beat ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ – apparently proving everyone’s 'hired gun' theory correct.
