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Whenever the UFC books a big headline bout, everyone from the fans to the promotion itself expects an exciting fight, hopefully complete with a wild ending. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Over the years we’ve seen numerous examples of headline bouts in the UFC being ended in the worst way possible: with a major injury to one of the combatants.
On occasion, these injuries are caused by something the other fighter does, but often, they tend to be freak occurrences that can put a dampener on an entire event.
Here are five UFC headline bouts that were ended by a serious injury.
#5. Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic – UFC Vegas 54
The latest entry on this list took place this past weekend, as what looked set to be an excellent clash between top-ranked light heavyweights Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic was ended prematurely due to a bad injury.
In this case, Blachowicz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, was essentially handed a win when Rakic’s right leg gave way on him in the third round, forcing referee Mark Smith to step in to halt the bout immediately.
Whether or not Blachowicz was actually responsible for the injury is up for debate. Rakic himself has stated that he suffered the damage, which turned out to be a completely torn ACL, during his training camp three weeks before the bout. However, Blachowicz had been working over both of the Austrian’s legs with some nasty kicks prior to the stoppage.
More interestingly, the Polish fighter is seemingly willing to take at least some credit for it, as while he has stated he’d have preferred to win by knockout, he’s claimed that his body was “tougher” than his opponent’s.
Either way, this was a truly nasty injury that seemed innocuous upon first glance, but was clearly visible upon a replay, as Rakic’s knee appeared to pop out of place entirely before he hit the ground.
Whether he comes back as the same fighter is anyone’s guess, but given that ‘Rocket’ has already taken to Instagram to call for a rematch when he returns, it seems that he isn’t ready to give up on his dreams of becoming a champion just yet.
#4. Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway – UFC Fight Night 74
Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is widely recognized as not only the best 155lber on the planet right now, but also one of the toughest and most durable fighters on the roster, too. The punishment he absorbed from Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje would’ve finished most fighters, but not the Brazilian.
However, a few years back, ‘Do Bronx’ was actually seen as more of a fragile character. Part of that reputation stemmed from his 2015 clash with Max Holloway – a fight that was stopped prematurely due to a strange injury.
The fight hadn’t even got going as such when it was stopped at the 1:39 mark of the first round. Both men exchanged some early strikes, but when Oliveira had a takedown attempt stuffed, he then collapsed to the ground for seemingly no apparent reason.
The fight was waved off by referee Herb Dean, and to tell the truth, nobody really had a clue what’d happened, assuming that ‘Do Bronx’ had somehow suffered some kind of shoulder or neck injury.
As it turned out, the Brazilian had actually torn his oesophagus, a severe injury by anyone’s standards. Quite how it happened, nobody is really sure to this day – although Oliveira suggested it’d been caused during his training camp.
Either way, despite the seriousness of the injury, to see such a highly-anticipated fight go down the pan like that was disappointing. Due to the weird nature of the finish, Oliveira’s reputation ended up taking an arguably unfair beating.
#3. Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture – UFC 46
Early 2004 wasn’t a good time for the UFC when it came to their titleholders, with the year beginning with just two legitimate champions in the entire promotion – welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes and his light heavyweight equivalent Randy Couture.
Unfortunately, at UFC 46, things were about to get a whole lot worse. Couture was set to defend his title against top contender Vitor Belfort in the event’s headline bout. Given their first meeting, which took place back in 1997, was fantastic, hopes were high for an excellent clash.
Incredibly, though, the fight was over before it really began. Couture opened by rushing Belfort in an attempt to clinch with him, but as he closed the distance, the Brazilian winged a punch at him that appeared to miss.
However, when ‘The Natural’ pinned his challenger into the fence, it was clear that something was badly wrong. He began to blink in an odd manner, forcing referee John McCarthy to call time, and once the fighters separated, the problem was visible.
Belfort’s punch might’ve missed, but somehow the stitching in his glove had caught Couture’s eyelid, practically ripping it off in the process. ‘The Natural’ clearly couldn’t continue, and the fight was immediately stopped after less than a minute.
Worse still, as the injury had been caused by a legal blow, the fight was forced to be called in favor of ‘The Phenom’, making him the new champion in the strangest possible circumstances.
Nobody was really to blame for this incident, but it remains one of the worst finishes to any UFC show in the promotion’s history.
#2. Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens – UFC Fight Night 159
When the UFC headed to Mexico City in September 2019, they booked a clash between featherweight action heroes Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez in the event’s main slot.
To say that the fans in attendance were excited would be an understatement. Not only were they buzzing to see their countryman ‘El Pantera’ in action, but the fight sounded like it would guarantee fireworks. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.
Instead, after a brief exchange, Rodriguez reached out with his hand to gage distance and promptly poked Stephens directly in the eye. It was immediately clear that this was a bad poke, and despite ref Herb Dean giving ‘Lil Heathen’ five minutes to recover, he was unable to continue.
Incredibly, despite Stephens being unable to open his eye due to the injury, the Mexican fans didn’t seem to buy it at all, instead booing wildly and pelting the octagon with trash – something that bizarrely, Rodriguez appeared to be encouraging.
Other UFC headliners over the years were also stopped due to eye pokes, including the bout between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad in 2021, but this one remains the most memorable and disappointing due to the shocking crowd reaction that it garnered.
#1. Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva – UFC 168
The worst injury to ever end a UFC headline bout – and the most grisly from a visual perspective, too – remains the leg break suffered by Anderson Silva in his rematch with Chris Weidman at UFC 168.
Not only did the finish end Silva’s hopes of regaining his middleweight title, it also largely ended his career as a top-level fighter, too.
The rematch was one of 2013’s most highly anticipated clashes, as Weidman had famously ended Silva’s near-seven year reign as middleweight kingpin a few months beforehand, catching ‘The Spider’ with a knockout blow as he attempted to bait him in with some odd taunting.
Coming into the fight, the fanbase appeared to be split between those who thought a more serious Silva would deal with Weidman easily, and those who thought the first fight wasn’t a fluke and that ‘The All-American’ would find a way to win again.
Nobody saw the ending coming, though. After an excellent first round that saw Weidman knock Silva down with a punch and beat him up on the ground, the second began with ‘The Spider’ attempting to work in some leg kicks.
However, as he threw one with his left leg, Weidman raised his own knee to check it. Silva’s shin connected awkwardly, and snapped in two, leaving his lower leg swinging around like a flipper.
Referee Herb Dean immediately stepped in with the Brazilian in absolute agony, and everyone watching was left shocked. Sure, Weidman had arguably caused the injury with his check, but nobody expected Silva’s leg to snap in such nasty fashion.
‘The Spider’ ended up taking more than a year away to heal from the injury, and when he returned, he wasn’t the same fighter, going just 1-5-1 before stepping away from the octagon in 2020.
