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

Despite UFC president Dana White always saying that you can’t judge the strength of a card before fight night, the reality is that you can and probably should.

Sure, some weaker cards end up delivering awesome fights when it’s go time. But with events almost every weekend and a record-high cost of being a fight fan, it’s certainly relevant to look at a card’s lineup before deciding how to spend your Saturday night and hard-earned money.

Since this weekend’s upcoming UFC Fight Night has been criticized by some fans for having a weak main event, we decided to look back and rank the ten worst headliners through the years – on paper.

Does Saturday’s fight between Alexa Grasso and Viviane Araujo make the list? Click on ”Next” and start reading to find out!

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.

Demian Maia vs. Jake Shields

Demian Maia. Photo via Instagram (@demianmaia)

One of those fights that stylistically was doomed to end up in a split decision after five lacklusting rounds. Which of course turned out to be exactly what happened.

Louis Smolka vs. Paddy Holohan

Louis Smolka. Photo via Instagram (@lastsamuraiufc)

After several injured fighters pulled out of the card, the two unranked flyweights Louis Smolka and Paddy Holohan ended up being the main event in October 2015.

In the end, the fans in Dublin, Ireland, got to see a good fight and an Irish fighter headline the show, but name-wise it’s one of the absolute weakest UFC main events ever.

Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 2

Antonio Minotauro Nogueira.

One of those rematches no one asked for.

The event was initially expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight fight between Alexander ”The Mauler” Gustafsson and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.

The UFC had scheduled the pairing as a main event on two other previous occasions. However, when they fight fell through a third time, the promotion brought in Ryan Bader to face Lil Nog in a fight that lacked any real intrigue or storyline.

Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott

Demetrious ”Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Photo: Ron Chenoy – USA TODAY Sports

A title fight, yes, but it has to be seen in its context.

UFC created a whole TUF season where they handpicked flyweight champions for a number of smaller organizations just to find a new fresh challenge for champion Demetrious Johnson, who was on his way to clear out the entire division.

However, of all 16 competitors, the season’s winner who eventually got to face Johnson was the least exciting option of them all –  Tim Elliott. Recently cut from the UFC, Elliott just wasn’t that new fresh opponent that ”Mighty Mouse” needed and promotion had hoped for. Instead, we were left with a weird matchup that made no sense on paper. The whole koncept turned out to be an epic fail, even though Elliott actually surprised fans with an early submission attempt on fight night.

Germaine de Randamie vs. Holly Holm

Holly Holm. Ohoto: Amber Searls – USA TODAY Sports

The title fight that made absolutely no sense whatsoever!

The women’s featherweight division was created for Cris Cyborg, but she wasn’t ready to fight when the promotion was in desperate need of a pay-per-view main event. So what to do?

The UFC ”solved” the situation by dragging up the two bantamweight contenders Germaine de Randamie and Holly Holm, putting them in a featherweight title fight main event at UFC 208.

All this when each and everyone knew who the real featherweight champion was. The fact that the fight turned out to be quite boring and ended in controversy certainly didn’t make things better either.

Ovince Saint Preux vs. Yushin Okami

Ovince Saint Preux. Photo via Instagram: (@003_osp)

Weird fight! Originally, Ovince Saint Preux was scheduled to fight former light heavyweight champion Maurício ”Shogun” Rua. However, Rua was forced to pull out from the fight due to an injury, and was replaced by returning veteran Yushin Okami.

Okami usually competes at middleweight, 20 pounds lighter than the light heavyweight limit. Needless to say, the size difference was a huge factor and it felt like Okami was in deep water as soon as the fight started.

In the end, OSP won the unevenly matched fight in the very first round by securing his signature Von Flue choke as Okami immediately shot for a failed takedown attempt.

Michael Bisping vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Kelvin Gastelum. Photo: Jason Silva – USA TODAY Sports

A strong fight on paper, sure, but a fight that was simply bad news and never should’ve happened.

Michael Bisping replaced Anderson Silva on short notice in the main event in Shanghai, just three weeks after getting beaten up by GSP. While some American commissions may’ve had issues, ”The Count” was given permission to fight by the UFC as they self-regulate in China where there aren’t any commissions overseeing them.

It’s probably safe to assume that the British fighter was not fit to fight and one could sense that he was bound to lose. Low and behold, Gastelum went on knocked him out with a vicious left hook and Bisping simply had no business being in the octagon that night.

Nicco Montano vs. Roxanne Modafferi

Roxanne ”The Happy Warrior” Modafferi. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports

Dragging in B level fighters in TUF and putting a belt on the winner has literally never been a good idea to launch a new weight class. And when the UFC did it with the women’s flyweight division, they probably created the least-deserving champion ever.

Neither Nicco Montaño or Roxanne Modafferi had any business competing in a UFC title fight, and everyone with any knowledge of MMA already knew that Valentina Shevchenko would claim the flyweight throne as soon as she got the opportunity. Which of course happened, as Montano was later stripped of the belt due to inactivity causing Shevchenko to defeat Joanna Jedrzejzcyk to win the belt a year later.

Alexa Grasso vs. Viviane Araujo

Alexa Grasso will face Viviane Araujo at UFC Vegas 62. Photo via UFC

Sure, both Grasso and Araujo are highly ranked fighters, but in a division where almost every contender is far behind the dominant champion Valentina Shevchenko. Furthermore, neither fighter is that big of a name – especially Araujo – and it’s hard to see anyone of them being a real threat to the champ.

The flyweights are also ranked No. 5 and No. 6, so the outcome of the fight won’t really affect the rankings either. The fight simply lakes stakes and doesn’t feel like the level of main events that we’re used to, even for a UFC Fight Night at the Apex.

Many fans has expressed their dissatisfaction online leading up to this weekend’s event, claiming this to be one of the worst main events in recent time. On paper, it’s hard to argue against that sentiment.

Read more: Top 20 best UFC posters ever!

When writing this list, we considered every event from UFC 100 up to date.

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