10 Cancelled Fights That Altered The Course of MMA History

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There's been entire movies made about this subject. When one thing as small as a butterfly effect sends ripples across time. In these cases, it's one fight and the ramifications of each totally changed MMA just by their mere cancellation. That's what we look into today.
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#ufc #mma #ufc300 #tonyferguson #khabibnurmagomedov

[@mittromney2703]

The butterfly effect of Oliveira Islam 2 not happening is really starting to unravel 🤯

[@nomadgrappler9410]

Assuming charles actually makes weight islam will smash him again. Someone as undisiplined as charles is always going to struggle against fighters like islam. 99/100 times islam beats charles.

[@victor.guilherme1995]

​@@nomadgrappler9410 I disagree completely, but it's because I'm very biased. So you're probably unfortunately right

[@kylelyons6088]

​@@nomadgrappler9410 Undisciplined? Charles Oliveira? Lmao

[@m_rizzo]

​@@kylelyons6088compared to Islam...%1000!

[@nomadgrappler9410]

You dont miss weight 5 times, get dropped in almost every fight, get injured repeated to the point you have to pull out if you are a disciplined fighter. Literally every fight he makes a mistake that reflect poor decision making.

[@mrspiff6955]

Adesanya vs DDP was cancelled and Strickland got his opportunity, and changed the trajectory of the MW division.

[@luan4753]

only for short tho

[@SL-ld9tn]

@@luan4753yeah if Strickland didn't beat the b

[@HiTxMaN93]

Adesanye would have lost to DDP too so that doesnt matter

[@GengoSenmon]

@@luan4753 Controversial split decision. Many think Strickland won that.

[@gondolin999]

@@HiTxMaN93eh can you be sure of that??? not at all.

[@MainCardMinute]

Khabib/Tony not happening was a travesty

[@elizabethgeorge168]

"Bastard cursed fight" is the only appropriate description lol

[@FDT222]

That’s the most snakebit fight ever

[@Alarak87]

The only curse greater than the Drake Curse or the Sonnen Curse. Tony Time became a retired phrase.

[@devinburkett9036]

what can you do, *Khabitch* is a *coward* n did everything possible to avoid a *Prime* *El* *Cucuy*

[@dickdeoreo]

Prime Tony would’ve gotten mauled by Khabib, let’s all be real here

[@eastcoasttaffy74]

5 thru 1 better be Khabib/Ferguson 😭

[@elizabethgeorge168]

Ha! Totally forgot about the origin of, "That's f*ckin illegal!" It sucks that it brought the whole promotion down because EliteXC was doing some cool cross-promotion stuff that was pretty revolutionary at the time.

[@GengoSenmon]

They set the precedent for getting MMA televised onto major networks

[@elizabethgeorge168]

@@GengoSenmon Yep. Crazy how UFC didn't branch out to Fox until like 3 or 4 years AFTER EliteXC was on CBS.

[@GengoSenmon]

@@elizabethgeorge168 Crazy that combat sports still operate on the PPV model in 2024. People think it is some low-brow sport, but I tell them it literally costs the most out of every major sport to be a fan of.

[@decidingpaper6324]

Seth brought down that entire promotion when he beat Kimbo Slice no doubt

[@jessegarcia423]

Jiri vs Glover 2 changed 205 entirely.

[@dickdeoreo]

Rashad’s a stand up dude. Jones is like, tell me how I’m fake and Rashad just says, I’m not gonna get into that here. He could’ve just exposed the devil in Jones but decided not to

[@dakotagray1610]

Was he talking about steroids and that’s why he couldn’t say anything

[@benmcreynolds8581]

For real, Rashad could have ruined Jones but decided not to. I really liked Rashad during that era. It's crazy to think what things could have been like if Rashad Evans wanted to out every bit of trash that Jon Jones has hidden from the public at that time

[@Goldchaingarcia]

​@@benmcreynolds8581 And that was during the time when JJ image was this God fearing, stand up guy and great father. I still remember that one commercial he did.

