The year of 2016 became one of the most eventful and memorable years in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The first UFC event in New York City and the rise of numerous notables made this year something special, but the year also shared its unfortunate moments. A significant damper fell in part due to the numerous UFC fight changes and cancellations in 2016. Below is a complete list of UFC fights that were originally scheduled to occur during the year but would be changed or cancelled due to: contract dispute, doping violation, fighter missing weight, illness, staph infection, injury, medical issue, personal issue, opponent rescheduling to fight someone else, rescheduling for a different event, retirement of an opponent, visa issue, and someone passing away.
UFC Fight Changes and Cancellations in 2016
The following list DOES NOT include:
-Fights discussed/linked to an event but never made official
-Fights removed due to the cancellation of an entire fight card (UFC Fight Night 97: Penn vs. Lamas was cancelled; however, the list includes Penn’s injury which forced him off the card)
Overall Statistics
In total, 151 officially planned fights were changed or cancelled in 2016.
The total number of fight changes and cancellations from each category, ranked from most to least.
- Injury = 92
- Doping Violation = 13
- Personal Issue = 8
- Illness = 6
- Visa Issue = 6
- Opponent Rescheduling to fight someone else = 6
- Fight Rescheduling for a different event = 6
- Medical Issue = 5
- Staph Infection = 3
- Contract Dispute = 2
- Fighter Missing Weight = 2
- Opponent Retirement = 1
- Passing of an Opponent = 1
Dennis Bermudez, Stefan Struve, and Gian Villante were the only three fighters to have a fight changed/cancelled due to a staph infection.
Al Iaquinta and Conor McGregor were the only two fighters to have a fight changed/cancelled due to a contract dispute.
Justin Scoggins and Kelvin Gastelum were the only two fighters to have a fight changed/cancelled due to missing weight.
Paddy Holohan was the only fighter to have a fight changed/cancelled due to his retirement from mixed martial arts.
Josh Samman was the only fighter to have a fight changed/cancelled due to his passing on October 5th.
Out of the 92 injuries that resulted in a fight change or cancellation in 216: Erik Koch, Joaquim Silva, Daniel Cormier, and Evan Dunham were the only fighters to pull out of a fight more than once due to an injury.
Four UFC cards tied for the most fight changes or cancellations of 2016. Each suffered seven fight changes/cancellations.
- UFC Fight Night 81 (Dillashaw vs. Cruz – January 17)
- UFC Fight Night 83 (Cowboy vs. Cowboy – February 21)
- UFC Fight Night 93 (Arlovski vs. Barnett – September 3)
- UFC Fight Night 102 (Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov – December 9)
UFC on Fox 22 (VanZant vs. Waterson – December 17) was the only UFC card of 2016 to see no fight changes and/or cancellations.
The 13 UFC pay-per-view events from 2016 accounted for a total of 59 changes/cancellations. Nine of these 13 UFC events suffered five or more card changes/cancellations (~69.2%).
The 22 UFC Fight Night events from 2016 (including the lone injury resulting in the cancellation of UFC Fight Night 97) accounted for a total of 73 changes/cancellations. Four of these 22 UFC events suffered five or more card changes/cancellations (~18.2%).
The 7 UFC on Fox and TUF Finale events from 2016 accounted for a total of 19 changes/cancellations. One of these seven UFC events suffered five or more card changes/cancellations (~14.3%).
Fight changes/cancellations by weight class, ranked from most to least.
