(At least we’ll always have the memories…) 

British lightweight Paul Taylor is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC…when he actually manages to make it into the cage. His ability to do so has become less and less frequent over the past few years, and it’s truly a shame for fans of a good old fashioned throwdown. Taylor was scheduled to return to action for the first time in over a year against Anthony Njokuani at UFC on FUEL 4, which goes down from the HP Pavillion in San Jose on July 11th, but word just broke that he has been forced to withdraw from the bout yet again, and will be replaced by Rafael Dos Anjos.

Although Taylor is an unspectacular 4-5 thus far in his UFC career, his victories include a most recent trouncing of Gabe Ruediger at 126, as well as entertaining victories over Peter Sobatta, Jess Liaudin, and Edilberto de Oliveira. Oddly enough, Taylor has earned his reputation and “Relentless” moniker by managing to be even more captivating in defeat, with his high-profile losses to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly, and Chris Lytle all earning him Fight of the Night bonuses at UFC 75, 80, and 89, respectively.

But ever since dropping to lightweight, Taylor has spent so much time nursing various injuries that even James Irvin is beginning to look like the picture of health in comparison. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but if you were to peruse over Taylor’s Wikipedia page, you would find that the phrase “was expected to face” appears more times than the phrase “won by.” Sad but true, folks.

Check out the full history of Taylor’s troubles after the jump. 

(Who knew that this moment would become a metaphor for Eric Prindle’s Bellator career?) 

At this rate, Bellator’s season five heavyweight tournament is going to take longer to come to a close than Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament, a notion this writer didn’t think was possible until earlier today. Because believe it or not, season five winner Eric Prindle has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled match on less than a week’s notice yet again, this time from his title fight with heavyweight champion Cole Konrad.

The fight, which was supposed to go down at this weekend’s Bellator 65 card, has now been pushed back to May 25th as a result of a hand injury Prindle suffered in training, an injury that he described as “all my own fault.”

(…and when he woke up, he could speak perfect Spanish. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

You know, if James Irvin didn’t already exist, Mike Swick would be a solid front-runner for Most Cursed Fighter in MMA. Since his second-consecutive loss against Paulo Thiago last February, Swick has been completely out of action, nursing himself back to health following a stomach-related medical misdiagnosis then a back injury. ‘Quick’ was scheduled to take on newcomer Erick Silva on the prelims of UFC 134 — which would have ended an 18-month layoff — but has now withdrawn from that fight due to a torn MCL and ACL suffered in training.

(Shouldn’t have trusted him in the first place, Jorge.)

As first leaked by Mike Chiappetta, UFC middleweight Alessio Sakara has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 133 main card bout against Jorge Rivera due to a torn ACL. If you were just struck by an eerie sense of deja vu, here’s why…

Sakara and Rivera were originally paired up for UFC 118, but Rivera was forced to withdraw due to a broken arm. (Sakara was quickly matched up with replacement opponent Gerald Harris before bowing out himself due a knee injury.) The two fighters were re-scheduled for UFC 122 last November, but Sakara pulled out on the day of the fight after experiencing flu-like symptoms that were either weight-cut related, or tuna-related.

(Awww, looks like Cindy got into momma’s makeup drawer!)

When it comes to finding replacements for UFC 133‘s increasingly cursed lineup, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has clearly reached the “eff this noise, I’ll be at the bar” stage of the process. The latest update is that Rich Franklin has been removed from the card entirely, after his original opponent Antonio Rogerio Nogueira went down with a shoulder injury this weekend. For the record, King Mo twitter-offered to step up against Ace — a compelling possibility in its own weird way — but the UFC ignored his ass. Anyway, it’s a real shame. All those ice baths for nothing.

As a result, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama is now the co-main event of “Evans vs. Ortiz II”, and Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman has been promoted to the main PPV card. (Yeah, you still have to pay for this one. Sorry.)

And damn, we didn’t even tell you: Vladimir Matyushenko pulled out of his prelim fight against Alexander Gustafsson last week due to injury. Stepping in to replace him will be none other than Matt Hamill, who’s coming off his decision loss to Rampage Jackson in May. I know, it’s impossible to keep up with all these lineup changes at this point, which is why we put the current UFC 133 fight card after the jump. Pray that things don’t change much from now until August 6th.

(“I’M BACK!” has been downgraded to “Just give me a minute, okay?”)

