Missing In Action: A Look at Would Be MMA Tournament Participants Part 1

Missing In Action: A Look at Would Be MMA Tournament Participants Part 1
May 30, 2021

By Ryan Porzl

Through out Mixed Martial Arts' history, one thing that it's well known for are it's tournaments. Throughout the last 30 years, many of the top MMA promotions including UFC, PRIDE, Bellator, DREAM, RIZIN, etc. have held tournaments or grand prixes consisting of eight to sixteen participants and the winner receives prize money, a trophy belt, and/or a medal. A lot of these tournaments also consisted of many great fighters, well knowns, or legends. However, not everything goes to plan and over the years, there have been situations where a promotion wants a fighter or negotiates with a fighter, or even flat out announces them for the tournament but for whatever reason, the fighter doesn't participate. Here now are a list of fighters who were supposed to appear in certain tournaments but never did.

Randy Couture 

Tournament: 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix

Couture is one of those fighters that you can say "what can be said that hasn't already been said?". The Natural has one of the most famous and celebrated careers in MMA history. Spending most of it in the UFC, Couture won his share of championships and tournaments, had many first including first to hold a belt in two weight classes, his fight with Mark Coleman featured the oldest combined age of two fighters, and he's the first to win a title after going into the Hall of Fame. Along with his achievements, Couture is also credited with keeping MMA afloat during the early 2000s and is credited for helping the sport explode to mainstream popularity in the mid to late 2000s in America. However, being in a relationship for so long, you're bound to have the occasional falling out and that would be the case between Couture and the UFC. The first falling out came in late 1998/early 1999 due to a pay dispute resulting in Couture returning to amateur wrestling and doing the occasional fights in Japan for Vale Tudo Japan and Fighting Network RINGS. While Couture was busy, PRIDE began putting together their first grand prix: The 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix. To no surprise, many fighters were approached to enter the prestigious tournament and according to Sherdog in their "PRIDE and Glory" article, one name that was approached was Couture himself to enter the grand prix and was offered a contract to compete for the organization. Unfortunately, Couture reportedly turned the opportunity down as he was finishing up his other obligations and was reportedly in talks to return the UFC where he would return in November 2000 at UFC 28. After finishing his amateur career and participating in RINGS' 2000 King of Kings Tournament, Couture would eventually focus on the UFC where he finished his career retiring in 2006 before retiring for good in 2009. In the end, Couture never fought for PRIDE though he would do guest commentary including PRIDE Shockwave 2004 where he famously coined Mark Hunt's seated splash on Wanderlei Silva as the atomic butt drop.

Ken Shamrock

Tournament: UFC 2 Tournament

Shamrock is another MMA pioneer especially during the early years of the sport. Shamrock was one of the most successful and feared fighters of the early to late 1990s who became known for his battles with Royce Gracie and being a success in two promotions simultaneously in the UFC and Pancrase where he became both the inaugural UFC Superfight Champion and the inaugural King of Pancrase. During the early UFC events, Shamrock was a staple of their events which meant he made appearances in several tournaments. After originally appearing in UFC 1 and making it to the semifinals against eventual winner Royce Gracie, it looked like a good chance we'd see "The World's Most Dangerous Man" return to the second UFC event: UFC 2 in early 1994. Unfortunately, despite being the biggest tournament in UFC history with sixteen participants, Shamrock was nowhere to be found. According to Shamrock, it turns out he was supposed to be in the tournament and agreed to enter but during training, he broke his hand trying to block a kick. Despite the injury, Shamrock intended on competing at the event but when doctor's warned him that further damage to the hand could prevent him from fighting again, he decided to withdraw from the tournament and wait another day. Shamrock eventually would return competing in two more UFC tournaments in the UFC 3 Tournament in 1994 and The UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996 tournament in 1996.

Matt Riddle

Tournament: Bellator Season Nine Welterweight Tournament

Riddle has had an interesting career run to say the least from a guy who spent almost his whole career in the UFC to becoming successful in professional wrestling. Originally entering the seventh season of the Ultimate Fighter without a professional fight, Riddle grew as a fighter during his UFC run as he had his debut there and fought 99% of his career there. After getting cut to due to two drug test failures because of pot, Riddle would attempt a run in Bellator in 2013 and was even announced to participate in the promotion's Season Nine Welterweight Tournament back when Bellator was still a tournament based promotion. In the end, Riddle's run in Bellator would end in bizarre fashion as he would pull out of the tournament due to a rib injury and then announced his retirement due to financial reasons. Despite this, Riddle would come out of retirement when Bellator booked him towards the end of the season only for him to pull out again and he was released. Since his Bellator run that never was, Riddle would fight for Titan FC once before retiring again from MMA and has since started a professional wrestling career.

Mark Coleman

Tournament: UFC Ultimate Ultimate 1996

The Godfather of Ground n' Pound, himself, Mark Coleman is no stranger to MMA tournaments. Along with being known for popularizing ground n' pound, being an MMA pioneer, and the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, Coleman has experienced first hand the benefits of winning MMA tournaments as he originally got himself on the map by winning back to back tournaments in the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments both in 1996 while experiencing a career revival by winning the PRIDE 2000 Openweight Grand Prix in 2000. However, what some don't know, Coleman had a chance to win three UFC tournaments in a row back in 1996. Like what they did in 1995, the UFC would put together the second annual Ultimate Ultimate tournament in December 1996 which would feature mostly some of UFC's biggest names and past tournament winners and runner ups. The list was a who's who at the time featuring Ken Shamrock, Gary Goodridge, Kimo Leopoldo, Paul Varleans, Tank Abbott, and Don Frye to name some. Among those names, another who was announced for the tournament was Coleman and he was even featured on the poster. In the end, Coleman was forced out of the event after suffering from a virus and wasn't able to fight thus depriving him of a third straight tournament victory.

