GSP and 5 Most Unfortunate Fighter Drop-Outs in 2011

The UFC has been plagued with some high-profile injuries as of late, and the most recent one saw UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre dropping out of his UFC 137 bout with former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit.

The pound-for-pound star was forced to pull out after injuring his knee in practice a week before the fight. Many anticipated this to be one of St-Pierre's toughest challenges yet, and the stacked fight card lost its headliner as a result of the injury.

It was not the first this year, and it might not be the last.

With fights being cancelled in their entirety, cards are losing big-name fighters, many of which are in main events.

This is an overview of the five worst fighter drop-outs in 2011.

No. 5: Phil Davis Pulls out of Fight with Rashad Evans

Light heavyweight contender Phil Davis is undefeated in MMA, and his last win came over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a March bout set him up for a shot at one of the top contenders in the division.

He got the call to fight former champion Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but pulled out due to a knee injury a month before the fight. 

He was expected to come back at the end of the year to face Lyoto Machida, but he is still recovering from his injury, and Machida is now scheduled to face Jon Jones.

Expectations were set high for the 27-year-old, but his time off might set back his rise to the top for the time being.

No. 4: Georges St-Pierre Pulls out of Fight with Carlos Condit

It was already unfortunate that Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz was yanked from his main event slot against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, but when Carlos Condit stepped in to face the dominant champion, people perceived it as being the better fight.

In another series of unfortunate events, St-Pierre pulled out of the fight with a little over a week left before it was scheduled to go down at UFC 137.

After winning a dominant but somewhat disappointing decision against Jake Shields earlier this year, St-Pierre hoped to put on one of the better fights of his career against "The Natural Born Killer," who had finished 26 opponents up until this point in his MMA career.

Condit decided to wait until St-Pierre was healthy to fight again, and it secures him the fight he has waited his whole life for. He will just have to wait a little bit longer.

No. 3: Rashad Evans Pull out of Fights with Jon Jones/Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has had the toughest year in the sport, and injuries involving himself and his opponents have all led to him having a scrambled year of title fight preparation and never getting the shot.

His May 2010 victory over Quinton Jackson secured him the next shot at the title, but he hasn't had the chance to fight for it, and won't until 2012.

He was scheduled to face Mauricio Rua at UFC 128, but an injury kept him from fighting while his teammate, Jon Jones, stepped in and beat the Brazilian to become the champion.

After injuring his hand in the rematch with Tito Ortiz, Evans once again had to sit out for an extensive period of time while he waits for the winner of Jones and Lyoto Machida.

No. 2: Jon Jones Pulls out of Fight with Rashad Evans

After winning the title from Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in dominant fashion in March, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was ready and set to face former teammate "Sugar" Rashad Evans later in the year.

Jones pulled out of the bout after an injury sustained in the Rua fight led him to not knowing just what would be required for his hand to heal properly. He ended up not needing surgery, but Evans had already been booked in a UFC 133 main event with Phil Davis.

Jones went on to fight former UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, while Evans ended up facing late replacement Tito Ortiz, who he defeated by knockout in the second round.

"Bones" got the victory over Jackson by fourth-round submission, and the two met face-to-face once again.

The grudge match will eventually take place, but not until 2012.

No. 1: Brock Lesnar Pulls out of Fight with Junior Dos Santos

The "Brock-Effect" was set to take place earlier in the summer when he was scheduled to face Junior dos Santos at UFC 131.

After battling with diverticulitis that kept him out of the Octagon for over a year in 2009 and 2010, Lesnar once again got caught in a fight with the intestinal infection and was forced to pull out of the fight after filming an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter in the lead-up to the fight.

The former WWE superstar will return in December against Alistair Overeem, but it will come after an extensive layoff that has not seen him in action since his loss to Cain Velasquez last October.

He lost his opportunity at getting a rematch with Velasquez, who will now be facing dos Santos on the first UFC on Fox card in November.