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UFC fights are booked months in advance. This provides the promotion with ample time to slot specific bouts on fight cards that make the most sense for them. Sometimes, the matchups in question are scheduled for pay-per-view events, while others are designed to headline Fight Night cards.
Furthermore, the long stretch of time preceding most bouts enables the promotion's fighters to undergo as much training as possible in order to step into the octagon at the absolute peak of their powers. Unfortunately, issues that can't be accounted for can arise to bring ruin to the promotion's plans.
Whether it's a freak injury or some other variable, fights are occasionally canceled. Nothing, however, is more grating than a matchup that collapses with only days left. This list looks at 5 UFC fights that were canceled at the last minute.
#5. Ilir Latifi vs. Alexei Oleynik at UFC Fight Night 205
Ilir Latifi is a solid mixed martial artist. Although he will never be an elite fighter challenging for a world championship, barring a spectacular change in circumstances, he is a reliable fighter.
He captured the imagination of fight fans due to his hulking physique and Joe Rogan's hyperbolic assessment of Latifi as a genetic freak.
However, after losing 2 straight fights in the light heavyweight division, the Swede found himself at a crossroads in his career. He'd never managed more than 3 consecutive wins in the division, and the weight cuts were becoming more grueling with age.
The change he sought was moving up a weight class. Latifi made his heavyweight debut against the power-punching Derrick Lewis, losing a uninamous decision to 'The Black Beast'.
He next faced Tanner Boser, claiming his first win in three years. Afterward, a matchup with unorthodox submission grappler Alexei Oleynik was scheduled. However, mere hours before the Swede's third heavyweight bout, he contracted an illness, forcing him to withdraw from the fight.
#4. Donald Cerrone vs. Joe Lauzon at UFC on ESPN 37
Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon are both legends of the sport.
However, both men are nearing their forties, forcing them to contend with the consequences of their advancing age while years of accumulative damage from every bout begins to take its toll. Furthermore, MMA as a whole has passed them by in terms of their skill-sets.
Thus, booking matchups for either fighter is difficult without feeding them to younger, fresher fighters who will likely overcome them in one-sided affairs.
'Cowboy' has lost 5 of his last 6 fights, with the only non-loss being due to a no-contest after Niko Price's positive drug test. Similarly, 'J-Lau' has lost 4 of his last 6 bouts. Neither fighter has managed to rack up a win streak in years. So, a matchup between the two seemed like a fitting swansong for their MMA careers.
The bout was scheduled for UFC 274, but Cerrone was forced to withdraw from the event due to illness.
In an effort to honor both men, Dana White rescheduled the fight for UFC on ESPN 37 in Austin, Texas. However, mere hours before the event began, Lauzon suffered a knee injury, forcing him to withdraw from the bout in an absurd twist. White likened the situation to the improbable difficulties encountered when he tried scheduling Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson to face each other.
#3. Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo at UFC 189
In 2015, Conor McGregor was a fast-rising star with the MMA world in the palm of his hand. Still a featherweight at the time, the Irishman had set his sights on the title that Jose Aldo had held for years in one of the division's longest-ever win streaks.
McGregor himself went on an unprecedented run through the featherweight division, knocking out every foe with the exception of Max Holloway. 'Blessed' remains one of the few UFC fighters to have never suffered a knockdown, let alone a knockout.
The bout between 'The Notorious' and Aldo was scheduled for UFC 189. The UFC threw all of its weight behind its promotional efforts for the event, with both fighters embarking on a world tour to generate excitement for the matchup. Alas, as the event neared, the Brazilian legend withdrew from the fight mere days away from having to make the walk to the octagon.
Aldo unfortunately suffered a rib injury that left him unable to compete, causing Chad Mendes to step in as a last-minute replacement in what proved to be one of the most exciting bouts of the year.
McGregor won the back-and-forth affair to claim the interim featherweight championship. This set up a hotly anticipated showdown with his Brazilian rival at UFC 194, which he ultimately won.
#2. Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196
Not long after capturing the undisputed featherweight championship from Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor sought to step up to the division above him to challenge then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for his title. It was a rare moment as Dana White was, prior to the Irishman's rise, adamantly against fighters becoming simultaneous champions of multiple divisions.
Before McGregor, only B.J. Penn was afforded the opportunity to challenge for a 2nd title while still a champion. However, the Hawaiian failed, encountering his superior in the octagon when he suffered a TKO loss to Georges St-Pierre.
Unfortunately, the Irishman's matchup with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 was scrapped days before the event as the Brazilian suffered a broken foot. Instead, Nate Diaz emerged as a last-minute replacement in what turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
'The Notorious' suffered his first UFC loss against the Stockton native, exhausting himself in a futile bid to knock his foe unconscious in the first round before he himself was, ironically, rocked by Diaz's punches. This forced McGregor—of all fighters—to attempt an ill-advised takedown.
Diaz stuffed the takedown before a short grappling sequence saw him capture his foe with a rear-naked choke, creating the foundation for one of the promotion's greatest rivalries.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson at UFC 223
Fans will never see Khabib Nurmagomedov compete against Tony Ferguson in the octagon. The undefeated Dagestani is now retired, and Ferguson is on the decline due to his age.
However, the fight was a longstanding fantasy matchup in the lightweight division. The rise of both fighters coincided as they each mounted two of the longest win streaks their division has ever seen. So, it only made sense to book the two in a matchup.
The fighters were scheduled to face each other five times. Every single one of those times, the fight collapsed. At UFC 209, Nurmagomedov suffered from the ill effects of a poor weight cut, forcing doctors to pull him out of the bout a day before the event.
No cancelation, however, was more frustrating than when Ferguson had to withdraw from their matchup at UFC 223 days prior to locking horns with his divisional rival.
'El Cucuy' is known for his preference for wearing indoor sunglasses. This is the alleged reason behind the injury he suffered at a media day event for UFC 223.
Due to the dark shade of its lenses, Ferguson's sunglasses prevented him from seeing a cable on the floor, which he then tripped over, injuring his knee in a cartoonishly ludicrous scenario that canceled one of the most hotly anticipated bouts in MMA history. It would not, however, be their last scrapped fight.
