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Conspiracy theories are everywhere these days and the world of the UFC is no exception, as there have been plenty of odd claims made about the promotion.
Over the years, online fans and fighters alike have come out with some truly crazy UFC conspiracy theories, most of which remain unfounded. Is there any truth at all in these conspiracies? It’s honestly impossible to say, but right now, it’s fair to suggest that they’re little more than speculation.
Here are five unfounded UFC conspiracy theories.
#5. The UFC paid T.J. Grant off to let Anthony Pettis replace him – UFC 164
The UFC is often accused of favoring certain fighters when it comes to handing out title shots. In 2013, though, Dana White and company not only supposedly offered a shot to a fighter who wasn’t the top contender, but – according to the conspiracy theory – they paid the rightful contender to step aside.
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In the summer of that year, featherweight champion Jose Aldo was pegged to defend his title against Anthony Pettis. Four weeks later, lightweight champ Benson Henderson was booked in a title defense against T.J. Grant.
In the end, though, both challengers were forced out due to injuries. Pettis suffered a knee injury and was replaced by Chan Sung Jung, while Grant was sidelined with a concussion.
However, when the promotion replaced Grant with Pettis, conspiracies quickly abounded, suggesting that they’d paid the Canadian off to ensure ‘Showtime’ could be handed a title shot after missing out previously.
To be fair, quite how Pettis had recovered from his injury so quickly to be able to step into a fight that was scheduled so close to his original one remains a mystery, but the idea of Grant being paid off seemed outlandish at best.
Indeed, the Canadian took to Twitter to deny the suggestion, claiming no amount of money could’ve made him step aside.
The fact that Grant never fought again due to his concussion issues and ended up retiring in 2014 should tell conspiracy theorists that this idea was incorrect, but it’s a claim that still remains alive a decade later.
#4. Georges St-Pierre didn’t make weight and/or failed a drug test – UFC 158
When welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre finally defended his title against bitter rival Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, fans were treated to one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes of all time.
However, despite GSP clearly winning the fight, the rivalry didn’t end at all. A couple of years later, Diaz produced a wild conspiracy theory in an attempt to explain his defeat.
According to Diaz, St-Pierre was given more than a little help from the Quebec Athletic Commission, who were determined to let their hometown boy win. Supposedly, not only did St-Pierre miss weight by three pounds, but he was also using steroids prior to the bout and was never drug tested correctly.
Is there any truth to either statement? As far as GSP’s weight went, the answer is a definite maybe. Prior to the event, a video emerged that saw both St-Pierre and Diaz told that under the QAC’s rules, they could weigh up to 170.9lbs and have their weight rounded down, rather than weighing 170lbs on the dot as would be required somewhere like Nevada.
However, while GSP did admit he might’ve weighed 170.4lbs, the idea of him being three pounds over seems ludicrous, as there was literally no evidence for this and it’s likely that he’d have been pulled from the fight if that were the case.
As for the drug testing, Diaz claimed neither man was tested because if he had been, he’d have tested positive for marijuana. However, while reports suggested only six of the 24 fighters in action were tested, even if St-Pierre wasn’t one of them, it’s unlikely he’d have been using PEDs.
GSP never failed a drug test throughout his UFC career. In fact, he was one of the few fighters who constantly spoke out against PED use, even going through Olympic-style testing for his bout with Johny Hendricks later in 2013 and passing the tests.
If he’d been using steroids just months before that, it’s likely that he’d have been caught out, meaning that Diaz’s conspiracy theory was probably sour grapes more than anything else.
#3. The UFC ensured Benson Henderson and Tyron Woodley didn’t compete on TUF 9
Prior to the advent of Dana White’s Contender Series, the UFC’s primary way of discovering new talent was through The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Indeed, future champions like Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and T.J. Dillashaw all emerged via the series.
Could TUF have produced two more champions, though? According to one interesting conspiracy theory, the answer is yes.
2009’s TUF 9 pitted a team of fighters from the UK against a team from the USA. According to the theory, the UFC were determined to ensure both winners came from the UK in order to continue their promotional push into that territory.
