5 UFC fights that ended prematurely due to injury

#2. Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega, UFC on ABC 3

The featherweight division is in desperate need of new contenders for reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski. The latter is fresh off a dominant win over Max Holloway in their trilogy bout at UFC 276.

While Brian Ortega already faced the Australian great for the title at UFC 266, he failed to overcome the challenge he posed.

Yair Rodriguez, however, has been an elite contender in the division for years but never quite managed to build a strong enough win streak to stake his claim for a title fight before a loss sent him tumbling down the rankings.

At UFC on ABC 3, he was set to face friend and foe Brian Ortega in a bout Rodriguez claimed would earn him a title fight.

Eager to erase the memory of his strong but ultimately unsuccessful performance against Max Holloway, 'El Pantera' looked sharp, using his kickboxing to outstrike Ortega.

While Rodriguez, like most fighters who favor kicks as their primary weapons, once needed enormous space to implement his striking style. However, his boxing has improved by leaps and bounds.

Ortega, meanwhile, remained as he'd always been: powerful, tough, and defensively irresponsible. He failed to move his head off the center-line, being stung by Rodriguez's strikes as he came forward.

Finally, however, 'T-City' secured a bodylock before dragging the fight to the ground. His foe, though, was prepared.

Rodriguez immediately threatened him with an armbar. Ortega, who has had two shoulder surgeries so far, sought to yank his arm out of the armbar. Instead, he separated his own shoulder, injuring himself and ending the fight en route to a third shoulder surgery.

---

#1. Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor, UFC 264

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have now crossed paths thrice inside the octagon. The Irishman won the first bout with an early knockout, but lost the following two fights by knockout and a doctor stoppage.

Fans of 'The Notorious' are adamant that Poirier has not proven himself to be the better fighter. They claim that his first victory over McGregor was a fluke and that the second win was mere misfortune for the Irishman.

The leadup to their trilogy bout at UFC 264 was far different from the buildup to their previous matchup. When both men faced each other in their initial rematch, McGregor was uncharacteristically respectful and soft-spoken, as he had been during the buildup to his prior bout with Donald Cerrone.

Fans have since speculated that it was a decision McGregor made to salvage his image after a litany of scandals outside the cage.

By the time his third matchup with Poirier was scheduled, however, 'The Notorious' reverted to his usual trash-talking persona. He disparaged his foe before promising to deal such a brutal beating that 'The Diamond' would leave the octagon on a stretcher.

The Irishman, however, was only half-right: someone would indeed leave the octagon on a stretcher, but it would not be Poirier.

Come fight night, both men started their bout at a furious pace. The same problems McGregor encountered in their initial matchup were present as Poirier's check hook, Philly Shell, and counter-punching troubled him.

They forced 'The Notorious' to seek refuge by initiating a clinch. However, prior to doing so, the Irishman had been throwing kicks with reckless abandon.

What exactly damaged McGregor's leg remains unclear. The Irishman claims he had micro-fractures prior to the bout, while Poirier asserts that he'd checked one of his foe's low kicks.

Regardless, after a failed guillotine choke, McGregor sprang back to his feet. However, when he stepped back after throwing a straight left, his shin crumbled under the weight of his step, snapping in half to end the bout due to injury.