MMA: The 25 Fights in MMA History That We Wish Never Happened

There are classic fights in MMA, such as Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, and then there are fights so bad that even mentioning them is painful.

It is such fights that MMA fans wish never happened.

Some of these fights were lackluster, some of them were just absurd, and some were sad since they saw the end of a legend.

So what are these fights, and why do we wish they never happened? Read and find out!

Kalib Starnes vs. Nate Quarry

This is a cliched example of a poor fight, but not putting it on the list will warrant tons of comments.

Thus, I'm getting it out of the way now.

Starnes vs. Quarry took place at UFC 83 and is considered one of the worst MMA fights of all time.

Throughout the duration of the fight, Starnes just circled and ran way from Quarry whenever he'd try to press the action, which caused a frustrated Quarry to mock Starnes in several hilarious ways.

Quarry was given a decision victory, and Starnes hasn't been seen in the UFC since.

Royce Gracie vs. Akebono Taro

Royce Gracie's legacy isn't what it used to be, and a fight against Sumo wrestling legend Akebono Taro didn't help it get any better. 

Gracie tapped out the sumo in only two minutes and 13 seconds—but why did the fight even have to happen in the first place? All it did was diminish Gracie's reputation even further.

Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn II

Detroit's UFC 9 was highly anticipated because it featured a grudge match between Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn as the main event.

Unfortunately, the event was not welcomed by one key demographic: uptight politicians looking for an easy win over "smut" like the UFC.

A legal battle in the Detroit courts ensued, and it was decided that the event could go on if certain rules were adopted. One of these rules was banning close-fisted strikes to the head under pain of arrest.

While the UFC and referee John McCarthy looked the other way when infractions were made in the undercard, Shamrock and Severn didn't take any risks, and the result was one of the worst fights in MMA history.

It was literally 30 minutes of circling. It was henceforth known as "The Detroit Dance."

Steve Jennum vs. Harold Howard

When UFC 3 started, Royce Gracie was again a shoo-in to win. But what happened that night shocked everybody.

Gracie managed to beat the brutish Kimo Leopoldo, but it cost all the strength the Brazilian had. He couldn't continue on after the fight.

Ken Shamrock. the other fighter expected to make it to the finals, also couldn't continue, so Canadian Harold Howard had to face alternate Steve Jennum (who was fresh and hadn't fought once) in the finals.

Jennum defeated Howard and won UFC 3 only having to fight one fight. Fans were angry and the rules were changed after this.

While the fight between Howard and Jennum wasn't bad, it was unfair to Howard and a little ridiculous that an alternate could win without having to fight.

It would've been better if they just awarded Howard the tournament championship. How cool would it have been for a crazy Canadian karate guy to be a UFC champion?

Yamma Pit Fighting I

Bob Meyrowitz, the owner of the UFC before it was sold to Zuffa, decided to venture back into the MMA business after the Zuffa purchase. Unfortunately for the MMA world, the product of this was Yamma Pit Fighting.

The primary advertising gimmick employed by Yamma was their "revolutionary" cage, which was circular and had slanted edges—supposedly to prevent "lay and pray" and make the fights more exciting. Yamma also returned to the tournament structure.

All the gimmicks accounted for naught since the entire fight card was dismal. The only highlight was seeing Pat Smith beat boxer-turned-MMA fighter Eric "Butterbean" Esch, and that was only fun because it was so ridiculous (Oleg Taktarov vs. Mark Kerr wasn't bad either).

The rest of the card was boring since it was packed with heavyweight wrestlers with poor conditioning; it was "lay and pray" to the extreme.

Even worse, some of the announcing team was kept from the original UFC days!

Having boring fights/fighters, poor production quality, washed up talent and broadcasting from the UFC days made us wish that Yamma Pit Fighting had stayed in whatever "Yamma pit" it had congealed in.

Oleg Taktarov vs. Mark Kerr

How sad it was to see two great champions reduced to fighting on Yamma Pit Fighting!

The fight was decent, but it was just sad. Two men who were once on top of the martial arts world were now fighting on a dismal pay-per-view event that barely anyone was watching.

Even worse, Kerr was 2-7 in his last nine fights heading into the fight with Taktarov.

Yamma Pit Fighting didn't need to happen—and neither did this fight. Just think, Kerr started his career off 12-0 (1 NC) and finished it 15-11 (1 NC).

How sad.

Daiju Takase vs. Emmanuel Yarborough

When people say Pride Fighting Championships had superior fighters and was a better organization, mention this fight, a freak show between two below .500 fighters.

When you watch the fight, you'll realize that the whole idea was just absurd; there's no reason for this fight to have been booked!

The fight wasn't Pride's finest hour and its one of the fights that sums up what was (and still is) wrong with Japanese MMA.

Bob Sapp vs. Cartoon Character

In 2008, in Japan's famous end of the year show, "Dynamite!! 2008," promoters figured that Bob Sapp had fought everyone in the real world who would make a decent freakshow fight, so they decided to draw a fighter from the world of fiction; Sapp was matched up against a cartoon character.

Mind you this was not a fighter who was so lively that he was described as a cartoon character, it was a fighter who wore the outfit and mask of the Japanese cartoon character Kinniku Mantaro.