Update, 11:07 a.m. ET: Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole tweets that Lyoto Machida is in vs. Rashad Evans. Source is a text-message from Dana White.

The race is on to salvage UFC 133‘s main event, in the wake of Phil Davis’s knee injury withdrawal. One fighter who won’t be stepping up against Rashad Evans on short notice is Tito Ortiz, who’s coming off his career-restoring submission of Ryan Bader at UFC 132. According to an MMAFighting report, Ortiz was the first man the UFC turned to when Davis bowed out, but the Huntington Beach Bad Boy declined the offer. As he explained via twitter:

I have a life and things to take care of. The fight game is about making the right choices of my career. If you knew what I have been going through you all would understand. Peaking for a fight is what makes a fighter unstoppable! Timing is everything in life. This is a rebuild year for me not do or die. The time will come again!

(Pokrajac chokes out James Irvin at UFC on Versus 2, but contracts the Sandman Curse in the process. Props: Francis Specker)

UFC 131 was never going to be remembered as the most stacked event of the year, but it did have a lot of crowd-pleasing names on it. Then, Brock Lesnar fell ill with a flare-up of diverticulitis, TUF 11 winner Court McGee tweaked his knee in training, and Mac Danzig’s chest injury snubbed out a compelling bang-up with Donald Cerrone. Throw in injury withdrawals from supporting players Anthony Perosh and Rani Yahya, and you’re left with a ghost-ship of a card that’s making Joe Silva work double-shifts.

Now, just days before the third UFC event in three weeks, the card continues to lose bodies. Due to an undisclosed injury*, Croatian light-heavyweight Igor Pokrajac has been forced to withdraw from his fight against Krzysztof Soszynski, and will be replaced on short notice by Mike Massenzio. (Pokrajac was already an injury replacement for Anthony Perosh, which means that this UFC 131 injury curse has affected K-Sos as much as anybody.)

(“Dudes, *tell* me you just saw that!” Props: Esther Lin/Strikeforce)

Add the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Championship to the list of MMA’s Great Curses. When Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante fell victim to Dan Henderson‘s mythical “H-Bomb” right hand last night in Columbus, he became the fourth-consecutive Strikeforce LHW champ to lose the belt without making a single successful defense. (Quick refresher: Babalu Sobral lost it to Gegard Mousasi, who lost it to King Mo, who lost it to Feijao, who lost it Hendo.)

Time will tell if Dan Henderson suffers the same fate. In the meantime, the decorated vet’s arrival as champion helps bolster the 205′ers as a marquee division in Strikeforce. Besides Dan and all the former champions previously mentioned, SF’s light-heavyweight roster now includes guys like Roger Gracie, Mike Kyle, Rhadi Ferguson — tell Fedor Emelianenko to drop 20 pounds, and you’ve got the makings of another great World Grand Prix, especially if their heavyweight tournament continues to run into delays.

(Junior’s ‘Hypnotic Polo Shirt of Brazilian Dominance’ just pissed all over the GSoAV‘s face, son.)

Like the Hope Diamond and James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder, the UFC’s heavyweight championship belt is a cursed object, bringing only misery to those who come in contact with it. Winning the title has resulted in immediate misfortune for Frank Mir (career-threatening motorcycle accident), Josh Barnett (steroid bust), Tim Sylvia (another steroid bust), Bas Rutten (training injuries leading to a seven-year retirement), Randy Couture (two separate contract disputes that caused him to leave the organization), and Brock Lesnar (goddamned Canadians). No heavyweight in the UFC’s history has ever been able to defend the belt more than twice consecutively, and the title has been defended an average of just 1.25 times per year for the last four years.

The Curse of the Belt struck again, right on schedule, when Cain Velasquez suffered a shoulder injury just two months after taking the belt off of Lesnar, and won’t be back in action for 6-8 months. If you ask us, Junior Dos Santos dodged a bullet, since he won’t have to go near that hoodoo-ridden talisman until late next year. But despite all the bad omens, JDS is pissed that his title shot has been delayed, and blames Velasquez himself. Here’s what Cigano had to say in a recent interview with portal Vale Tudo:

(Damn. As if the "Having to Fight GSP" curse wasn’t bad enough… / Image courtesy of fightmagazine.com)

By Jim "jimbonics" Isaacs

So there I was, minding my own business, creating a masterpiece through MSPaint in honor of ReX13’s first Bellator article for the ‘Tater. Later that afternoon, after a WILD week in the comments section across all articles, I was honored with a “Comment of the Week” award and subsequently a subscription to FIGHT! Magazine. Sweet! It was the first thing I had won since a pinball contest in Nineteen Dickety-Two.

