The Best Fights That Never Happened
by drano on Feb 28, 2009 12:05 AM EST
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PrintThese are in no particular order let me know if you guys can think of any great fights that just never came together.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Andrei Arlovski
Cro Cop made his UFC debut in early 2007 while Arlovski was fresh off of a
victory over Marcio Cruz would have been great to see these two go at it at UFC 67 or UFC 70.
Brett Rogers vs. Kimbo Slice
After the first primetime Elite XC event these two actually had a confrontation and the two were supposed to fight each other in October of 2008, Kimbo fought Seth Petruzelli instead.
Frank Shamrock vs. Ken Shamrock
The two adoptive brothers have traded insults with each other for years and have said they have no problem fighting each other however the fight has never materialized.
Wanderlie Silva vs. Gilbert Yvel
Okay so this one actually happened at Pride 11 but ended in less then a minute with a no contest, Silva hit Yvel in the nuts with a shot that almost made me cry.
Tito Ortiz vs. Lee Murray
If you don't know the story about this one apparently Murray knocked out Ortiz in a street fight after UFC 38 outside of a London night club, Ortiz has since denied the incident. Murray was arrested in Morrocco in 2006 because of his alleged involvement in the Securitas depot robbery making this rematch pretty much impossible.
Mousasi vs. Akiyama
Should have seen this one for Mousasi's first middleweight title defense however Mousasi is making a move to Light Heavyweight and Akiyama is heading to the UFC.
Bas Rutten vs Tito Ortiz.
The way I've heard this story, Frank was about to retire and Tito and Bas were
gonna fight for the vacant middleweight title but instead Frank fought Tito and Bas retired shortly after due to injuries.
Cris "Cyborg" Santos vs. Gina Carrano
Seemed like Elite XC was building this fight through both of their primetime shows on CBS however the company folded before the fight could be set.
Kevin Randleman vs. Tito Ortiz
These two have talked trash about each other in the past and supposedly there is some bad blood there but the UFC should have signed this fight between these two talented wrestlers back in 2000.
Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes
These two traded insults as coaches on the Ultimate Fighter and were set to meet in December of 2007 however Serra pulled out last minute due to injury. The fight hasn't been scheduled yet but the bad blood still exists with these two.
Dan Henderson vs. Frank Shamrock
Frank Shamrock beat Dan Henderson in a submission wrestling event over a decade ago since then Dan Henderson has had some great accomplishments fight could have been set before Hendo came to the UFC and Shamrock was the newly crowned Strikeforce middleweight champ.
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Randy Cuture
Could have been a great fight in 2000 Randy was fighting in Japan for the Rings promotion while Sakuraba was fighting in PRIDE.
Anderson Silva vs. Matt Hughes
Was suppose to happen at UFC 36 however Silva had Visa problems.
Frank Shamrock vs. Vitor Belfort
Would have loved to see this one in the mid 90's while both were fighting in the UFC but it was never meant to be however the two have recently expressed a desire to fight each other at middleweight.
Dana White vs. Tito Ortiz
This one was scheduled for March 24, 2007 I won't bore you with why it didn't happen but in my opinion Tito comes out looking bad in just about everything he does.
Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman in 2000
In 2000 Mark Coleman was one of the most accomplished wrestler in mixed martial arts, and widely regarded as the man who invented the "ground and pound." Couture would have been a tough match for anyone each of them went undefeated in 2000 with Couture taking the UFC's heavyweight title and Coleman winning the PRIDE heavy weight grand prix. Couture left the UFC at the end of 2000 and the two could have met in Japan in 2001
Bas Rutten vs. Randy Couture
Maybe we all could have been treated to this fight back in 99 if Randy didn't
decide to leave the UFC and fight for RINGS in Japan.
Mark Kerr vs. Mark Coleman
In 2000 Kerr and Coleman were both contenders in PRIDE's open weight grand prix despite being close friends the two were willing to fight each other unfortunately Kazuyuki Fujita ruined Kerr's plans in the quarter finals while Coleman took home the gold.
Josh Barnett vs. Ricco Rodriguez
This fight was never set to happen but after Barnett's win over Couture it would have been nice to see these two go at it for Barnett's first title defense, but Barnett popped for anabolic steroids and never fought in the UFC again.