- Lightweight (155 lbs.) = 35
- Welterweight (170 lbs.) = 31
- Middleweight (185 lbs.) = 20
- Bantamweight (135 lbs.) = 14
- Featherweight (145 lbs.) = 13
- Flyweight (125 lbs.) = 11
- Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) = 10
- Heavyweight (265 lbs.) = 7
- Strawweight (115 lbs.) = 7
- Woman’s Bantamweight (135 lbs.) = 3
January
UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit – January 2
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm (bout rescheduled to a different event)
- Drew Dober vs. Erik Koch (Koch injury, Dober would face Scott Holtzman)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Neil Magny (Magny moved to fight Kelvin Gastelum, Thompson rescheduled to fight Johny Hendricks)
- Russell Doane vs. Michinori Tanaka (Doane injury, Tanaka would face Joe Soto)
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Kyle Noke (Gastelum injury, Noke would face Alex Morono)
UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz – January 17
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: seven
- Charles Rosa vs. Jimy Hettes (Hettes injury, Rosa scheduled to face Augusto Mendes)
- Charles Rosa vs. Augusto Mendes (Mendes injury, Rosa would face Kyle Bochniak)
- Abdul-Kerim Edilov vs. Francimar Barroso (Edilov injury, Barroso would face Elvis Mutapcic)
- Rob Font vs. Patrick Williams (Williams injury, Font would face Joey Gomez)
- Beneil Dariush vs. Mairbek Taisumov (Dariush injury, Taisumov scheduled to face Chris Wade)
- Chris Wade vs. Mairbek Taisumov (Taisumov visa issue, Wade would face Mehdi Baghdad)
- Dennis Bermudez vs. Maximo Blanco (Bermudez staph infection, Blanco would face Luke Sanders)
UFC on Fox 18: Johnson vs. Bader – January 30
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Joaquim Silva vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (Silva injury, Mercier would face Carlos Diego Ferreira)
- Sage Northcutt vs. Andrew Holbrook (Holbrook injury, Northcutt would face Bryan Barberena)
February
UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson – February 6
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez (Card originally UFC 196, Velasquez injury, Werdum scheduled to face Miocic)
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic (Card originally UFC 196, Werdum injury, Miocic removed from card)
UFC Fight Night 83: Cowboy vs. Cowboy – February 21
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: seven
- Cody Garbrandt vs. John Lineker (Lineker illness, Garbrandt would face Augusto Mendes)
- Sarah Moras vs. Lauren Murphy (Moras injury, Murphy would face Kelly Faszholz)
- Trevor Smith vs. Leonardo Guimaraes (Smith injury, Guimaraes would face Anthony Smith)
- Brandon Thatch vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (bout rescheduled to a different event)
- Sam Alvey vs. Daniel Sarafian (Alvey injury, Sarafian would face Oluwale Bamgbose)
- Bryan Barberena vs. Jonavin Webb (Barberena rescheduled, Webb would face Nathan Coy)
- Donald Cerrone vs. Tim Means (Means doping violation, Cerrone would face Alex Oliveira)
UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping – February 27
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: four
- Michael Bisping vs. Gegard Mousasi (Bisping moved to fight Anderson Silva, Mousasi would face Thales Leites)
- Jimi Manuwa vs. Nikita Krylov (Manuwa injury, Krylov removed from card)
- Brad Pickett vs. Enrique Briones (Briones injury, Pickett would face Francisco Rivera)
- Teemu Packlaen vs. Lukasz Sajewski (Sajewski injury, Packlaen would face Thibault Gouti)
March
UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz – March 5
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor (dos Anjos injury, McGregor would face Nate Diaz)
- Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Johnson (Johnson injury, Ferguson rescheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov)
UFC Fight Night 85: Hunt vs. Mir – March 20
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Ross Pearson vs. Abel Trujillo (Trujillo visa issue, Pearson would face Chad Laprise)
- Alan Patrick vs. Chad Laprise (Laprise rescheduled, Patrick would face Damien Brown)
- Justin Scoggins vs. Ben Nguyen (Scoggins injury, Nguyen removed from card)
April
UFC Fight Night 86: Rothwell vs. Dos Santos – April 10
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Ruslan Magomedov vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (Magomedov injury, Gonzaga would face Derrick Lewis)
- Francis Ngannou vs. Bojan Mihajlovic (Mihajlovic personal issue, Ngannou would face Curtis Blaydes)
- Bartosz Fabinski vs. Nicolas Dalby (Fabinski injury, Dalby would face Zak Cummings)
UFC on Fox 19: Teixeira vs. Evans – April 16