[@MrSFblack]

Everyone thought Rashad was just being a hater until he turned out to be absolutely right about Jon Jones.

[@shaun4289]

@@dakotagray1610 probably not i think he meant the dark side of his mental health and the charactor he really is. I could be wrong tho and it could literally be steroid use he was talking about, who knows

[@BrushworkNL]

I was thinking about the final Tony/Khabib fight yesterday, It was supposed to happen on my GFs bday April 17. Seeing the UFC 300 commercial with Khabib and Tony facing off in the Octagon literally made me feel sick with remorse for never getting to see that scrap.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

That commercial showed us some awesome potential dream matchups.

[@Fightconnoisseur96]

I honestly feel like it would have been a pretty average fight and the only reason it carries so much hype now is because it didn't happen 5 times. If it had happened, I doubt it gets remembered as an epic fight, Khabib probably just dominates.

[@BrushworkNL]

@@Fightconnoisseur96 Two killers in their prime on 10+ win streaks in toughest division in UFC would be average fight lol, gtfoh you are banned from my comment

[@Fightconnoisseur96]

@BrushworkNL yeah it would, bud. Cause in all likelihood Khabib makes light work of Tony in spite of Tony's past accomplishments. Tony was always WAY to easy to hit and would be outclassed on the ground.

[@nolenkelly5298]

The Undertaker bell followed by Nate's callout is a god tier moment in MMAonPoint editing history

[@saadoonminhas9855]

Came here to say exactly this!

[@whoishe113]

Facts

[@whoishe113]

The pop too 😂

[@michaelmatt9752]

After all these years I finally know the backstory of "That's fuckin illegal".

[@nicholaswhorley8343]

How did we not hear about the infamous cable related injury a few days prior to UFC 223 and then the crazy sequence of events leading to not only Tony Ferguson, but also Max Holloway AND Paul Felder being ruled out and having Al 'I'll fight for you, just as hard as I fought in the octagon - Real Estate Broker' Iaquinta fight as a replacement of 3 other legends? COME ON

[@dookester.manoftruth7773]

I still have the poster of (and anticipation for) Chandler vs. Alvarez III. 😭 The greatest Trilogy of MMA rivalry fights never completed.... But-- then I got to witness the *amazing* Quadrilogy between Figgy vs. Moreno. The Force was balanced again, via the FlyW division-saving rivalry fight series between Figgy & Moreno. 🤟🏽

[@Venom-xd9st]

What if Dom Reyes wasn’t robbed? 😢

[@loketjakoprase285]

he wasnt, it was close fight he didnt win

[@Neeko_Lionheart]

@@loketjakoprase285oh, my guy, bless your heart…

[@lungzs]

@@Neeko_Lionhearthe hasnt won since

[@Neeko_Lionheart]

@@lungzs K, and Tony didn’t ever get to fight Khabib before going on a massive skid. What does that have to do with any outcome of a previous fight?

[@lungzs]

@@Neeko_Lionheart that tony was never going to beat khabib lmao. whos gonna tell him. been saying tony was buns for years

[@CornerStoreDrums]

MMA On Point brings it each time out!

[@MangaSlayer]

Haha I loved Nate Diaz’s part with the Undertaker’s gong

[@richardmcgreary6368]

Great idea for a top ten list! Really enjoyed looking at things through this "What If... " lens!😂❤

[@Fuening]

The Undertaker GONG** is what got me. lolol

[@greghuffman3061]

i think its also kinda cool that khabib vs ferguson got canceled 5 times. if it actually happened, i doubt it would have had the aura it does now. its kinda magical that it failed to 5 times

[@KyeClique]

“That’s fucking illegal” is one of White’s best soundbites

[@patricknez7258]

Dude.. Some of these are so crazy to think about how things might be different

[@GengoSenmon]

Conor getting that opportunity (and KO) against Aldo was critical for his career and much of the UFC's success.