Bas Rutten vs Rickson Gracie
Could never figure out why this never happened at PRIDE 3 Bas annouced that he and Rickson would fight in PRIDE after his fight with Kevin Randelman.
Rickson Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
It should be a crime that this fight never happened in the '90s the Gracies were royal family of MMA in fact in 1999 it had been almost a 50 years since a Gracie had lost an MMA or Vale Tudo match, then Kazushi Sakuraba stopped Royler, Renzo and Royce then won a unanimous decisions over Ryan. He earned nickname "The Gracie Hunter" soon after. Rickson has always been known as the family champion and retired in 2000 undefeated. This fight would have been legendary.
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Randy Couture v Fedor Emelianenko
Even if it happens now, I’ll always wonder what Randy in his prime (or two years younger) would’ve been able to do.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 12:21 AM EST reply actions
It was a great fight, but it would have been greater if it was a unification between two super dominant KO machine champions, instead of when Wandy and Chuck were coming off consecuitive losses.
yeah I guess the title may have made it a little more interesting but I don’t see the fight getting any better then it was
A little more interesting and two rounds longer.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 12:57 AM EST up reply actions
Man, UFC really needs to find a way to designate main event/co-me fights as 5 rounders, as well as designated #1 contender fights, where the winner automatically gets the next title shot. I think this would be an amazing move by the UFC or AC’s.
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
Randy Couture versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: This would have happened back at Rings – King of Kings 2000 Final had Couture defeated Valentijn Overeem. Nogueira defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara in the Semi’s while Couture lost to Valentijn. If Couture wins, then Couture and Nogueira would have fought each other. This was a few years before each man hit their prime but it would have been great to watch nonetheless.
BJ Penn versus Shinya Aoki/JZ Calvan/Eddie Alvarez/Joachim Hansen: Neither will ever happen and it’s a damn shame.
Vitor Belfort versus Anderson Silva: In-his-prime Belfort versus in-his-prime Silva. Who wins? I wish it could still happen. Doubtful, though.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
I see BJ winning one out of those four fights. I hope BJ mans up, leaves the UFC, and comes back to Japan.
U Hope BJ Mans Up?
lol… What a way of putting it… I’d love to see hellboy, jz, alvarez, and aoki man up and come to the UFC….
eh?
by Loot on Feb 28, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Not only do I have BJ Penn winning all four of those fights, I have Sean Sherk winning all four.
And Kenny Florian winning three.
And Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, Frankie Edgar or Tyson Griffin winning at least one if not two.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 3:27 PM EST up reply actions
I hope the last line is a joke. Between the four of them they could squeak out two wins and they might both be from Jim Miller.
BJ wins 2, maybe 3. Same for Sherk
by EazyEismydad on Feb 28, 2009 7:08 PM EST up reply actions
I doubt he’s joking and I personally would stand by all of his predictions as my own even if he is.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 7:17 PM EST up reply actions
???????????
you must be out of your mind! in what area would bj have a disadvantage against any of those fighters? I just can’t believe some of the comments left by some people. I am honestly embarrassed for you. bj wins all four, hands down. doesn’t even struggle.
AnonymousA doesn’t represent anyone other than herself.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
understandable but man I’ve heard a lot about BJ since his fight with GSP about how he was overestimated, how he’s lazy, and crazy the guy is pretty impressive at lightweight and he’s not someone that I’ve ever bet against because he’s just one of those fighters that you just can’t count out.
All those people are basically full of crap. A lightweight losing to GSP doesn’t say anything about how good he is as a lightweight.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 7:36 PM EST up reply actions
BJ Penn has a history of being/appearing lazy and a whiner, and that was before the GSP fight. Most of his backlash is in response to his trash talk followed by quitting on his stool.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
I’ll give it he was eating a lot of humble pie even with the whole vaseline thing the day after he was saying that GSP had beat him and the vaseline didn’t really make a difference and I don’t know who hypnotized him into thinking another fight would end differently but you can’t deny his skill at 155
Sure – none of that makes him anything but the best 155er in the world, though.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 9:28 PM EST up reply actions
Note I never commented on his quality at lightweight ;)
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
That and I respect his fighting ability.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
You’d have to be an idiot not to. BJ is one of three people to beat Sean Sherk, and the other two are pretty awesome.
