The Ultimate Fighting Championship does its part in listening to the fans in order to ensure that some of the most exciting and anticipated matchups come to fruition. Sometimes, however, you just cannot make them all happen.There are always going to be…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship does its part in listening to the fans in order to ensure that some of the most exciting and anticipated matchups come to fruition. Sometimes, however, you just cannot make them all happen.
There are always going to be matchups that are exciting to some fans but not to others. But then there are these matchups. The ones where you say, how did that not happen? Or, how has that not happened yet?
Some of these blockbusters still have a chance to happen but ultimately are probably past their optimal date.
These are the top five UFC fights that never happened.
(My qualifications? HERE’S my stinking qualifications!)
It looks like we’ll have to start drafting up new t-shirts to falsely promise you guys, because according to a recent interview with MMAFighting, UFC President Dana White was rather frank about his desire for both former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and former lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn to be placed in the UFC Hall of Fame in the near future. Though the jury is still out on whether or not Penn will return to the octagon following his hasty retirement in the aftermath of UFC 137, DW had nothing but positives to say about “The Prodigy” when asked on the possibility of his placement in the HOF:
Definitely. The thing about B.J. Penn is that what he brought to the lightweight division, there was a point in time when we first bought this company when people thought guys in the lighter weight divisions couldn’t be stars and couldn’t see pay-per-views and couldn’t cross over. B.J. Penn was definitely that first crossover guy for us. He’ll be back. It’s tough, when there are 16,000 people in the arena chanting your name, it’s tough to walk away from that. B.J. Penn is a fighter. You hear some of these guys, and Tito was one of these guys, he said he wanted to be famous. B.J. Penn is a fighter.
So there you have it, Penn will join long-time rival Matt Hughes, as well as Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, and Tapout co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis in that deluxe octagon in the sky. After a pair of unsuccessful title bids at 155, Penn won the welterweight title in his welterweight debut by defeating the then untouchable Hughes by first round rear-naked choke at UFC 46. Penn would vacate the UFC shortly thereafter, citing a lack of challenging fights, and would not taste UFC gold again until beating the ever-loving shit out of Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to claim the vacant lightweight strap. He would defend the belt three times until being upended by Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.
When addressing the possibility of Tito Ortiz joining those illustrious ranks, White did not shy away from the pair’s well-documented rocky history, and in fact stated that, in retrospect, it helped make the UFC what it is today.
Hear more from The Baldfather after the jump.
(My qualifications? HERE’S my stinking qualifications!)
It looks like we’ll have to start drafting up new t-shirts to falsely promise you guys, because according to a recent interview with MMAFighting, UFC President Dana White was rather frank about his desire for both former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and former lightweight and welterweight champion B.J. Penn to be placed in the UFC Hall of Fame in the near future. Though the jury is still out on whether or not Penn will return to the octagon following his hasty retirement in the aftermath of UFC 137, DW had nothing but positives to say about “The Prodigy” when asked on the possibility of his placement in the HOF:
Definitely. The thing about B.J. Penn is that what he brought to the lightweight division, there was a point in time when we first bought this company when people thought guys in the lighter weight divisions couldn’t be stars and couldn’t see pay-per-views and couldn’t cross over. B.J. Penn was definitely that first crossover guy for us. He’ll be back. It’s tough, when there are 16,000 people in the arena chanting your name, it’s tough to walk away from that. B.J. Penn is a fighter. You hear some of these guys, and Tito was one of these guys, he said he wanted to be famous. B.J. Penn is a fighter.
So there you have it, Penn will join long-time rival Matt Hughes, as well as Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Mark Coleman, Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, and Tapout co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis in that deluxe octagon in the sky. After a pair of unsuccessful title bids at 155, Penn won the welterweight title in his welterweight debut by defeating the then untouchable Hughes by first round rear-naked choke at UFC 46. Penn would vacate the UFC shortly thereafter, citing a lack of challenging fights, and would not taste UFC gold again until beating the ever-loving shit out of Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to claim the vacant lightweight strap. He would defend the belt three times until being upended by Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.
When addressing the possibility of Tito Ortiz joining those illustrious ranks, White did not shy away from the pair’s well-documented rocky history, and in fact stated that, in retrospect, it helped make the UFC what it is today:
Despite my personal problems with Tito, he belongs in. He was the champion when we first bought this thing. The fact that Tito is still here, Tito and I have had our moments, but it doesn’t change what he did for the company. The beef between me and Tito, Chuck and Tito, the fact is, that played a huge role in helping making this thing as big as it is.
In case you’ve all forgotten, there was a time when Tito Ortiz was more than just a punching bag for future and former world champions and the butt of endless commentary based jokes. After decisioning Wanderlei Silva and winning the light heavyweight championship at UFC 25, Ortiz defended the strap more times than any fighter in the division’s history (5), scoring victories over the likes of Evan Tanner, Yuki Kondo, and Vladimir Matyushenko. Recently, Ortiz announced that his trilogy-completion bout against Forrest Griffin at UFC 148 would be his last bout as a professional.