[@patricknez7258]

Agree. Well said

[@surthrivingalaska2511]

Volks downfall is in part due to Charles cutting his brow.

[@local.laxer632]

I had NO CLUE that the “that’s fucking illegal” meme was in that interview

[@willi6880]

Tabk Abbott vs Royce Gracie. Had that have happened, BJJ would have ended right there

[@DannyB0y257]

You think tank Abbott could’ve won a fight against anyone?

[@nomadgrappler9410]

Nah mate the bane of bjj fighters is wrestlers and grinders. They just dont wanna work.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

More like Don Frye vs Royce Gracie. Frye was a freestyle wrestler in college and also had experience with greco-roman wrestling. In addition he was a black belt in judo and had 8 professional boxing matches under his belt. He was one of the few truly mixed martial artists in the early UFC.

[@JR-bu7we]

That’s fucking illegal!

[@Logjambam]

we all knew it was coming

[@ks-pg9nc]

Izzy vs DDP!!!! How can this not be on the list

[@meggastar1]

Dana White saying “the scum bag promoters” will never not be the funniest, most hypocritical, disingenuous thing a human being has ever said. Unbelievable.

[@GengoSenmon]

Same when he did his rant about people being "snowflakes" getting offended over flags...then proceeds to ban flags two weeks later...

[@downtownsportsanatomy1631]

Great list but you forgot one of the greatest fights that had been canceled. Khabib vs Holloway

[@rossgoldsworthy1583]

Banger

[@callumallison1662]

Pain

[@robk3848]

When Ken Shamrock said that Kimbo did a lot for MMA.....😢😢😢😢. Not an mma fighter really at all! He brought very minor extra eyes to the mma community but....yea....of course we all know that as much as we may like kats like shamrock and tito ortiz...for example....they're very semantically and ultimately odd people that people typically laugh at due to their lack of ability to create a clever sentence.

[@ChristyCarrillo-cj7xd]

That was a crazy statement by Ken.

[@mafu7979]

Spider v GSP

[@KingNikaDKota]

“That’s fucking Illegal” is fucking iconic

[@veles666]

2:31 just noticed the poster also had Maia vs Koscheck, that fight could've been fun (interesting to see how Koscheck dealt with Maia's jiu jitsu).

[@carphucker2973]

Seth Petruzelli is my damn hero because of his fight against Kimbo and the domino effect following it. I wish him happy birthday every year. Good guy

[@pstrizle9000]

I thought number 1 was gonna be josh barnet taking out affliction with 1 mere PED test dust up

[@cadengericke5652]

I kind of miss the old MMA on point intro music

[@KB-qk1ic]

Elite XC essentially claimed to do the same thing ufc has always done. Even Chuck Liddell said in his first ufc bout an executive told the fighters in the back of anybody went to the ground they wouldn't be brought back after a very boring fight had just finished. Their performance bonuses are to keep people swinging.

[@Salesedere]

Luke Taylor has gone from one of the best MMA video editors on KZbin to one of the best editors on KZbin in such a short amount of time that's its almost astonishing!

[@Bayliun]

big up the boy for sure

[@ynotefil]

MMA Right On Point 💯

[@mostmandrake1608]

That diaz edit gave me chills

[@IndomitableBeastKing]

This video made me miss Jaco rashguards

[@backpackingtony1779]

Not seeing Khabib vs. Tony still hurts. 😢

[@asimpson164]

I always appreciate a good mma conspiracy video. When the UFC's popularity exploded with the ESPN deal the ratio of fans that know the history and those that don't changed dramatically.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

I've been following the UFC for about 20 years. It weirds me out when someone doesn't know anything about Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture or Matt Hughes. Or they only know BJ Penn as the guy who lost 7 fights in a row.

[@asimpson164]

@@BiggieTrismegistus Yeah, exactly. Tony Ferguson is another example of that phenomenon.