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 1, 2009 5:58 PM EST up reply actions
I mean his recent UFC history looks better than it actually is. Who has he beat since his return? Jens Pulver who is 1-3 in the FW division since then; and the consistently one dimensional Joe Stevenson who is 1-2 since then, and his one win was very lackluster against a guy who just got off the chopping block.
Sherk is the only real win, but he decided to box with BJ for some crazy reason. BJ was coming in with a huge striking advantage. After watching the GSP fight I think Sherk would attempt the same gameplan and win in a rematch. Sherk is a poor mans GSP after all, and in every way that they are the same is how GSP beat Penn.
The rest of these guys have been on fire so why wouldn’t they have a good shot at beating him.
by EazyEismydad on Feb 28, 2009 7:14 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t take anything away from Sherk but I do not think he should be placed anywhere near GSP. For one GSP striking is on a whole other level then Sherk that he uses insanely well to compliment his wrestling as we saw when he fought Fitch. Also I don’t put much into the whole vaseline thing instead I gotta say that GSP is just super strong the way he was posturing out of BJ’s rubber guard was crazy the second I saw that happen I knew that fight was over. I don’t think Sherk would be able to control BJ the way GSP did because BJ is taller then Sherk and his shots are a lot slower then GSP’s and BJ’s standup is tailor made for Sherk.
lol @ mans up.
The BJ haters have officially passed the BJ lovers as the most fanatical group on the interweb!
BJ wins all 4 of those fights, or at least 3/4. I like all those guys, but come on.
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
by BJJDenver on Mar 1, 2009 12:39 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I hate BJ Penn, but the man is a sick fighter at 155, and damn good at any weight.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
Thank you for that. I never understood the “I don’t like him, so he isn’t good” mentality. I like BJ, but I thought it was pretty solid that GSP would win their fight. Nothing wrong with being realistic, lol.
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
First of all, I don’t consider Kimbo vs. anybody to be the best of anything, there are plenty of fighters I would enjoy seeing Rogers fight but Kimbo sure as hell ain’t one of them. Also Hughes and Serra is scheduled for UFC 98, let’s hope they don’t get hurt.
who doesn’t want to see Kimbo get destroyed and at the time they weren’t matching him with any kind of real competition
I thought the premise of this post was “BEST fights that never happened”, I don’t consider any fight he has ever been in to be a good fight. And Kimbo did get destroyed I don’t know why we’d want to see it again.
that fight would have been at the height of the whole Kimbo hype the back story was intriguing and if the fight was on CBS it probably would have been a huge draw. I don’t subscribe to the thought that only the best in the world can put on a good show.
Considering the guy is so one dimensional (and in all honesty, not even that good at that one dimension) I don’t see any way he could put on a good fight with a guy who is so obviously head and shoulders above his skill level. This fight likely would have been over in under 2 minutes, what is so great about that?
Are you kidding me like it or not and as much as everyone hates it no one could deny his drawing power that alone is enough for it to be a shame that this fight never happened I’m not a fan of Kimbo and your probably right that the fight wouldn’t last more than a minute but neither did Tito vs. Shamrock and that fight set records for viewership.
Are we talking about popularity and viewership or having good fights? Sure Kimbo is a big draw, I don’t see how that translates to “The BEST Fights That Never Happened”. I’m working under the assumption that we are talking about actual good fights, not fights some 15 year old kid talks to his buddies about at school on Monday.
haha I think the fight should have happened it was hyped very well there was a story behind it that was pretty interesting and you know people would have watched I understand this isn’t the WWE but I think this fight would have been something worth seeing. “not fights some 15 year old kid talks to his buddies about at school on Monday.” that was pretty funny.
Rec'd
Frontpage worthy. I agree with all your choices and off the top of my head can’t think of any you left out. Good work, sir.
"It's like a flying knuckle sandwich." --Rogan
"And many men have eaten it." -- Goldy
how about
the greatest fight thats not going to happen? Fedor vs Lesnar, Fedor dosnt seem to want anything to do with ufc, and many of the best fighters are there, i mean beating Arlofsky ? Who cares ? The pit bull left the ufc cuz it was to tough for him.
