5 UFC headline bouts that were ended by serious injuries

#4. Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway – UFC Fight Night 74

Max Holloway's fight with Charles Oliveira ended with a bizarre but serious injury

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is widely recognized as not only the best 155lber on the planet right now, but also one of the toughest and most durable fighters on the roster, too. The punishment he absorbed from Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje would’ve finished most fighters, but not the Brazilian.

However, a few years back, ‘Do Bronx’ was actually seen as more of a fragile character. Part of that reputation stemmed from his 2015 clash with Max Holloway – a fight that was stopped prematurely due to a strange injury.

The fight hadn’t even got going as such when it was stopped at the 1:39 mark of the first round. Both men exchanged some early strikes, but when Oliveira had a takedown attempt stuffed, he then collapsed to the ground for seemingly no apparent reason.

The fight was waved off by referee Herb Dean, and to tell the truth, nobody really had a clue what’d happened, assuming that ‘Do Bronx’ had somehow suffered some kind of shoulder or neck injury.

As it turned out, the Brazilian had actually torn his oesophagus, a severe injury by anyone’s standards. Quite how it happened, nobody is really sure to this day – although Oliveira suggested it’d been caused during his training camp.

Either way, despite the seriousness of the injury, to see such a highly-anticipated fight go down the pan like that was disappointing. Due to the weird nature of the finish, Oliveira’s reputation ended up taking an arguably unfair beating.

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#3. Vitor Belfort vs. Randy Couture – UFC 46

Vitor Belfort won UFC gold thanks to an injury to Randy Couture in 2004

Early 2004 wasn’t a good time for the UFC when it came to their titleholders, with the year beginning with just two legitimate champions in the entire promotion – welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes and his light heavyweight equivalent Randy Couture.

Unfortunately, at UFC 46, things were about to get a whole lot worse. Couture was set to defend his title against top contender Vitor Belfort in the event’s headline bout. Given their first meeting, which took place back in 1997, was fantastic, hopes were high for an excellent clash.

Incredibly, though, the fight was over before it really began. Couture opened by rushing Belfort in an attempt to clinch with him, but as he closed the distance, the Brazilian winged a punch at him that appeared to miss.

However, when ‘The Natural’ pinned his challenger into the fence, it was clear that something was badly wrong. He began to blink in an odd manner, forcing referee John McCarthy to call time, and once the fighters separated, the problem was visible.

Belfort’s punch might’ve missed, but somehow the stitching in his glove had caught Couture’s eyelid, practically ripping it off in the process. ‘The Natural’ clearly couldn’t continue, and the fight was immediately stopped after less than a minute.

Worse still, as the injury had been caused by a legal blow, the fight was forced to be called in favor of ‘The Phenom’, making him the new champion in the strangest possible circumstances.

Nobody was really to blame for this incident, but it remains one of the worst finishes to any UFC show in the promotion’s history.