Sherdog’s Top 10: Canceled Fights

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4. Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva
UFC 175 “Weidman vs. Machida” | July 5, 2014

Despite what the standard repertoire of promotional nonsense would have us believe, true grudge matches are a rare thing in high-level MMA. Two-time middleweight and onetime light heavyweight title challenger Sonnen did not much care for Silva, and the longtime Pride Fighting Championships middleweight king offered no affection in return. These two legitimately did not like each other, and by the time Sonnen and Silva were finally put together to coach the third incarnation of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” their enmity had been going strong for several years.

That season of the reality show featured a full-on brawl that included one of Silva’s coaches, Andre Dida, sucker-punching Sonnen. Their war of words continued unabated, and despite the fact that both fighters were clearly past their primes, anticipation for the matchup ran high.

First scheduled for UFC Fight Night “Miocic vs. Maldonado,” their fight was briefly moved to UFC 173 when Chris Weidman was forced to pull out of his fight with Lyoto Machida. The bout was moved again due to a reported injury to Silva, and the matchup was on for UFC 175 in July. On May 28, however, all hell broke loose. A Nevada Athletic Commission official showed up at Silva’s gym to collect a sample for a random drug test, and “The Axe Murderer” ducked the test by escaping out the side door. Sonnen duly blasted Silva for refusing to submit a sample, and Vitor Belfort stepped in to replace him.

Only a few short weeks later, Sonnen’s own random drug test came back positive for human growth hormone, EPO, Anastrazole and hCG. He retired from MMA and was fired from his position as an analyst on Fox Sports. The Nevada commission gave Silva an indefinite suspension, and he subsequently launched the first salvos in his campaign to be released from the UFC.

There is almost no chance the fight will ever happen.

Number 3 » Ultimate What-If