5 huge fights the UFC failed to put together
UFC CEO Dana White prides himself on always being able to make the fights that the fans want to see. Most of the time, he pulls this off effectively.
Over the years, though, there have been a number of huge fights that the UFC and Dana White somehow failed to make, often despite their best efforts.
With White currently promising to make Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall - should Jones beat Stipe Miocic - this is a topic that's almost guaranteed to rear its head again should the fight fall through.
With this in mind, then, here are five huge fights the UFC failed to put together.
#5. Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou - UFC heavyweight title
Right now, most UFC fans are hoping to see Jon Jones face off with Tom Aspinall to unify the promotion's two heavyweight titles in the near future. However, if you rewind a couple of years, the heavyweight fight that everyone wanted to see was Jones against Francis Ngannou.
Rumblings of the fight first began in 2020, when 'Bones' first relinquished his light heavyweight title to make the move up in weight.
However, despite Ngannou showing enthusiasm for the bout, Dana White was unable to get it done, blaming Jones' financial demands. According to the UFC CEO, 'Bones' wanted "Deontay Wilder money" for the fight.
Instead, Ngannou went onto dethrone Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title in early 2021, and soon after, the coin flipped.
Months into his reign, it became clear that 'The Predator' and the promotion were at odds around the subject of his future, putting any idea of a bout with Jones - who had by then come back into the fold - in doubt.
In early 2023, after White attempted to make the fight once again, it was announced that Ngannou would instead give up his title and move to the PFL promotion.
Seemingly in some kind of attempt to salvage the situation, Jones was matched against Ciryl Gane for the vacant title. When he beat him easily, though, it only meant that fans wanted to see Jones vs. Ngannou even more.
At this late stage in their careers, though, and with 'The Predator' tied up in the PFL for the foreseeable future, it's unlikely we'll ever see the fight.
#4. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson - UFC lightweight title
One of the biggest fights that UFC fans never got to see was a lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
In this instance, though, it'd be hard to blame Dana White for the fight not going down. Remarkably, the pair were officially matched against each other on no fewer than five occasions - three for the 155-pound crown - only for fate to intervene each time.
Injuries to both 'The Eagle' and 'El Cucuy' saw the fight scrapped in both 2015 and 2016. When it looked like we'd finally get to see it in early 2017, with the interim lightweight title on the line, Khabib instead fell at the final hurdle, botching his weight cut.
The next attempt to book the bout came in 2018, with both men looking to claim the 155 pound crown by that point vacated by Conor McGregor.
Remarkably, though, adding fuel to the idea that the fight was cursed, Ferguson somehow blew out his knee while attending a pre-fight press day.
Finally, with both men healthy, the fight was once again booked in 2020, this time with Ferguson looking to challenge for the title Khabib had won two years prior. However, despite neither suffering an injury, the COVID-19 pandemic instead derailed the plans, with Khabib being unable to enter the US.
This time, Ferguson decided to fight Justin Gaethje rather than wait, and ended up seeing his 12-fight winning streak snapped.
Five months later, Khabib beat 'The Highlight' and promptly retired, leaving his potential bout with 'El Cucuy' a firm entry on a list of the biggest fights the UFC were unable to make.
#3. Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg - UFC bantamweight title
During her reign as UFC bantamweight champion in her prime, there were few fighters in MMA more dominant than Ronda Rousey.
'Rowdy' dispatched of top contenders like Alexis Davis and Cat Zingano with such ease that the likes of Joe Rogan even discussed how she'd match up with some of the promotion's top male fighters.
However, the opponent that everyone really wanted to see square off with Rousey was Cris Cyborg.
Despite the fact that Cyborg had never fought at 135 pounds - and had never shown an interest in attempting to cut so much weight - it was hard not to get exicited about the possible superfight.
After all, the Brazilian had been dominating opponents for years, rising to the peak of her fame in her Strikeforce days, and it felt like most fans were even willing to forgive her chequered history with PEDs.
Unfortunately, Dana White and company were never able to come to terms with the two women to put together the fight, largely due to the weight issue.
By the time Cyborg did have a brief run in the octagon, the bloom had been knocked off Rousey's rose - literally - by both Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
In hindsight, it's likely a fight with Cyborg would've ended in similar nasty fashion for Rousey, but had the promotion been able to put it together in say, 2015, it would've been hard not to get excited.
#2. Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre - UFC middleweight title
Like the bout between Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg, a potential fight between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre was always going to be tricky to put together due to weight issues.
In this instance, both Silva and St-Pierre were at least contracted to the UFC at the same time. However, it felt like both men - quite justifiably - were happier to dominate their respective divisions, rather than look to become two-division champions.
Both 'The Spider' and 'GSP' won titles in the octagon in late 2006, with Silva beating Rich Franklin for the middleweight crown and St-Pierre taking the welterweight belt from Matt Hughes.
It was in 2010, though, when both men had stood as dominant champions for some time, that a potential superfight began to be mooted.
However, despite a lot of hype around the possibility, neither fighter seemed to be all that interested. That didn't stop even Dana White discussing it, though, as he labeled it a "fantasy fight" in 2011.
Years later, White revealed the main reason why he could never get the fight done was St-Pierre's unwillingness to move up to 185 pounds to pursue 'The Spider'.
Given that 'The Spider' was a large middleweight who often moved up to 205 pounds - and 'GSP' made himself severely ill when he did move up to 185 pounds in 2017, the Canadian's decision probably made sense in hindsight.
Still, from a fan's perspective, it's still a pity that we never got to see this potentially epic clash.
#1. Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko - UFC heavyweight title
Probably the biggest fight that the UFC were unable to put together was a potential heavyweight title bout between Brock Lesnar and the legendary Fedor Emelianenko.
Even Dana White has admitted that his failure to make this fight is his "biggest regret," despite the fact that he would often label Fedor as overrated, even in his pomp.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion was once the most feared fighter in MMA. He'd put together an insane unbeaten run, largely in Japan, beating the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop with apparent ease.
However, despite most of the most popular PRIDE stars moving to the UFC when the promotion bought out its rival in 2007, 'The Last Emperor' never made the jump.
The reason usually given was White's refusal to co-promote with Fedor's M-1 Global team, something that other promotions like Affliction and StrikeForce were willing to bend on.
In 2009, though, when Affliction crashed, leaving the Russian as a free agent again, it finally looked like a fight with Lesnar, who was then the UFC heavyweight champ, would happen.
The fight had quickly become the most talked about in the sport, largely because of Lesnar's massive popularity and Fedor's unstoppable aura.
However, even an apparent meeting between White and Fedor's entourage on an island off the coast of Venezuela couldn't see them reach a deal, despite a big-money offer.
In the end, both Lesnar and Fedor suffered huge losses that dented their reputations, but the fight remains the biggest that the UFC missed out on.