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson (Ferguson injury, Nurmagomedov would face Darrell Horcher)
- Rashad Evans vs. Shogun Rua (Rua injury, Evans would face Glover Teixeira)
- Lyoto Machida vs. Dan Henderson (Machida doping violation, Henderson removed from card)
- Cezar Ferreira vs. Caio Magalhaes (Magalhaes injury, Ferreira would face Oluwale Bamgbose)
- Drew Dober vs. Islam Makhachev (Makhachev doping violation, Dober removed from card)
UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux – April 23
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones (Cormier injury, Jones would face Ovince St. Preux)
- Jessica Aguilar vs. Juliana Lima (Aguilar injury, Lima would face Carla Esparza)
May
UFC Fight Night 87: Overeem vs. Arlovski – May 8
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: four
- Chris Wade vs. Rashid Magomedov (Magomedov injury, Wade would face Rustam Khabilov)
- Peter Sobotta vs. Dominic Waters (Sobotta injury, Waters would face Leon Edwards)
- Nick Hein vs. Jon Tuck (Hein injury, Tuck would face Josh Emmett)
- Paddy Holohan vs. Willie Gates (Holohan retirement, Gates would face Yuta Sasaki)
UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic – May 14
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Evan Dunham vs. Leonardo Santos (Dunham injury, Santos rescheduled to fight Evan Dunham)
- Sergio Moraes vs. Kamaru Usman (Usman injury, Moraes would face Luan Chagas)
- Anderson Silva vs. Uriah Hall (Silva illness, Hall removed from card)
UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt – May 29
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Abel Trujillo vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (Ferreira doping violation, Trujillo would face Jordan Rinaldi)
- Erik Koch vs. Joe Proctor (Proctor injury, Koch would face Shane Campbell)
- Jack Collier vs. Keith Berish (Berish injury, Collier would face Alberto Uda)
June
UFC 199: Rockhold vs. Bisping 2 – June 4
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: six
- Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman (Weidman injury, Rockhold would face Michael Bisping)
- Evan Dunham vs. Leonardo Santos (Santos injury, Dunham scheduled to face James Vick)
- Evan Dunham vs. James Vick (Dunham injury, Vick would face Beneil Dariush)
- John Makdessi vs. Mehdi Baghdad (bout rescheduled to a different event)
- BJ Penn vs. Dennis Siver (Siver injury, Penn scheduled to face Cole Miller)
- BJ Penn vs. Cole Miller (Penn doping violation, Miller would face Alex Caceres)
UFC Fight Night 89: MacDonald vs. Thompson – June 18
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Alex Garcia vs. Colby Covington (Garcia injury, Covington would face Jonathan Meunier)
- Kid Yamamoto vs. Chris Beal (Yamamoto injury, Beal would face Joe Soto)
July
UFC Fight Night 90: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez – July 7
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: one
- Alan Jouban vs. Nordine Taleb (Taleb injury, Jouban would face Belal Muhammad)
The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale: Jedrzejczyk vs. Gadelha 2 – July 8
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- James Krause vs. Ross Pearson (Krause personal issue, Pearson would face Will Brooks)
- Scott Askham vs. Anthony Smith (Askham injury, Smith would face Cezar Ferreira)
- Jake Matthews vs. Stevie Ray (Ray injury, Matthews would face Kevin Lee)
UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes – July 10
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Derek Brunson (Brunson injury, Mousasi would face Thiago Santos)
- Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz (McGregor contract dispute, Diaz removed from card)
- Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones (Jones doping violation, Cormier would face Anderson Silva)
UFC Fight Night 91: McDonald vs. Lineker – July 13
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa (Chiesa injury, Ferguson would face Lando Vannata)
- Ryan Hall vs. Alex White (White injury, Hall removed from card)
UFC on Fox 20: Holm vs. Shevchenko – July 23
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: four
- Ryan LaFlare vs. Alexander Yakovlev (LaFlare injury, Yakovlev would face Kamaru Usman)
- Hector Urbina vs. George Sullivan (Sullivan doping violation, Urbina removed from card)
- Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira (Johnson personal issue, Teixeira removed from card)
- Tony Martin vs. Michel Prazeres (Martin injury, Prazeres would face JC Cottrell)
UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley – July 30
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: six
- Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Claudio Silva (Silva injury, Bahadurzada scheduled to face Jorge Masvidal)
- Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Jorge Masvidal (Bahadurzada illness, Masvidal would face Ross Pearson)
- Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis (Johnson injury, Reis scheduled to face Sean Santella)
- Wilson Reis vs. Sean Santella (Santella medical issue, Reis would face Hector Sandoval)
- Ian McCall vs. Justin Scoggins (Scoggins missed weight, McCall removed from card)
- Fredy Serrano vs. Ray Borg (Borg injury, Serrano would face Ryan Benoit)
August
UFC Fight Night 92: Caceres vs. Rodriguez – August 6
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: one
- Maryna Moroz vs. Justine Kish (Kish injury, Moroz would face Danielle Taylor)
UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 – August 20
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Sultan Aliev vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (Aliev injury, Lim would face Mike Perry)
- Neil Magny vs. Dong Hyun Kim (Kim injury, Magny would face Lorenz Larkin)
- Carlos Condit vs. Demian Maia (bout rescheduled to a different event)
- Tim Means vs. Sean Strickland (Strickland injury, Means would face Sabah Homasi)
- Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou (bout rescheduled to a different event)
UFC on Fox 21: Maia vs. Condit – August 27
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Adam Hunter vs. Ryan Janes (Hunter doping violation, Janes removed from card)
- Josh Emmett vs. Jeremy Kennedy (Emmett injury, Kennedy would face Alessandro Ricci)
- Marlon Vera vs. Ning Guangyou (Guangyou visa issue, Vera removed from card)
September
UFC Fight Night 93: Arlovski vs. Barnett – September 3
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: seven
- Emil Meek vs. Jessin Ayari (Meek doping violation, Ayari would face Jim Wallhead)
- Rustam Khabilov vs. Reza Madadi (Madadi person issue, Khabilov would face Leandro Silva)
- Brad Pickett vs. Enrique Briones (Briones personal issue, Pickett scheduled to face Iuri Alcantara)
- Michelle Waterson vs. Aisling Daly (Daly injury followed by Waterson injury, both removed from card)
- Germaine de Randamie vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (de Randamie injury, Evans-Smith would face Veronica Macedo)
- Brad Pickett vs. Iuri Alcantara (bout rescheduled to a different event)
- Martin Buschkamp vs. Alex Enlund (Enlund injury, Buschkamp removed from card)
UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem – September 10
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: six
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Ben Rothwell (Rothwell injury, Werdum would face Travis Browne)
- Mairbek Taisumov vs. Nik Lentz (Taisumov visa issue, Lentz would face Michael McBride)
- Damir Hadzovic vs. Yusuke Kasuya (Hadzovic visa issue, Kasuya removed from card)
- Drew Dober vs. Erik Koch (Koch injury, Dober would face Jason Gonzalez)
- CB Dollaway vs. Francimar Barroso (Dollaway injury, Barroso removed from card)
- Ian McCall vs. Ray Borg (Borg illness, McCall removed from card)
UFC Fight Night 94: Poirier vs. Johnson – September 17
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Evan Dunham vs. Abel Trujillo (Trujillo injury, Dunham would face Rick Glenn)
- Manny Gamburyan vs. Alejandro Perez (Gamburyan personal issue, Perez would face Albert Morales)
UFC Fight Night 95: Cyborg vs. Lansberg – September 24
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: four
- Erick Silva vs. Brandon Thatch (Thatch injury, Silva would face Luan Chagas)
- Shinsho Anzai vs. Luan Chagas (Anzai injury, Chagas would face Erick Silva)
- Renato Carneiro vs. Mike De La Torre (Carneiro injury, De La Torre would face Godofredo Pepey)
- Gregor Gillespie vs. Joaquim Silva (Silva injury, Gillespie would face Glaico Franca)
October
UFC Fight Night 96: Lineker vs. Dodson – October 1
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Louis Smolka vs. Sergio Pettis (Pettis injury, Smolka would face Brandon Moreno)
- Josh Burkman vs. Bobby Green (Green personal issue, Burkman would face Zak Ottow)
- Brian Ortega vs. Hacran Dias (Ortega injury, Dias would face Andre Fili)
UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2 – October 8
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Stefan Struve vs. Ruslan Magomedov (Magomedov staph infection, Struve would face Daniel Omielanczuk)
- Ian Entwistle vs. Rob Font (Entwistle illness, Font removed from card)
- Mirsad Bektic vs. Arnold Allen (Allen injury, Bektic scheduled to face Jeremy Kennedy)
- Mirsad Bektic vs. Jeremy Kennedy (Kennedy injury, Bektic would face Russell Doane)
- Reza Madadi vs. Marc Diakiese (Madadi injury, Diakiese would face Lukasz Sajewski)
UFC Fight Night 97: Lamas vs. Penn – October – fight card cancelled