[@GengoSenmon]

Even crazier how new fans and even fans who started watching in the Rhonda/Conor era are unaware of all the legendary Pride fights and nutty Yakuza business dealings behind the scenes.

[@GengoSenmon]

@@BiggieTrismegistus Most of those same people completely skip over GSP in their GOAT conversations too. Insane...

[@num1Jaysta]

@@BiggieTrismegistus Same here. Been following for 20 years and know all the history thanks to the old Spike TV days showing the 90's fights.

[@greendaypackers]

Jon was way more disciplined with Rashad in his corner. After that was done Jones went crazy in Mma and in his personal life. Wonder how many more fights we'd have seen if Jon had Rashad coaching him and keeping him motivated to be active as a champion.

[@brownwolf152]

Elite xc wanted Ken to take a dive against kimbo, he dove head first into the floor to cut himself and pull out.

[@cadensheerin6990]

What a cool video idea

[@chim55]

“An old promotion called Elite FC”…. Fuck me you’re making me feel ancient man

[@dadimadh4528]

Bravo!

[@gokuxavi270]

am i the only one who tends to watch these on the toilet ?

[@Randybutternubz]

Sonnen vs Wanderlie Silva turned into Bisping vs Belfort because of USADA and Bisping lost an eye.

[@CARL_093]

I remember most of this 👍👍

[@coryogata]

Faber V Cruz 3 did happen though...

[@korin9517]

9:55 Usman did it

[@Bayliun]

he was not an undefeated fighter though, so not quite the same as Rashad

[@korin9517]

@@Bayliun I interpreted as stay undefeated after winning tuf to win the title. I see now what you meant.

[@dakotagray1610]

Rashad talking about Jones being fake was definitely about steroids imean right?

[@salvatorelanzilotta386]

Damn, I like bisping but I really wish we would have gotten to see mousasi wash him 😂😂

[@GengoSenmon]

Technically, Joe Rogan vs. Wesley Snipes should be #1 on this list. Even non-MMA fans would have tuned in for that more than any of these others. If Joe lost to Wesley, it may have damaged his credibility for his future podcast...which would have changed much of MMA (especially UFC) history.

[@zombieeightpack1381]

**insert predictable “I think Prime Tony would have beaten Khabib and Khabib is a fight ducker and only had two title defenses and blah blah blah” comment here**

[@locks69]

TOP 10 TOUGHEST TUF WEIGHT CUTS!!!!!!! PLEEASE

[@billybussey]

i forgot about bispings year as the champ. zero fights. he definitely milked that so he could spend time as the champ for his legacy.

[@LottoWavy]

Actually BJ Penn was the first person to fight for a belt while champ in a different division. Randy never gained a title while already champ.

[@Godzilla52]

What about Gegard Mousasi vs Alexander Gustaffson? (Gus pulled out and Mousasi had to fight Illir Latifi) . If Moose had fought and won the fight against Gus, it could have butterflied away Jones vs. Gus 1 (which happened 5 months later)

[@wrd2matimbs646]

One goofball cutting Oliveira’s eye brown led to the downfall of Volkanovski in the span of 5 months

[@random__joe]

That one kinda stings. I still wanna see Charles Vs Islam II

[@constipatedsheep6864]

The fact that Conor vs Aldo 2 never happened is fucking criminals

[@DJReyzor357]

T.J. "Lance Armstrong Jr" Dillashaw 😅

[@bigmook2797]

Kimbo has no slice

[@TechnoPropagation]

The top 5 entries should have been Khabib vs Tony

[@johntremor4079]

I swear I really really needed to see habib vs Tony I really think Tony might have got him if he didn't get hurt on a damn wire come on man

[@Jiu-JitsuJourney257]

“Nick finally became a needle mover”

[@tylerakerfeldt7220]

The Eddie Alvarez entry is completely unrelated to the cancellation of the trilogy fight. The entry is ended with “a lot happened due to Alvarez leaving” clearly not because of a cancelled fight. Poor writing on that one boys.

