5 intriguing UFC title fights that the fans never got to see

Dana White often prides himself on the fact that, for the most part, the UFC always manages to put together title fights that fans want to see. However, that hasn’t always been the case.

Over the years we’ve seen a number of potential UFC title bouts that sounded hugely intriguing never happen due to a variety of different reasons. Often, these fights fell apart due to injuries, suspensions and contract disputes. Unfortunately, the promotion was never able to put them back together.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see any of these fights at some point in the future meaning that, for the fans, they’ll always stand as classic 'What if?' questions.

Here are five intriguing UFC title bouts that the fans never got to see.

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#5. Cain Velasquez vs. Alistair Overeem – UFC heavyweight title

A heavyweight title bout between Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem could've been a classic

The UFC heavyweight division has struggled for traction on numerous occasions over the years. For the most part, however, the promotion has always been able to put on the best title fights possible at the time.

That being said, one huge title fight that they missed out on was a clash between Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem. The bout could’ve taken place at some point during 2011 had things gone slightly differently.

At the time, it was easy to suggest that the two men were the best heavyweights on the planet. Velasquez had captured the UFC heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar in late 2010. Overeem, meanwhile, was the titleholder in Strikeforce, the world’s second-biggest promotion.

When Strikeforce was bought out by its larger competitor in early 2011, fans were desperate to see a clash of heavyweight champions. This would’ve been a phenomenally intriguing bout, as it was hard to tell how Velasquez’s wrestling and ability to push the pace would combat Overeem’s stellar striking skills.

However, as Junior dos Santos was on a tremendous streak of his own at the time, it was decided that he’d face Velasquez for the title instead. Overeem was left to debut in the octagon against Lesnar instead.

JDS duly upset Velasquez with a knockout to claim the title. While Overeem defeated Lesnar impressively, a positive drug test in mid-2012 put an end to his hopes of facing the new champion.

By the time ‘The Reem’ returned in 2013, Velasquez had regained the title from dos Santos. Instead of giving the Dutchman an instant shot at the gold, he instead suffered a knockout loss to Antonio Silva that sent him tumbling down the ranks.

The outcome was that fans never got to see a Velasquez vs. Overeem title bout. Somehow, they missed out on it as a non-title bout too, a huge disappointment to fans who had dreamt of it for so long.

#4. Georges St-Pierre vs. Diego Sanchez – UFC welterweight title

In late 2006, Diego Sanchez looked like the biggest threat to the welterweight title

In late 2006, it looked like a new era was beginning in the UFC’s welterweight division. 25-year old Georges St-Pierre ended the year as the promotion’s new champion at 170lbs after destroying longtime champ Matt Hughes with a head kick. He looked set to spearhead the division for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, inaugural TUF champion Diego Sanchez – seven months younger than GSP – was surging through the division. He defeated highly ranked contenders like Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Joe Riggs en route to what seemed like an inevitable title challenge.

It felt like the two young stars were on a collision course. Had the promotion simply matched them against each other in early 2007, the fight would’ve been an easy sell to the fans, who were clearly buying into both men hugely. After all, at the time, there would’ve been huge questions over quite how GSP would’ve dealt with Sanchez’s wild, aggressive grappling style.

However, a major spanner was already in the works in the form of TUF 4. The winners of the season’s two tournaments – which were taking place at welterweight and middleweight – had been promised instant title shots.

Therefore, the season’s eventual champion, Matt Serra, was allowed to leapfrog Sanchez to take the first shot at GSP, despite lacking the major wins held by ‘The Nightmare’.

Any hopes of a potential GSP-Sanchez showdown in the future then went up in smoke at UFC 69. Serra knocked out the Canadian in one of the greatest upsets of all time, while Sanchez suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Josh Koscheck.

While St-Pierre did eventually regain the title, Sanchez moved down to lightweight at the end of 2008. This meant that the two men never came close to fighting, making this one an all-time great lost title bout.

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#3. Josh Barnett vs. Ricco Rodriguez – UFC heavyweight title

A positive drug test meant that fans never got to see Josh Barnett fight Ricco Rodriguez in 2002

The UFC themselves could easily be blamed for the majority of these missed title bouts. In the case of a heavyweight title clash between Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez, however, they can be forgiven entirely.