"Life is a butterflies dream"
Kasigi Yabu
Fedor can come to the UFC at pretty much any time he wants, and he’s pretty young. I’m not at all pessimistic that he’ll be in the UFC one day, despite all evidence to the contrary.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 3:29 PM EST up reply actions
That’d be just fine.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions
It would have been awesome, but I still want to see it now.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 7:37 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah hopefully Arlovski will take some time off his boxing career to fight one more MMA match this year
I think it will still be an intriguing match up today. Arlovski’s style even suits the semi-past his prime Cro Cop. I know Arlovski would be interested in this fight. He made some flattering remarks about Cro Crop leading up to his fight with Fedor.
Arlovski plan is to build up his boxing in between MMA fights. Reading thru the lines I think his camp is looking for 3-5 boxing matches in the next 2 years leading up to heavyweight title fight against a non-Klitcheko. A lot of people doubt Arlovski can make it that far, but if he couldn’t I don’t think Freddy Roach would be wasting him time training him. Freddy likes to win much more than he likes money, so he must think he has a winner.
Never say never. Same to Kid vs Torres.
by Derek Suboticki on Feb 28, 2009 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
That strikes me more as a “fight that hasn’t happened yet” rather than a “fight that never happened.”
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
by Richard Wade on Feb 28, 2009 7:52 PM EST up reply actions
Jens Pulver vs. Hiroyuki Takaya – Shooto year end show, winner was supposed to go on and fight Pequeno. Pulver ended up getting called in to fight Gomi at Shockwave instead. His replacement was one Gilbert Melendez.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Alexandre Franca ‘Pequeno’ Nogueira – some epic duckage happened here. Pequeno had two or three injuries to avoid the fight, then he entered the HERO’S LW tournament, Melendez joined it, Pequeno dropped out, Melendez dropped out, and finally Melendez got fed up and moved up to LW in Pride (which, in the end, was a good thing). Pequeno never defended his title again, as he was stripped of it when he dropped out his next defence against Antonio Carvalho. This also led to the rather awkward week or two period where Brazilians were banned from Shooto because Pequeno failed to return the title and the ISC were too cheap to buy a new one.
Matt Lindland vs. Anderson Silva – Silva was scheduled to defend his title against ‘The Law’ at Cage Rage 16. Lindland pulled out to fight Mike Van Arsdale, and Tony Fryklund was brought in as his replacement. This led to the invention of the ‘Anderson Elbow.’
Not really a big fight this one, but still didn’t happen…twice:
- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva IV – first time it didn’t happen was at Shockwave 2004 because Sak couldn’t get medical clearance to fight. Mark Hunt stepped in as his replacement. The second time was at Pride 34 because Wanderlei Silva was still under suspension by the NSAC after getting KO’ed by Dan Henderson.
Some David Terrell fun (none particularly big, but fun nonetheless):
- vs. Jeremy Horn – scheduled to defend his IFC title against Horn in 2001, Terrell disappeared from the arena and the fight was cancelled.
- vs. Trevor Prangley (UFC 54) – pulls out a month before the fight with an arm/elbow injury. Replaced by Travis Lutter.
- vs. Yushin Okami (UFC 62) – pulls out three weeks before the fight with a sinus infection. Replaced by Alan Belcher.
- vs. Yushin Okami II (UFC 66) – pulls out ~one month and a half before the fight with an elbow injury. Replaced by Rory Singer.
- vs. Ed Herman (UFC 78) – pulls out three weeks before the fight with ‘torn ligaments’ (I don’t believe he specified which ones they were. Replaced by Joe Doerksen.
by ilostmydog on Feb 28, 2009 11:29 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
This could be its own post if you expanded and added. Good info.
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 1, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions
KOS VS FITCH
they will never fight cuz they are both part of AKA, but i think they’re both being pussies about it. It shouldn’t matter that they are teammates/friends. They should be professionals and have a fight and a true contenders match.
In-prime Wanderlei Silva vs. In-prime Shogun Rua
As much as these 2 aren’t doing so good right now, to see them fight when they were in their primes would have been awesome.
Great List.
The one fight I would absolutely love to see at this point in time is Kid vs. Faber. Even if Urijah doesn’t win in the rematch, that would be a great fight to see.
Kid seems to be in good favor with Zuffa as well, and in the event (small chance) that he doesn’t take the Dream FW tourney, I could see him moving to the WEC’s FW or BW division and tearing shit up. I’m pretty sure he only has 2 fights left on his FEG contract.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
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