Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber and the Biggest Canceled Fights in UFC History

The injury bug struck the UFC again on Monday. Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz—who had been scheduled to defend his title in a rematch with Urijah Faber—was forced to pull out of the fight due to an ACL injury.

Cruz's injury comes as a disappointment to everyone who wanted to see him scrap with Faber for a third time, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. The injury bug has plagued the UFC for years, with shredded knees, strange diseases and broken bones all playing a part in derailing highly anticipated main events.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest UFC fights that were either canceled or postponed due to injury or illness.

Brock Lesnar vs. Junior Dos Santos

Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos served as opposing coaches on the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter, building up a bout that would see the winner emerge as the next guy to face Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title.

Unfortunately, a relapse of Lesnar's diverticulitis forced him to pull out of the bout. He was replaced with Shane Carwin, who dos Santos battered from pillar to post to become the No. 1 contender to Velasquez. He went on to capture the heavyweight belt in the UFC's debut on FOX.

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2

Silva and Sonnen were headed for an immediate rematch of their classic UFC 117 title fight, but a failed drug test forced Sonnen to the sidelines.

They'll finally have their rematch this July, nearly two years after the original fight took place. It's one of the most highly anticipated fights in UFC history. Perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem

The reigning UFC heavyweight champion was scheduled to defend his title later this month against Alistair Overeem, who'd wrecked shop in Strikeforce and K-1 to become one of the world's most feared heavyweights.

A failed drug test for Overeem put the kibosh on the chances of this dream fight, at least for now, and Frank Mir replaced Overeem in the fight. There's a pretty good chance we'll get to see this one down the road, as long as Overeem can stay on the athletic commission's good side.

Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans

Jones and Evans finally hooked up last month at UFC 145, but they were originally scheduled for a fight in the fall of last year.

They were on a collision course last spring, after Jones won the light heavyweight title and Evans became the No. 1 contender. But Jones decided to undergo surgery on an injured hand, so the UFC booked Evans to face Phil Davis instead. Jones then found out he didn't need surgery, so he was booked against Rampage Jackson.

The fight could've happened in December 2011 as well, but a hand injury to Evans sent him to the sidelines. Jones fought and defeated Lyoto Machida instead.

It was a big event for the UFC when Jones and Evans finally squared off, pulling in an estimated 700,000 pay-per-view buys. But it could've been so much bigger last August or September.

Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans

One of the UFC's most bitter rivalries led to one of the best seasons of The Ultimate Fighter when Jackson and Evans served as opposing coaches. The show also featured Kimbo Slice on the heavyweight roster, leading to one of the highest-rated seasons.

Everything was building to a classic fight between Jackson and Evans, but then it all fell apart. Jackson opted to take a role as B.A. Baracus in the modern-day remake of The A-Team, forcing a cancellation of the planned fight and starting a months-long feud between Jackson and Dana White.

Jackson eventually returned to the fold, and the fight happened. It was still a huge fight, pulling in an estimated one million pay-per-view buys, but I can't help but wonder what the number would've been if the fight had happened when originally scheduled.

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva

Liddell and Silva finally hooked up for one of the most thrilling fights in UFC history, but it was supposed to happen much, much earlier.

Dana White desperately wanted to make the fight happen between his biggest star and PRIDE's best light heavyweight (or middleweight, depending on which promotion you prefer). He even thought he had a deal done after allowing Liddell to appear in the 2003 PRIDE Grand Prix tournament, but PRIDE officials pulled the rug out and the fight didn't take place.

Thankfully, fans finally got to see the dream fight in 2007. But you have to wonder, what if Liddell had faced a version of Silva that was much more in his prime than the one he eventually defeated? 

Kevin Randleman vs. Pedro Rizzo

Randleman was scheduled to defend his newly won heavyweight title against Pedro Rizzo at UFC 24.

Fight day arrived, and everything was going according to plan. But, Randleman slipped while warming up on a concrete floor backstage, knocking himself unconscious. He was removed from the fight and taken to the hospital. 

The fight eventually took place at UFC 26, where Randleman defeated Rizzo by unanimous decision in an incredibly boring fight.

Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

The mercurial Diaz came from Strikeforce for one reason: to face St-Pierre and determine who could claim he was the best welterweight in the world.

Everything was going swell for what appeared to be one of the biggest fights in the history of the UFC. Fans were choosing sides, and the company was deftly promoting the fight to its core audience.

But then, Nick Diaz did his best Nick Diaz impersonation. Diaz skipped a scheduled press tour in Canada and then no-showed an important pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas. Dana White yanked Diaz from the bout and replaced him with Carlos Condit. 

After an injury to St-Pierre forced him from the card, Diaz was added back to the event, where he faced BJ Penn in the main event. 

We still haven't seen St-Pierre vs. Diaz, but we hold out hope that 2013 will be the year the world finally gets this anticipated grudge match.

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

Faber and Cruz were scheduled to face off for the third time at July 7's UFC 148 event, but a knee injury Cruz suffered while training for the fight in Las Vegas forced him to pull out.

As of press time, we don't know who Faber's replacement opponent will be. But you can bet that things aren't over between Cruz and Faber; we'll eventually see the trilogy completed, even if it's a year or more down the road.