UFC: 5 fighters who had to relinquish titles due to injury or illness
Illnesses and injuries can come at any time. Some things are impossible to prevent, while other situations which might have been preventable but were not remain as regrets for the fighters in question. In a combat sports promotion like UFC, injuries are common.
In WWE, on Monday night's episode of Raw, Roman Reigns had a shocking revelation for the fans, one that no one had seen coming. The Big Dog opened the show, and in a moment of intense vulnerability, he revealed that he would not be able to live up to his promises.
He told the live crowd, and the global audience watching from home that he had Leukemia (Blood Cancer). He further went on to reveal that he had been diagnosed with the disease for the first time back when he was 22 years old in 2008. Thankfully, he had been able to beat the disease and it had gone into remission. Now, 11 years on from that fateful day, the disease was back again.
He would be unable to continue to function as a wrestler in WWE as he needed treatment for the disease. This left him with no option but to vacate the Universal Championship that he had managed to win after pursuing it for over two years.
The revelation left the fans shocked and emotional, as it was almost incomprehensible to imagine such a situation.
In this article, we will be talking about 5 UFC Champions who had to give up their own titles due to injuries or illnesses.
#1 Frank Mir
Frank Mir won the UFC Heavyweight Championship following an excellent fight with Tim Sylvia. The fight had to be stopped after Mir broke Sylvia's arm with a straight armbar. Although Sylvia protested the decision to start with, he accepted it after seeing the replay.
Mir would not be able to defend his title, however. Mir was involved in an accident when he was knocked off his bike by a car. He ended up breaking his femur as well as tearing all the ligaments in his knee.
The injury would put him on the sidelines for the better part of two years, and as a result, had to give up the title a year on from his injury. He would return to become the Interim Heavyweight Champion again. but never the Undisputed Champion.