En route to the huge success it enjoys currently, the UFC has had to avoid many obstacles, navigate around many roadblocks and jump over many hurdles along the way. From disassociating itself from the anything goes blood-sport image it had in the early days to dealing with the constant opposition from the culinary union, it hasnt been easy to turn the UFC into a legitimate, multinational sport watched by millions each year. However, there is one obstacle that the UFC will never be able to shake off fight cancelations. Whether it be through injury, a failed drugs test or some less common reason, each and every year a number of the fights which we the fans get giddy with excitement over are suddenly cancelled, either for a fighter to be replaced with a less intriguing opponent or for the bout to be scrapped entirely. Indeed, just this week we have been disappointed to hear that the much anticipated fight between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen has been cancelled. Having a great fight suddenly cut from a card hurts more than Dan Hendersons right. The nature of the sport is such that unlike the likes of football, basketball or American football all the action hinges on just two individual athletes. These men will be putting their bodies under incredible amounts of strain in the build up to their fight so it shouldnt be surprising that cancellations come fairly regularly. The contemporary-era UFC is particularly affected by the impact of fight cancellations with more and more events each year, the roster has become more thinly spread meaning cards are increasingly reliant on their main events. This was most apparent at the scrapped UFC 151 which we will be discussing later in the list. Here is WhatCultures journey through the 10 biggest fight cancellations in UFC history: binned fights which caused us to grind our teeth, take virtual shots at the UFC on Sherdogs forum and maybe even shed an embarrassing tear-or-two.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