After a month of salivating and daily mailbox-checking, I had received no magazine. I was convinced I would not actually receive a prize, as hundreds of comments at CP over the past year alluded to. Then it happened. My mailbox was stuffed with bills I would never open, offers I would never respond to, and an extremely thick and glossy FIGHT! Magazine.

There is King Mo, in all his glory bling, staring at me. The first thought in my head was how he got his ass thoroughly beaten by Mousasi yet still won the belt based solely on takedowns. (Though he snared 11 of his 14 takedown attempts, if there was ever a fight to argue against the weight of takedowns in MMA scoring, it was that fight, but I digress). The second thought in my head was that he wouldn’t hold the belt very long, especially with the ultra-quick striker and BJJ black belt Feijão looming. I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

A month later the next magazine had wrestling specialist Kenny Florian on it. He went on to get Gray Maynarded. This got the wheels turning, and I decided to do a little investigating: Does the long-rumored FIGHT! Magazine Cover Curse actually exist?

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

(Matt Wiman’s face-off against Shane Nelson gets heated before UFC 107. Poor, sweet Natasha. She has no idea what’s going on. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Just one day after his opponent Mac Danzig fell off the card, UFC Fight Night 22 co-headliner Matt Wiman has also withdrawn from the event due to a broken arm suffered in training. The Curse of Fight Night 22 has already claimed Alan Belcher (detached retina), as well as Nick Catone (shoulder and back) and Aaron Simpson (staph). Austin-area police are currently rounding up local witches and voodoo priestesses for questioning.

Still, one man’s misfortune is another’s unbelievable opportunity. Stepping in for Wiman against Efrain Escudero will be undefeated Brazilian prospect Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira, who made his UFC debut in dramatic fashion earlier this month at Jones vs. Matyushenko, when he tapped Darren Elkins via armbar in just 41 seconds; the performance scored him the event’s Submission of the Night bonus. Another big win just a month-and-a-half later could put Oliveira on the lightweight map. Will he rise to the occasion?

 
(Sean Sherk groggily gets back to his feet as a spectator with tiny arms and a vague resemblance to Bruce Campbell yawns in disbelief.)

There are times when every fighter comes face to face with the end of the road. For Sean Sherk, withdrawing from three consecutive fights may be one of these times. As first reported by FiveOuncesofPain, the Muscle Shark has pulled out of his scheduled matchup with Clay Guida at the "UFC on Versus" event (March 21st; Broomfield, Colorado) due to lingering injuries. Sherk hasn’t competed since his unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 98 in May. Since then, Sherk has pulled out of a fight against Gleison Tibau in October (shoulder injury), and was struck down by the UFC 108 curse (cut over right eye) after being penciled in to face Jim Miller.

Filling in for Sherk against Clay Guida will likely be Shannon Gugerty (12-4, 2-2 UFC), who was most recently choked out by Terry Etim at UFC 105, but has earned first-round submissions over Dale Hartt and Matt Grice during his stint in the Octagon.

Previously: UFC’s Most Cursed Fighter Will Try to Return in March Against Alessio Sakara

It’s kind of crazy to think about it, but UFC fighter James Irvin hasn’t been in the Octagon since his 61-second knockout loss to Anderson Silva, way back in July 2008. Since then, the Sandman has served a nine-month suspension for unauthorized painkiller use and pulled out of two different fights due to knee injuries. (This is the same guy who blew out his knee during a match against Thiago Silva in May 2007, broke his foot while training for a UFC 85 bout against Rashad Evans, and once fell out of the cage during a fight against Bobby Southworth.) And yet the UFC has stuck by Irvin, continuing to offer him fights that he very likely won’t show up for. Everybody cross your fingers, because Irvin will reportedly make his long-delayed middleweight debut at "UFC on Versus" (March 21st; Broomfield, Colorado).

If he can avoid injuries or other major misfortunes for the next two months, Irvin’s opponent will be Alessio Sakara, who most recently won a split-decision over Thales Leites at UFC 101, effectively beating him out of the UFC. Sakara was scheduled to face Rousimar Palhares at the TUF 10 finale, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. This has to be Irvin’s last chance to save his job — will he return to his old superman-punching, flying-knee’ing form, or will he get hit by a bus on the way to weigh-ins?

