5 of the most underwhelming late-notice fighters in UFC history

#4 Chris Camozzi vs. Jacare Souza – UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold and UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold

Chris Camozzi was a disappointing late-notice opponent for Jacare Souza on two occasions

Most UFC fighters only get a chance to be a disappointing late replacement once, but somehow, TUF 11 veteran Chris Camozzi managed it twice, against the same opponent nonetheless!

Jacare Souza – ranked at the time as one of the best middleweights on the planet – was set to make his UFC debut in May 2013 against Costas Philippou, who was in the UFC’s top ten at the time. It sounded like a great striker vs. grappler clash.

But when Philippou suffered a cut over his eye and was forced out of the fight, the UFC didn’t search long for a replacement. Instead, they bumped Camozzi up from an undercard bout against Rafael Natal and matched him with Jacare.

It’d be unfair to label Camozzi a bad fighter. At the time, he was on a solid four-fight win streak in the UFC. But he was also nowhere near the top ten at 185lbs and was hardly the most awe-inspiring name.

Unsurprisingly, Jacare dealt with him via arm-triangle choke in just over three minutes.

Incredibly, though, in April 2015, Camozzi found himself taking another shot at the Brazilian. This time he stepped in to replace Yoel Romero on late notice, after two wins outside the UFC following his release from the promotion in 2014.

@Medium_Nog @ufc hey dummy, u know how many people wanna fight Jacare on 6 days notice? 1!!!! @ChrisCamozzi. #muchrespectchris

— danawhite (@danawhite) April 11, 2015

This time the fans were even more disappointed with the UFC’s choice, as at least Camozzi was on a winning streak the first time. Jacare took even less time to dispatch him the second time, submitting Camozzi with an armbar in just over two minutes – rendering the fight largely pointless.

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#3 Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo – UFC 149

It was hard not to feel underwhelmed when the UFC chose Shawn Jordan to fight Cheick Kongo at UFC 149

UFC 149 felt like a cursed card in general, as not only did it lose its planned main event of Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch, but it also lost numerous other fights up and down the card.

The most disappointing change, however, came in a planned heavyweight bout on the main card. This bout would’ve seen Cheick Kongo take on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in what sounded like a potential war.

However, the UFC had apparently moved a little too quickly in announcing the fight. Nogueira had been on the shelf since suffering a broken arm in his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 140 and wasn’t ready to return just seven months later.

That left the UFC scrambling for a replacement. But despite the presence of several high-level heavyweights on the roster – as well as some hot prospects – it was hard not to be disappointed by the fighter they chose.

Oh for the love of Calgary... Now Big Nog is hurt! Shawn Jordan stepping in to face Cheick Kongo at 149

— UFC (@ufc) June 17, 2012

The UFC sourced Shawn Jordan – a StrikeForce import with a UFC record of 1-0 – to take on Kongo, immediately downgrading the bout dramatically. The promotion tried to push Jordan as a fighter to watch, but it was hard to get excited over someone who’d lost to journeyman Devin Cole a year prior.

And unfortunately, the fight itself turned out to be an awful, slow clinch-fest that was immediately forgettable – a description that summed up UFC 149 on the whole in the end.