This meant that they turned down the more dangerous US-based fighters who applied to appear on the show, including a pair of future champions in Tyron Woodley and Benson Henderson.
Was this the case? Well, there is some truth to the theory. Henderson definitely applied for the show, as his audition tape was leaked onto the internet a couple of years later, while the suggestion that Woodley applied was mentioned during his Strikeforce days.
However, were both men really turned away for fear that they’d beat the fighters from the UK? It seems unlikely. Firstly, both men were highly inexperienced at the time, with Woodley having just one professional fight and Henderson holding a record of 7-1.
More to the point, it’s a well-known fact that Spike TV largely selected the fighters for TUF based around whether their personalities stood out, meaning the promotion probably didn’t have much say in things anyway.
So while the season was won by a pair of fighters from the UK – James Wilks and Ross Pearson – it seems unlikely that there was ever an effort from Dana White and company to ensure that this happened.
#2. Charles Oliveira’s scale was tampered with, causing him to miss weight – UFC 274
UFC 274 was undoubtedly one of the most controversial events in recent memory, as a number of fighters managed to miss their allotted weight, including then-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
‘Do Bronx’ came in for his clash with Justin Gaethje at 155.5lbs, and that extra half a pound meant that the promotion was forced to strip him of his title. Oliveira went on to defeat Gaethje, but was ineligible to reclaim the gold afterwards.
According to a conspiracy theory, though, the reason for Oliveira’s error – as well as the other fighters who missed weight on the card – was that the scale used at the official weigh-in had been tampered with by someone.
However, this wasn’t the case at all. According to UFC official Marc Ratner, there were issues with the scale, but it wasn’t the one used for the official weigh-in. Rather, the practice scale used by the fighters may have encountered some calibration issues due to it being switched from kilograms to pounds on multiple occasions.
Essentially, then, the explanation was that Oliveira used the practice scale, probably thought he’d made weight, only to find out otherwise on the official scale.
Sure, this was a massively unfortunate turn of events. But the truth is that there was no conspiracy to ensure ‘Do Bronx’ missed weight, only an oversight from both the promotion and from the Brazilian’s camp.
#1. UFC 279’s card was changed due to bad ticket sales and publicity – UFC 279
The latest conspiracy theory involving the UFC is probably the most outlandish yet, and it’s still causing plenty of controversy online. Naturally, it surrounds the bout switches that were made at the recent UFC 279 event.
Essentially, the headline bout for the event was supposed to see Khamzat Chimaev meet Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout, with the co-headliner seeing Tony Ferguson take on Li Jingliang, also at 170lbs.
On the undercard, meanwhile, Kevin Holland was scheduled to face Daniel Rodriguez in a 180lb catchweight bout.
However, when Chimaev missed weight in spectacular fashion – coming in at 178.5lbs – the promotion was forced to scramble and eventually changed the entire card.
Ferguson and Diaz ended up headlining the event at 170lbs, Chimaev faced Holland at the 180lb catchweight, and Jingliang and Rodriguez squared off, also at 180lbs, despite Li having made the 170lbs mark.
Things largely went without a hitch, with many fans declaring the event as one of the better ones in 2022 to date, but it didn’t take long for conspiracies to emerge.
According to former fighter Brendan Schaub and Hall of Famer Pat Miletich, the promotion advised Chimaev to miss weight as the event wasn’t selling enough tickets, allowing them to switch everything around to drum up late interest.
Naturally, this theory was quickly shot down by Dana White, who stated, in his usual expletive-filled fashion, that the idea Chimaev had been told to miss weight was ridiculous. To prove it, he insisted that the show was already sold out prior to the weigh-ins.
Is there any truth to Schaub’s claim? In all honesty, it seems doubtful, particularly as it’s been suggested that Diaz was offered huge amounts of money to remain on the card and fight Ferguson on late notice.
However, it’s likely that fans and observers will continue to discuss this conspiracy theory for some time yet.