And even Donald Trump will tell you that Ortiz is a hell of a businessman. Aside from being one of the most consistent pay-per-view draws in the promotion’s history, Ortiz’s trilogy with Ken Shamrock as well as his epic pair of bouts with “The Iceman” have been responsible for more UFC merchandising profits than any other fighter can lay claim to.
So what do you think of these additions to the HOF, Potato Nation? And secondly, who do you think deserves a place in the Hall of Fame beside these two gents in the near future? Be advised, the first person to say Jon Jones is going to get their ass whipped.
Soccer is a game of fluid motions. There is constant running, kicking the ball back and forth. The scores are low, yet fans of soccer find the game to be beautiful and exciting. Many fans of mixed martial arts and the UFC may not understand the sport a…
Soccer is a game of fluid motions. There is constant running, kicking the ball back and forth. The scores are low, yet fans of soccer find the game to be beautiful and exciting. Many fans of mixed martial arts and the UFC may not understand the sport as much, but the entire rest of the world finds soccer to be a beautiful game and this cannot be ignored.
I actually gave it a whirl when the last World Cup was on television, but I just can’t get into the game. I think its mostly because I don’t understand much of what is going on. Even if I don’t understand soccer, the entire rest of the world seems to see it as poetry in motion.
The reason I am less likely to rip on soccer than most people is because as an MMA fan, I understand what it is like to have most of the world question my favorite sport. I have literally had people tell me “that UFC stuff is just two guys humping each other” or even worse that it is “crazy and barbaric.”
I try my best to never say bad things about soccer because even though it is not my cup of tea, that does not mean that soccer isn’t an incredible sport. Just because I have not grasped the sport does not mean much. There are hundreds of millions out there that love it like a family member. Who am I to judge what sport a person likes?
However, I do find it difficult to be an MMA fan at times. I went on a date recently and was told by this particular woman that she cannot stand anyone wearing Tapout or Affliction clothing because of the fact that idiots wear that stuff. I think these kind of stereotypes are simply unfair.
I have worn this type of apparel for years, and frankly, when I started wearing these brands there was very little interest in them. I’m sure some of the readers of this article have felt the sting of the UFC fan stereotypes as I have over the last few years. It is mostly unwarranted in my opinion.
But, that still leaves me wondering what is MMA? How would I philosophize about mixed martial arts or rather what would be an accurate description of what the sport means in the hearts of the true fans?
Matt Hughes has often referred to MMA in the past as a chess match of sorts and that is the direction that I am headed, sort of. If someone was to jump out of the bushes and say, “What is MMA? How would you sum this sport up, Michael?”
If I had to answer that question I would say that MMA is honorable combat. MMA is a combat sport first of all. It is impossible to ignore that fact that these men and women are entering a cage to fight in a one-on-one battle.
But, that is far too simplistic for mixed martial arts. After all, MMA involves much more than just one martial art. To me, MMA is a perfect fusion of all martial arts. Georges St-Pierre often describes himself as a martial artist and not a fighter. I think this is because he sees himself as being part of an honorable combat sport.
MMA has its fair share of characters, goofballs, trash talkers, prima donnas and outcasts. However, the modern day UFC is a far cry from pre-Zuffa UFC days where there were little rules and when that was used as a marketing tool. Today’s UFC is heavily regulated with weight classes, drug testing and other things that make MMA a much different sport than it was in its infancy.
Fighters such as Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva treat their opponents with respect, and they take their profession very seriously. Yes, it is true that many fighters do an injustice to their sport, but there are also many men who treat themselves as honorable combat artists who bring the sport to another level.
In the end it is very difficult to describe MMA in a single phrase but I think that honorable combat is one of the best ways to describe the modern UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts. The majority of fighters at the top are honorable men and women who compete in a combat sport, therefore I described MMA as honorable combat.
Most men creeping closer and closer to 40 usually indulge in those same, old, tired cliches: sports cars, gaudy jewelry and ill-fitting toupees. For former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, he just wants to fight. Arguably the most instrumental fi…
Most men creeping closer and closer to 40 usually indulge in those same, old, tired cliches: sports cars, gaudy jewelry and ill-fitting toupees.
For former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, he just wants to fight.
Arguably the most instrumental figure in cultivating the 170-pound class, Hughes has done more than most fighters could ever wish to accomplish in their careers.
The wrestling powerhouse first earned UFC gold in 2001 with a highlight-reel knockout of then champion Carlos Newton, slamming the Canadian into unconsciousness and dethroning him from the welterweight mantle.
Several title defenses followed before Hughes succumbed to defeat at the hands of “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn, though the Hillsboro, Illinois native later avenged the loss in his second run as champion.
Victories over Hayato Sakurai, Royce Gracie and Georges St-Pierre are just a small part of what has helped build the legacy of Hughes.
There’s something to be said about the drive and vigor of Hughes, who after losing four of his last seven fights, still wishes to step back inside the Octagon.
However, it’s his last two outings in particular that have fans and most pundits hoping that this current five-month stretch of inactivity extends to an inevitable retirement.
Riding high on the strength of a three-fight win streak with victories over Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida, Hughes looked like he was reentering contender status in 2010.
That’s before the aforementioned Penn registered a swift 21-second knockout in their rubber match, victimizing Hughes for that hefty “Knockout of the Night” bonus.