(Steve Cantwell buckles Razak Al-Hassan‘s arm at Fight for the Troops last December. Karma’s a bitch, homey.)

And the curse keeps a-rollin’, all night long: According to MMA Weekly, former WEC light-heavyweight champ Steve Cantwell has pulled out of his UFC 108 match against Vladimir Matyushenko for reasons that are unconfirmed at the moment. Cantwell joins Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gabriel Gonzaga, Carlos Condit, Tyson Griffin, Rory Markham, and Sean Sherk in the list of fighters who have been removed from this Saturday’s card due to health issues.

The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent to step in against Matyushenko. "The Janitor" was successful in his return to the Octagon at UFC 103, where he earned a unanimous decision victory against Igor Pokrajac. Cantwell had dropped his last two bouts against Luiz Cane and Brian Stann, both by decision.

Anybody ever heard of the Poltergeist curse? This is what UFC 108 feels like at this point. For the fighters who actually make it to the show intact, I fear that the horrors may be just beginning…

("…and I better not catch you standing up peeing. You sit down when you pee, you got that?" Photo courtesy of USA Today.)

What, you thought the UFC 108 curse had taken a break for the holidays? Bitch it’s just getting started. NWITimes.com broke the news last night that Sean Sherk has been forced to withdraw from his January 2nd bout against Jim Miller, becoming the eighth fighter to drop off the card. According to MMA Weekly, Sherk sustained a cut over his right eye in training that required several stitches, and his replacement will be UFC/Strikeforce vet Duane "Bang" Ludwig (19-9). Ludwig most recently scored a first-round submission-via-punches victory over Ryan Roberts two weeks ago at a Ring of Fire event in Denver, and picked up consecutive wins against Sammy Morgan and Yves Edwards before that; he’s also responsible for the fastest unofficial knockout in UFC history.

Sean Sherk hasn’t competed since his decision loss to Frankie Edgar in May. He was scheduled to face Gleison Tibau on the UFC 104 card in October, but had to pull out due to a shoulder injury. UFC 108′s current (but by no means permanent) lineup is after the jump.

Previously: The 10 Most Cursed MMA Events of All Time. Where would you rank UFC 108?

(Markham starches Brodie Farber during his Octagon debut last July.)

Following withdrawals by Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gabriel Gonzaga, Carlos Condit, and Tyson Griffin, MMA Weekly reports that the latest fighter to pull out of UFC 108 (January 2, Las Vegas) is Rory Markham, who recently aggravated an old achilles tendon injury, and may be out of action for up to a year. Markham, who hasn’t competed since his first-round knockout loss against Dan Hardy at UFC 95, was slated to take on fellow welterweight Martin Kampmann, who is coming off his own loss against Paul Daley; Kampmann is still expected to compete on the card against an opponent to be named later.

Though not all of the matchups have been officially confirmed, UFC 108′s lineup is currently looking like this:

Two days after the IFL announced that Shad Lierley broke his toe during practice and would be replaced at the IFL World Grand Prix by John Gunderson, we’re now getting word that John Gunderson has aggravated a hand injury in training, and will be replaced by Portland Wolfpack member Ryan “The Lion” Schultz. With a record of 17-9-1 (4-2 IFL), Schultz is just as credible an opponent for lightweight favorite Chris Horodecki as Gunderson was, but Horodecki beat Schultz via TKO when they fought last year, and their rematch will likely turn out the same way.

Can the IFL please just give Horodecki the title already? He’s clearly cast a Polish-voodoo curse on their lightweight division, bringing injury to those who would dare compete against him. And what’s going to happen when Schultz mysteriously blows out his knee? Do they just give the next mediocre fighter on the list a shot at the belt? I say bring in Hard Gay and be done with it. Word on the street is, he’s impervious to spells…

UPDATE: Ryan Schultz is the guy who gave Roger Huerta his only professional loss, way back in June 2004 at SuperBrawl 36. And because I didn’t mention it before, I’d just like to point out that this is actually the third time Chris Horodecki’s opponent for the IFL Grand Prix has been swapped; he was originally scheduled to fight Wagnney Fabiano, who dropped down in weight class when the IFL decided to offer a featherweight title.