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: one
- BJ Penn vs. Ricardo Lamas (Penn injury, Lamas removed from card)
November
UFC Fight Night 98: Dos Anjos vs. Ferguson – November 5
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jorge Masvidal (Gastelum rescheduled, Masvidal removed from card)
- Marco Beltran vs. Guido Cannetti (Cannetti doping violation, Beltran would face Joe Soto)
UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor – November 12
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: six
- Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy (Evans medical issue, Kennedy removed from card)
- Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone (Lawler personal issue, Cerrone scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum)
- Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum (Gastelum missed weight, Cerrone removed from card)
- Al Iaquinta vs. Thiago Alves (Iaquinta contract dispute, Alves would face Jim Miller)
- Gian Villante vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima (Villante injury, de Lima removed from card)
- Belal Muhammad vs. Lyman Good (Good doping violation, Muhammad would face Vicente Luque)
UFC Fight Night 99: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 – November 19
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Gunnar Nelson vs. Dong Hyun Kim (Nelson injury, Kim removed from card)
- Ian McCall vs. Neil Seery (McCall illness, Seery removed from card)
- Ross Pearson vs. James Krause (Krause injury, Pearson would face Stevie Ray)
UFC Fight Night 100: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 – November 19
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: three
- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Gustafsson injury, Nogueira would face Ryan Bader)
- Yuta Sasaki vs. Matheus Nicolau (Nicolau doping violation, Sasaki removed from card)
- Michael Graves vs. Sergio Moraes (Graves personal issue, Moraes would face Zak Ottow)
UFC Fight Night 101: Whittaker vs. Brunson – November 27
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Luke Rockhold vs. Jacare Souza (Rockhold injury, Souza removed from card)
- Kyle Noke vs. Dominique Steele (Steele injury, Noke would face Omari Akhmedov)
December
The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale: Johnson vs. Elliott – December 3
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: two
- Josh Stansbury vs. Jake Collier (Collier injury, Stansbury would face Devin Clark)
- Alejandro Perez vs. Rob Font (Perez injury, Font would face Matt Schnell)
UFC Fight Night 102: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov – December 9
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: seven
- Josh Samman vs. Oluwale Bamgbose (Samman passing, Bamgbose scheduled to face Joe Gigliotti)
- Oluwale Bamgbose (Bamgbose injury, Gigliotti would face Gerald Meerschaert)
- Gian Villante vs. Patrick Cummins (Cummins staph infection, Villante would face Saparbek Safarov)
- Tatiana Suarez vs. Juliana Lima (Suarez injury, Lima would face JJ Aldrich)
- Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Tiago Trator (Tukhugov doping violation, Trator would face Shane Burgos)
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Raphael Assuncao (Sterling injury, Assuncao removed from card)
- Randy Brown vs. Charlie Ward (Ward visa issue, Brown would face Brian Camozzi)
UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis – December 10
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson (Cormier injury, Johnson removed from card)
- Poliana Botelho vs. Valerie Letourneau (Botelho injury, Letourneau would face Viviane Pereira)
- John Moraga vs. Zach Makovsky (Moraga injury, Makovsky would face Dustin Ortiz)
- Chad Laprise vs. Jingliang Li (Laprise injury, Li removed from card)
- Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy (Evans medical issue, Kennedy would face Kelvin Gastelum)
UFC on Fox 22: VanZant vs. Waterson – December 17
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: zero
- No fight changes and/or cancellations occurred for this card.
UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey – December 30
—–Fight Changes/Cancellations: five
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez (Velasquez medical issue, Werdum removed from card)
- Matt Brown vs. Tarec Saffiedine (Brown moved to fight Donald Cerrone, Saffiedine would face Dong Hyun Kim)
- Sabah Homasi vs. Brandon Thatch (Homasi injury, Thatch would face Niko Price)
- Jessica Andrade vs. Maryna Moroz (Moroz injury, Andrade scheduled to face Angela Hill)
- Jessica Andrade vs. Angela Hill (Hill medical issue, Andrade removed from card)
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