The great irony surrounding UFC 196 is that it was supposed to have a different main event. The March 5th card, which takes place at MGM Grand, will be headlined by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The latter is filling in for lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who is out with a broken foot.

UFC 196 was originally headlined with a UFC Heavyweight Championship match between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Things changed when Velasquez suffered a back injury to go along with his hampered shoulders and knees. So Stipe Miocic happily threw his name in to the octagon…only for Werdum to pull out of the fight (very conveniently) with a back injury.

So Dana White and the brass upstairs decided to shift UFC 196 from pay-per-view to free television, giving it a new main event where the unheralded Stephen Thompson throttled former welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks. The event was re-branded UFC Fight Night 82.

To recap, the UFC 196 main event has featured eight guys ranging from the current featherweight champion all the way to the current heavyweight champion. It’s been a mess. The whole things feels cursed.