Top 10 Fights MMA Fans Were Cheated Out Of
From injuries and cancelled fights to entire events that have been dumped altogether, the UFC has attempted to put on certain fights that just never seemed to materialize.
Whether it’s Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson and the entire UFC 151 or lesser known fights like Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara, which the UFC attempted to book three separate times, fans have been inadvertently cheated out of some pretty epic matchups.
We here at LowKick MMA have prepared the top 10 fights that fans were cheated out of seeing. Check them out here:
10. Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
This matchup managed to avoid happening despite three different attempts to book it by the UFC, but oh what a fight it could have been.
Fans were cheated out of what probably would have been an awesome striking contest between two well-known violent finishers.
The idea was merely teased to fans when the UFC announced the two would throw down at UFC 118. But then Rivera pulled out with an injury, and fans moved on.
But then the UFC dangled the matchup once again, this time at UFC 122 in Germany. Of course, it was too good to be true, as Sakara succumbed to an illness just hours from the scheduled bout.
In a final attempt to put these two in the cage together once and for all, the UFC booked them for a fight on the UFC 133 card back in 2011.
Alas, Sakara and Rivera may have been scheduled to fight three times, but the fight gods thought otherwise, and after Jorge Rivera retired in 2012, the idea of these two fighting has been long laid to rest.
But what a fun fight this could have been… 
9. Paul “Semtex” Daley vs. Carlos Condit
Imagine if these two ended up squaring off against each other. Well leading into UFC 108 back in 2010, UFC fans came as close as ever to seeing Condit and Daley fight.
“”Semtex” had recently been brought into the UFC fold, and had scored a nasty TKO over Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 in his octagon debut.
Daley. Condit. A strikers dream matchup. The fans were surely about to be treated to a stand-up war between two Muay Thai machines.
Of course, such a fight was too good to be true, as an injury Condit sustained while training forced him out of the bout.
Dustin Hazlett stepped in to replace Condit, and for those who hadn’t watched UFC 103, fight fans were now introduced to Paul Daley as he knocked Hazlett out cold in the first round.
Daley would eventually be banned for life from the UFC after throwing a sucker punch at Josh Koscheck after the bell at UFC 113, making this matchup even more implausible at this point.
But it would be a travesty to forget that once upon a time, this fight was booked, and UFC fans were so close to a Paul Daley vs. Carlos Condit fight. 
8. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett
Two of the best heavyweights were set to do battle in a highly anticipated showdown between Emelianenko and Barnett.
The two PRIDE superstars had agreed to fight as the headliner for Affliction’s third, and ultimately last, event back in 2009.
In the weeks leading up to the fight, Barnett tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and was suspended from competition, leaving Fedor without an opponent and fans out of what could have been a monumental fight between the then two best heavyweights outside of the UFC’s ranks.
The brass at Affliction scrambled to save the event, at one point even suggesting that Vitor Belfort step in, as he was set to fight on the same card.
Barnett’s failed drug test caused the whole event to implode, and Affliction’s notoriously liberal and generous fight purses, caused the promotion to fold entirely (Tim Sylvia was paid $800,000 in a 36-second long losing effort to Emelianenko at Affliction’s second show).
Fedor would go on to sign with Strikeforce as did Barnett, but the two never got the chance to throw down against one another, which remains a massive disappointment for fight fans. 
7. Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Conor McGregor was on top of the MMA world following his 13 second knockout over longtime featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194. It seemed as though he could do anything, and after acquiring the 145 pound belt, he was off to lightweight for another title.
Standing in his way was Rafael dos Anjos, who had won the 155 pound belt by battering Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and defended it once in a one-minute destruction of “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Of course in hindsight, the bout looks different now than it did then. Dos Anjos hadn’t lost the belt yet to Eddie Alvarez and McGregor was still undefeated in the UFC.
But the fight was not meant to be, as the Brazilian suffered an injury a few weeks out from fight night at UFC 196.
The rest as they say is history; Nate Diaz filled in for dos Anjos and did the unthinkable by submitting McGregor in the second round in a welterweight affair.
But the original matchup had some serious potential, and with dos Anjos now going to welterweight and Conor chasing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, it’s very unlikely the two will ever fight at this point. 
6. Gegard Mousasi vs Alexander Gustafsson
Oh, what could have been. Just imagine Mousasi standing across the cage from Gustafsson.
Well for fight fans, that was nearly a reality, as the two were set to scrap back in 2013.