This fight had the potential to be an instant classic. At the time that they probably should’ve fought – 2002 – both men were on fantastic winning streaks in the octagon. Given their respective styles, too, it would’ve been near impossible to pick a winner.

Barnett had captured the title from Randy Couture early that year with a come-from-behind win via ground-and-pound. Rodriguez, meanwhile, had put together a run of four straight wins in the octagon, all via TKO.

With both men possessing phenomenal skills on the ground and being crude but willing strikers, this had the potential to be an all-time classic title bout. Any hopes of it actually happening quickly fell apart when Barnett tested positive for banned substances.

‘The War Master’ was quickly stripped of his title, and Rodriguez’s eventual shot at the gold came against former champ Couture instead.

‘Ricco Suave’ duly defeated ‘The Natural’ in a tremendous fight to become the new champion. Unfortunately, Barnett would not return to the UFC following his suspension for well over a decade – meaning that the fight never happened.

#2. Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar – UFC featherweight title

After winning the featherweight title in 2015, could Conor McGregor have faced Frankie Edgar?

Conor McGregor has been part of some of the biggest fights in UFC history alongside the likes of Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, the Irishman’s tendency to simply look for the clashes that will draw the most money has meant we’ve missed out on a number of potential fights involving him.

One title fight involving ‘The Notorious’ that fans were forced to miss out on was a possible featherweight championship clash with Frankie Edgar. Under different circumstances, it probably would’ve happened in early 2016.

As everyone remembers, McGregor became the UFC featherweight champion in December 2015 by knocking out longtime champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds. The result stunned the world, and meant that the Irishman instantly became the biggest star in the sport.

Just one night before that, though, Edgar knocked out Chad Mendes to clearly state his claim as the division’s top contender. It seemed to make sense for ‘The Notorious’ and ‘The Answer’ to fight with the title on the line.

However, McGregor ended up moving up in weight to fight Diaz twice and challenge for the lightweight title. Any possibility of a fight with Edgar went down the drain, particularly when the New Jersey native lost an interim title bout to Aldo.

Quite how this fight would’ve gone is anyone’s guess, although McGregor’s wins over Mendes and Eddie Alvarez suggest he would’ve had the edge. Regardless, though, it’s unfortunate that the clash never happened, as it may well have been fantastic to watch.

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#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson – UFC lightweight title

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fell through on numerous occasions

Naturally, the greatest example of a highly anticipated title bout that UFC fans missed out on remains the lightweight title clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

It’s hardly fair to blame the promotion for this fight never happening, too, as they attempted to book it on numerous occasions. Three of those times were with the lightweight title on the line only for it to fall apart under various different circumstances.

2017 would’ve seen the two men do battle with an interim title on the line as champion Conor McGregor was busy pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. However, Nurmagomedov was forced out due to weight cutting issues.

A year later, the UFC booked the fight again, this time for the title vacated by McGregor. Ferguson blew his knee out just days before, forcing Khabib to defeat Al Iaquinta to claim the gold instead.

Finally, Ferguson was set to challenge ‘The Eagle’ in April 2020 at UFC 249, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to strike, preventing Khabib from entering the US. When the event was rescheduled a month later, Ferguson was instead faced with Justin Gaethje and ended up losing by TKO.

Five months later, Khabib returned, defeated Gaethje, and promptly retired from MMA altogether, putting an end to any hopes of a fight with ‘El Cucuy’.

So who would’ve won this fight, and would it have lived up to the hype? The answer to the first question is hard to say. Sure, Khabib was able to dominate every opponent he faced in the octagon, but he never faced a fighter as aggressive in all areas as Ferguson.

However, ‘El Cucuy’ did have a tendency to accept fighting from his back a little too much, suggesting that ‘The Eagle’ would’ve come out on top.

Would this fight have been a classic, though? Most likely, given that the two men were undoubtedly the best lightweights on the planet at their best and nearly always put on exciting fights. Almost two years down the line from when it was most recently scheduled, it’s still gutting for the fans that this fight never happened.