Inside the mask was Japanese professional wrestler Akihito Tanaka.

Sapp won the fight, but when a fighter who already has a reputation as a freak show fighter beats up a pro wrestler/cartoon character, there really are no winners.

The Entire ProElite 2 Fight Card

Sometimes, a fight card is so terrible that it would've been better if it just never existed.

ProElite 2: Big Guns is one such fight card.

The fans and promoters were disappointed. Some even considered it the worst event held in 2011.

James Toney vs. Randy Couture

Did the world really need to be reminded AGAIN what happens when a pure boxer tries to fight someone with grappling abilities?

Hong Man Choi vs. Jose Canseco

Why Jose Canseco decided to venture into MMA, we may never know. But what we do know is that he should stick to disgracing his own sport and stay out of MMA.

Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander

People expected a brawl and they got a staring contest; that's where the terrible reputation of this fight comes from—the fact that it let everyone down so badly.

The sick slam performed by Kimbo Slice ALMOST justifies the existence of this fight.

Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt

Look at the picture. Would you want that to happen to anybody? Didn't think so. That's why we wish that fight never happened.

Duane Ludwig vs. Darren Elkins

Duane Ludwig vs. Darren Elkins was similar to Corey Hill vs. Dale Hartt in the sense that there was a freak injury.

Ludwig attempted to sprawl out of an Elkins takedown and wound up breaking his ankle in a gruesome injury.

Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski III

Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski III had all the makings of a classic trilogy—except for the epic finale.

The third fight between them was an uneventful affair. Both men were too timid to do a significant amount of fighting, and fans weren't happy.

It would've been better if the Arlovski-Sylvia saga went unresolved, since then we could at least pretend the last fight between them would've been exciting.

Tim Sylvia vs. Brandon Vera

When Tim Sylvia vs. Brandon Vera was announced, people expected a stand-up "war."

What they got was Sylvia holding Vera against the cage for 15 minutes. Again, people's expectations were let down, and the fans (as well as Sylvia) would've been better off if the fight just never happened.

Tim Sylvia vs. Ray Mercer

Not only did Tim Sylvia provide lackluster, unpopular fights against Brandon Vera and Andrei Arlovski, he also embarrassed the sport of MMA by getting knocked out by Ray Mercer in nine seconds.

This fight humiliated Tim Sylvia and signified the end of any relevance he had as a fighter.

Tim Sylvia vs. Assuerio Silva

Even after the loss to Ray Mercer, there's still one more Tim Sylvia fight that we wish didn't happen: his fight vs. Assuerio Silva.

Why was this fight bad? Because apparently Tim Sylvia crapped his pants during the fight. Do you really feel good knowing that human excrement made it into the Octagon?

Kim Couture vs. Sheila Bird

This fight wasn't boring or anything like that, it was just horribly officiated, and it could have put a major black eye on the sport if anything bad had happened.

Kim Couture, the former wife of Randy Couture, was caught in a head-scissors choke and the referee apparently didn't notice she was unconscious.

Fortunately, Couture was OK, but why did some of her brain cells have to die needlessly?

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin

It's sad to see a legend fade. That's why Chuck Liddel vs. Rich Franklin is such a sad fight to watch.

Liddell was once the most popular MMA fighter in the world and could take a punch like no other.

Unfortunately, time stands still for no man. Liddell's ability to take a punch diminished, and he was eventually knocked out cold by Rich Franklin—a man who was never known to have devastating knockout power.

The loss marked a fourth knockout in five losses as well as the end of Liddell's storied career—a sad end to be sure.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben

Wanderlei Silva was one of the most savage, blood-crazed, yet popular fighters MMA had ever seen.

Unfortunately, his last days in MMA have been brutal. He has only two wins in the last five years compared to six losses (four of those losses by KO).

Silva's fight against famed brawler Chris Leben showed just how far Silva's abilities and chin had deteriorated.

It took less than 30 seconds for Leben to put Silva's lights out so badly that the Brazilian was kicking his legs around in the air and grappling the referee.

What a sad thing to happen to one of MMA's greats!

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Frank Mir

While Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's swan song was against Roy Nelson, his fight against Frank Mir was just as sad and far less entertaining.

There was very little action throughout the fight until Mir hit Filipovic with a knee (which seemed like more of an accidental knockout rather than intentional, judging on how passive Mir had been throughout the fight) that sent him to the canvas unconscious.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva

When Fedor Emelianenko lost to Fabricio Werdum, it was easy to write it off as a fluke.

When Fedor Emeilanenko lost to Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, there was no doubt as to what happened; Fedor Emelianenko got beat—badly.

It's sad to see legends fade and become mortal men.

Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites and Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva may be popular now, but he wasn't always.

There was a time in his career when he was actually loathed by many.

Why?

Because he gave the fans horrific fights. The two worst of which were against Thales Leites and Demian Maia.

In the Silva-Leites fight, Silva didn't engage much, and when he did, Leites dropped to his back in order to draw Silva into a grappling match. The tactic failed and the cycle repeated for 25 minutes.

Against Maia, Silva taunted, danced around, and did nonsensical things (such as hiding behind the referee) throughout the whole 25 minutes of the fight, much to the chagrin of paying fans everywhere and UFC president Dana White.