Of course, it was too good to be true. Gustafsson suffered an injury days before the bout, and rather than simply reschedule it, the UFC opted to replace “The Mauler” with one of his training partners, a little known light heavyweight named Ilir Latifi.
What went down was a completely forgettable affair, with Mousasi taking home a unanimous decision. And now that Mousasi has emerged as a middleweight contender, the chance of these two fighting is slim to none. 
5. Jon Jones vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson
So many factors created the perfect storm to insure this fight would never happen.
Jones’ legal troubles coupled with his suspension and “Rumble’s” recent retirement put the nail in the coffin for a fight between the two light heavyweight juggernauts.
But in 2015, fight fans were looking forward to UFC 187, where Jones was set to defend his belt against “Rumble”.
With “Rumble’s” retirement following a disappointing loss to current light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier at UFC 210, it’s more unlikely than ever that the two will ever get the chance to meet in the cage.
4. Jimi Manuwa vs. “Shogun” Rua
Perhaps a lesser know matchup, Manuwa and Shogun were actually set to headline a non-PPV card back in 2014 in Brazil.
Even at Shogun’s current capacity, the matchup sounds great on paper. Two strikers, one on the come-up and the other a former champion.
Well fans never got the chance to really savor this matchup, as Manuwa dropped out before it come ever materialize.
Ovince Saint Preux stepped in and ending up knocking Shogun out in 34 seconds flat.
Perhaps the shortened time he had to study OSP affected his performance that night (Manuwa pulled out a few weeks out from the fight, making OSP a bit of a last-minute replacement to save the card). Maybe age had caught up to him, after years of wars in the ring and cage of PRIDE and the UFC, respectively.
Just another fight that could have been. 
3. Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Well, this one is a bit two-handed.
On the one hand, fight fans are actually going to see these two fight on June 24 for Bellator.
On the other hand, this fight should have happened years ago, back when each man had more steam in their engines.
The two even coached against each other on The Ultimate Fighter. The stage had been set for an epic grudge match after a tense season coaching alongside one another, peppered with an actual physical altercation the two got into while filming.
The hate seems pretty real, especially coming from Silva’s side.
But instead, we get Wanderlei coming out of a four-year retirement and Chael Sonnen, who just submitted to Tito Ortiz.
If we got what we wanted in this world, the two would have fought at UFC 178 like originally planned.
Or that Ultimate Fighter Finale after their UFC 178 bout got scrapped due injury.
Third time’s the charm! 
2. Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir
Another bit of an oddity, Cain Velasquez was actually supposed to take on Frank Mir back at UFC 146.
For some reason, the entire main card on the PPV featured heavyweight fighters, so there was no shortage of a potential replacement.
The UFC ended up going with Frank Mir, who at the time was riding a three fight win streak and had just broke Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira’s arm. Also, Velasquez had literally just lost his title after Junior Dos Santos, who was the heavyweight champion at that time, knocked him out a minute into the first round.
Cain needed a rebound win before going another round with the man who took his belt, and while he remained on the card, it would have been a treat to see him fight Mir. Velasquez’ smothering and violent top game against Mir’s guard would have been an grappler’s delight.
Instead, he took on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, who he demolished effortlessly in round one.
This fight not only wouldn’t make sense now, it seems virtually impossible, as Mir had most likely fought his last in the UFC. 
1. Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson
The year was 2012, and Dan Henderson had just returned to the UFC after a stellar run in Strikeforce, where he finished the legendary Fedor Emelianenko with strikes as well as capturing the light heavyweight belt after TKOing Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante.
Jones was then a relatively new champ, having defeated Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans to defend his belt.
The two were booked to fight for the main event of UFC 151 in Las Vegas on September 1, 2012, but not only was the main event scrapped, the UFC cancelled the event entirely, keeping 151 and skipping to UFC 152 as almost a gravestone for a dead PPV card.
As legend has it, Henderson injured himself in late August, leaving about a week or so to find a replacement to fight Jones.
Chael Sonnen offered his services to take on the light heavyweight champ, but “Bones” dug his feet in the ground and refused to take the Sonnen fight. After much ridicule from UFC president Dana White, Sonnen himself, and the fans at large, Jones stuck by his decision to not fight Sonnen at UFC 151.
Dana White and the UFC brass responded by cancelling the event altogether, and that was that.
While hindsight tells us that maybe Henderson would have been most likely beat by Jones, the hype he had at that time was something to behold. Maybe he could have landed his patented H-bomb on “Bones”, after all, he did TKO Fedor Emelianenko.
