UFC anniversary events are cursed. Many injuries, scandals and difficulties.
Sergey Sorokin March 20, 2024, 17:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Are the problems with organizing an upcoming event just beginning?
On the night of April 13-14, the big UFC 300 tournament will be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise (USA). It is true that fans were outraged because the card was not full of superstar confrontations. They didn’t expect the return of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, a new Jon Jones fight or a slew of title winners. But it is worth remembering that each anniversary tournament was accompanied by difficulties, scandals and injuries.
We talk about the most interesting events of the upcoming tournament:
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The UFC 100 tournament turned out more or less uneventful, at that time the organization was not particularly concerned with trying to put together a dream card. But we managed to create interesting couples that definitely attracted attention. In the preliminaries, for example, the legendary Jon Jones performed, who eliminated Jake O’Brien with a guillotine. It is worth noting that at that time Kostyanoy had only his third (!) Fight in the best promotion on the planet. And now, looking back, we can talk about the state of the fight. But then came the usual light heavyweight cut.
And the main event of the preliminaries featured Mark Coleman. Yes, yes, the same one who recently saved his entire family from a fire. The selection of fighters was more interesting on the main card. There, the next fight in the organization was carried out by Michael Bisping, who lost to Dan Henderson. The co-main event and main event (two title matches) went very well. First, Georges St-Pierre turned out to be stronger than Thiago Alves, and then Brock Lesnar finished Frank Mir in the second round. Can we say that this was some kind of amazing tournament? Hardly. But the fans had a very good show, with which they were satisfied.
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The UFC 200 tournament turned out to be much stranger, and especially since the card had to be cut several times and the event itself had to be literally saved. The events leading up to the event were especially noisy. It all started with the fact that the long-awaited rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz failed. Because? Yes, simply because Notorious refused to participate in press conferences. The Irishman always knew how to draw attention to himself. But at that point Conor, frankly, went too far. And now he risks never participating in the UFC anniversary show.
Conor McGregor
Photo: Getty Images
Even more terrible was everything that happened with the event in which poor Jones was involved. He was supposed to have a big fight with Daniel Cormier. At that time, Kostyanoy was already considered a true superstar of the league and the most valuable asset. But three days before the tournament he was pulled from the fight. The whole world saw the tears of John, suspended for suspicion of doping. The matter led to dismissal. Cormier fought Anderson Silva and even won by unanimous decision. But the fight itself didn’t cause that much of a stir. Furthermore, the main event of the evening became the third (!) most important. The disappointment of the fans and Jones himself knew no bounds.
John Jones
UFC Heavyweight Champion
“First of all, I want to apologize to all the fans who came to UFC 200 to support me. I want to apologize to Daniel Cormier. I know this fight means a lot to him, as it does to me. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry this happened. It is awful. They say they found something for me, but I don’t know what it is. I can’t even pronounce it. I am against doping and it is terrible that I have been accused of using it. “This is the worst thing that has happened to me in my career.”
The co-main event featured Brock Lesnar and Mark Hunt. And there everything happened even stranger. Let’s start with the fact that the famous journalist Ariel Helwani received a lifetime disqualification from league tournaments. He gave information about Lesnar’s return at UFC 300. Dana White and other heads of the promotion did not tolerate this, so they made a rather unexpected decision. And since then, Helwani has not officially worked in UFC tournaments.
The fight itself was downright boring. Lesnar finished off his opponent and then got into trouble. He… also passed a positive drug test. As a result, the result of the fight was annulled and Hunt himself began fighting with the UFC. Fans were even more disappointed with the anniversary tournament matchup. And especially since the main event of the evening was a women’s fight! Amanda Nunes finished Miesha Tate with a rear-naked choke in the first round. After that, it finally became clear: the anniversary of UFC 200 turned into a fatal collapse.
The fighters’ contracts, the managers’ correspondence, the demands and possible consequences: it’s all here:
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Of course, the UFC 300 poster can hardly be considered unique and inimitable. But at the same time it should not be considered a failure. The matchmakers tried to make the most of the current UFC roster. In addition, Ramadan intervened in the matter, as well as injuries to prominent fighters. For example, Jones, who was associated only with the first anniversary tournament, could not appear in the octagon, although he could have become the headliner of all events.