[@Criostoirg]

When is Top 10 houses sold by al Iaquinta pt. 2?

[@random__joe]

2 million subs!!

[@Dave-nt8yt]

17:35 “Nick” 2nd video in a row Baylian makes a mistake

[@lukeharbolt7681]

Def Brock vs JDS. I hated we didn't get that one.

[@JamesKalu-xe2yw]

Kamaru also went undeafeted after winning TUF to win the welterweight title

[@devinburkett9036]

Snoozeman already Tapped like chicken in his amateur career though

[@JamesKalu-xe2yw]

@@devinburkett9036 True, my bad I had forgotten about that one

[@SilentStev]

10 fights that could change history. Me vs Jon.

[@whoishe113]

Undertaker Nate edit 😂

[@yeeshwa8115]

Had to do a double take when I saw "Nick Diaz".

[@MrSFblack]

What about the cancelation of Jones vs Rumble? With Rumble being a feared knockout artist and Jones not screwing up his reputation yet, that fight was going to be huge. Who knows how it would've turned out. And with Rumble now dead, we'll sadly never know.

[@aricstradtmann9972]

If Cruz doesn’t get injured or Faber wins tj doesn’t ruin the division by loading up on EPO

[@ssbmwar9386]

Buttt..... Lesnar vs Cormier must hold a place on this list.

[@micalzoncillo249]

KZbin captions translate gegard mousasi to "gay guard"😂

[@random__joe]

I was cracking up so hard the other night watching a fight and the captions were so funny with fighters foreign names...Jiri vs Someone 😂😂

[@shazbazzy]

You called Nate, “Nick” therefore this whole video needs to be discarded

[@Johngottisentme]

Costa v Khamzat not happening hurts

[@TylerDontSleep]

Yall mixed up nate and nicks name during the needlemover line

[@BigMac785]

Hmmm Dana White. He forgetting the Gracies and allowing Royce Gracie to choke somebody with a Gi?

[@thespectre4914]

Why did he call Nate Nick at 17:34😂? Is there something I don't know

[@saveyabreath680]

If Rda hadn’t got injured and managed to beat Conor he’d probably be retired by now and Nate would’ve never become a star that’s wild

[@BeerChaser1403]

Let's get some Alternate Universes. What if Colby won the belt? Leon never won? Hendricks beat GSP? Weidman never won?

[@UltraTito5]

This isn't exactly inside guidelines but what if Conor KO'd Floyd?

[@redneckrambo9626]

5 of these 10 are Khabib and Tony

[@Jet-iq3es]

Oliveira vs Islam 2 should definitely be up there

[@Jet-iq3es]

Volk wouldve never been brutally KOed for the first time, so his chin might have held up in the topuria fight. Gaethje probably wouldnt have fought max since hed have been the clear #1 contender after the rematch. No porier fighting for the belt. Maybe charles wins and becomes champ. Hell, we could be looking at a UFC where Volk beats topuria and Charles beats islam and we get volk v charles.

[@smackheadsgyro]

fuck me those throat noises at 2 mins just touched my soul

[@ytisfulloffreaks4189]

Wtf

[@joshshaw6]

Why did they call Nate Diaz Nick Diaz? 😂

[@Karabo4344]

Tiramisu Tuesday

[@sburghardt_]

Why you have to go there 😭😭😭😭

[@joshwells3782]

I loved early tuf

[@WhatDemocracy]

What about Kevin Lee.... the damn GOAT

[@dakotagray1610]

Noice

[@michaelolson2842]

You guys said Nick finally became a needle mover when talking about Nate...just saying

[@wasabi5338]

what if Yoel fought TRT Vitor?

[@JamesHeinrich-vk7vz]

Tony "El cacoo coos nest" Ferguson wouldn't have made the 3rd round with Khabib. It was not long after that he started his EMBARASSING 7 fight losing streak.

[@Henysipper]

who’s idea was it to put the Spice Girls in the video? lol