From Nate Diaz's stunning upset of Conor McGregor and more, UFC events have been saved by fighters stepping in on short notice. This is the best of the bunch.
With Alex Pereira about to step in on short notice and attempt to, once again, save a fight card in need when he rematches Jiri Prochazka this Saturday at UFC 303, I figured it would be an apropos time to look back at the promotion’s history when it comes to successful show-saving performances.
Not only does that mean this article will be UFC-focused, but it also infers that the list will largely consist of winning fighters in main events who stepped up on short notice – saving shows that were in dire need in the process.
There are also many valid arguments for losing fighters earning their way onto this list given the wide-reaching context of the topic, so I did my best to shout some of those,as well.
As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel pretty good about my list and the honorable mentions attached at the end.
So, without further ado …