Josh Koscheck followed suit, as the heavy-hitter used some hellish ground-and-pound blows to record the first-round finish last September, leaving Hughes asking the UFC to put him “on the shelf” before he makes a finite decision.
In every fighter’s career, there comes the point where they weigh out the benefits of continuing to fight versus life thereafter.
For Hughes, another devastating loss could prove detrimental to his health, though the careless, half-baked idea that another win will remedy everything is sometimes too alluring to pass up.
The fact of the matter is Hughes is a UFC Hall of Famer, two-time world champion and has more than nine title defenses to his credit.
At 38 years old, Hughes has done more than most men twice his age and has the chance now to keep his legacy intact before another loss tarnishes what was a legendary career.
Matt Hughes is a legend in the sport of MMA, but is at a point where his career is coming to an end. Even Hughes himself knows that there is not much time left for him in the Octagon and that he is at a crossroads where he is being pulled in different …
Matt Hughes is a legend in the sport of MMA, but is at a point where his career is coming to an end. Even Hughes himself knows that there is not much time left for him in the Octagon and that he is at a crossroads where he is being pulled in different directions.
Between the UFC, his wife and himself, Hughes is unsure what exactly is his direction at this point in time. Hughes recently lost to Josh Koscheck, getting knocked out in the first round. This loss moved Hughes to two first-round knockout losses in a row. Hughes has gone 3-4 in his last seven fights and has been getting finished in each loss. While still holding a record of 45-9, he knows that his ability to keep up with the new generation of athletes is dwindling and his time is at an end.
Hughes is at a point where many feel he needs to retire, but it would seem Hughes, fueled by the itch of competition and assumingly attractive offers from Dana White, still has one fight left in him before hanging up the gloves.
While fighters like Dan Hardy have expressed an interest in fighting Hughes, there is only one that would bring the best business in and still be a suitable and great matchup for the former Welterweight Champ.
Hughes understands he is not making another title run, nor wants to move up or down in weight. His option is to take an exciting fight the fans and the UFC want, and one that will pay well and potentially cap off his legacy. Who better than the legend himself, Royce Gracie?
Gracie and Hughes fought in 2006, a matchup that was historic and would prove to be the beginning of Hughes’ moniker, “The Gracie Killer.” While Hughes did win that fight, a rematch would be an incredible match to see.
Since neither is in their primes anymore, the playing field seems a little more fair than when fans first heard Hughes was going to fight Koscheck or Sanchez. Hughes is currently 38 and Gracie is 45. The advantage goes to Hughes, but based on statistics, this would be a great way to go out on a win.
Typically taking a fight that doesn’t advance you forward against a guy you already beat isn’t attractive, but because of the circumstances, would be a great finale for Hughes, as well as Gracie.
When speaking to Royce Gracie, he discussed how there is only one fight he wants to have, and that is against Matt Hughes. Gracie wants revenge, for himself as well as Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida. Gracie has not competed in MMA since 2007, but is still on board to take on Matt Hughes, and only Matt Hughes.
Now that the UFC has returned to Brazil and will have put its third huge show by the end of this summer, it would seem fitting to get Hughes and Gracie to square off in Brazil. It ideally would be the last fight for both men, being a retirement bout regardless of result. It is a fight Hughes might feel very comfortable with and one that probably wouldn’t leave Hughes being woken up by a referee in the first round.
Financially, this fight would be a great move by Hughes to arrange. A fight between Hughes and Gracie in Brazil would certainly do very well at the live gate and on PPV. Two Hall-of-Fame legends, one out for vengeance, the other looking to seal his legacy and go out on a win. The marketing for this fight would be immense and easy to pitch.
Gracie had requested a large amount of money to fight back when the UFC was initially returning to Rio, and probably would be no different this time. While the payouts for Hughes and Gracie would be staggering numbers, they would be trumped by the revenue of the event. Gracie knows his worth and is looking to be compensated for putting himself back out there after so many years. Justifiably, if this fight were made, it would be one of the biggest Welterweight showdowns in history.
While it might have a novelty side to it, it is still a fight that would be competitive. Even though Gracie is much older and has not fought in MMA in years, he is still a seventh-degree red and black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and still trains.
This is a fight that is not easy for either man since both are dangerous in their own right. Betting odds would side with Hughes, and if he did win, it would be a much better way to retire than the path of Chuck Liddell.
This is a fight that many fans would want to see and is beneficial for both fighters to take. Although unfortunate to see Hughes on his way out, it would be great to see him leave the Octagon on a win. Gracie is no walk in the park, though. Regardless, if this fight were to be made, you would see two legends going toe-to-toe, one motivated by putting everything into his last fight and the other motivated by taking back one of only two losses in his career.
Who do you think his last fight should be? Would you like to see Hughes vs. Gracie?
Soccer is a game of fluid motions. There is constant running, kicking the ball back and forth. The scores are low, yet fans of soccer find the game to be beautiful and exciting. Many fans of mixed martial arts and the UFC may not understand the sport as much, but the entire rest of the world finds soccer to be a beautiful game and this cannot be ignored.