Top 10 worst UFC main events of all time (on paper)

Gegard Mousasi vs. Ilir Latifi

Ilir Latifi. Photo: Thomas Shea – USA TODAY Sports

Gegard Mousasi had some hype from his time in Strikeforce and other promotions, and was scheduled to make his UFC debut against hometown hero Alexander Gustafsson in Stockholm, Sweden in April of 2013. However, that fight fell through just days before the event as the Swedish MMA Federation made the controversial decision to force Gustafsson to pull out due to a cut he had received in training, even though it had pretty much healed at that point.

Saving the day was Swedish UFC debutant Ilir Latifi who took the fight on just three days notice. However, Latifi was quite unknown at the time and fans weren’t happy with the change. Many demanded refunds and it even got to a point where some Swedish media sites gave out tickets for free.

However, in the end, the event turned out to be highly entertaining and both Mousasi and Latifi went on to become ranked fighters later on. The Stockholm event was also the promotional debut of another fighter that went on to do great things in the sport – Conor McGregor.