Royce Gracie

Tournament: PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix

Anybody that follows MMA knows Royce Gracie. Originally a regular in the early UFC, Gracie became an MMA pioneer scoring victory after victory over bigger opponents with his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and after winning 3 UFC tournaments all the while never suffering a loss in the first five UFC events, Gracie looked unbeatable. Along with his legendary UFC run, Gracie also became known for his run in PRIDE including his famous 90 minute fight with Kazushi Sakuraba and his fights with Olympic gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. Many MMA fans are familiar with Gracie's participation in the 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix as it was there the Sakuraba fight took place. However, most don't know it wasn't supposed to be his only tournament for the Japanese based promotion. In late 2004, PRIDE began putting together their next Middleweight (205 pounds) Grand Prix which was set for 2005. It what would be one of the most stacked tournaments in MMA history, PRIDE secured names like Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Ricardo Arona, Igor Vovchanchyn, Vitor Belfort, Mauricio Rua, and Alistair Overeem to name some. However, one name that PRIDE was hoping to get was Gracie. As the story goes, the two side did negotiate for Gracie's participation in the tournament but the negotiations got rocky when Gracie, who was known for throwing his weight around and demanding special rules for his fights, insisted on special rules (no ref stoppages and no judges so if the fight goes the distance then it's a draw) but because tournament fights needed winners, PRIDE refused to accept. As a result, the relationship soured between them and Gracie would breach his contract and jump to K-1 shortly afterward resulting in a lawsuit that was settled a year later. Gracie never fought in PRIDE again.

Shane Carwin

Tournament: RIZIN 2016 Openweight Grand Prix

Shane Carwin is another with a fascinating story. A beast of a man with one punch knockout power and NCAA wrestling, he looked like a man who would be one of, if not, the most dominating heavyweight in UFC history or at least one of their top guys alongside Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos but just as he was on his way to the top of the mountain, his weaknesses were exposed, injuries piled up, and he took a beating against JDS. By mid 2013, Carwin would abruptly announce his retirement after a knee injury forced him out against Roy Nelson months before. Fast forward to late 2016 and this time period not only saw the RIZIN promotion celebrate it's first full year but Carwin decided to make a comeback. After securing his release from the UFC, Carwin negotiated with RIZIN and a deal was struck for him to enter the promotion's 2016 Openweight Grand Prix. Despite the long lay off and being in his 40s, Carwin seemed like a potential favorite and it would be a great way for him to return with a bang. In the end, it would never happen as he suffered another injury and was forced out of the GP with former UFC and PRIDE fighter Heath Herring ending his retirement to replace him. After this and failing to come to terms on a deal with Bellator, Carwin returned to retirement and hasn't fought since the JDS loss back in 2011.

Nick Diaz

Tournament: DREAM 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix

A longtime journeyman, Nick Diaz has been just about everywhere and achieved good success along the way specifically in companies like WEC and Strikeforce while also making a name for himself in the UFC, EliteXC, and PRIDE. However, despite appearing in many promotions, winning titles, and scoring great wins, one thing that has eluded him was entering a major tournament though he came close. In late 2008/early 2009, the Japanese based DREAM began putting together a Welterweight Grand Prix with the winner not only becoming the Grand Prix champion but also the inaugural Welterweight Champion. Among the names who entered were pretty solid fighters like Marius Zaromskis, Jason High, DEEP champion Yuya Shirai, Shinya Aoki, and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. During the early stages of the Grand Prix being put together, rumors did circulate that Diaz was to be one of the names to participate. Unfortunately, it never happened as Diaz was under contract with Strikeforce and was committed to a fight for them around the same time the Grand Prix began which prevented him from entering it.

Ricardo Arona

Tournament: PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix

Arona is someone who is very familiar with MMA tournaments as he's either benefited from them or had some of his biggest moments in them. It was in 2001 where Arona entered RINGS' Middleweight Tournament which he not only emerged victorious but became the first and only Middleweight Champion while also making it to the finals of the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix all the while scoring some of his biggest wins against Kazushi Sakuraba and Wanderlei Silva. However, his big run in the 2005 GP wasn't supposed to be Arona's first appearance in a PRIDE Grand Prix. Two years earlier, PRIDE ran their first middleweight grand prix and among the names in the prestigious tournament was Arona who was originally slotted to face eventual runner up Rampage Jackson. Unfortunately, prior to the event happening, Arona would suffer an ankle injury and was forced to pull out of the tournament with his Brazilian Top Team teammate Murilo Bustamante replacing him. The Brazilian Tiger would have to wait another two years before getting his chance as a Grand Prix.

Maurice Smith

Tournament: UFC 1 Tournament

Most hardcore MMA fans know Maurice Smith's story as it's a fascinating one especially for the early years of MMA. Originally a kickboxer, Smith started MMA in the early 90s but like a lot of strikers, he struggled with grapplers resulting in a poor MMA record. However, he would famously befriend the Lion's Den gym and especially fellow MMA legends Frank Shamrock and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka who would teach Smith on how to improve his ground game while he helped with their striking. The end result saw Smith enter UFC 14 in 1997 and leave the event as the second UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Mark Coleman in what is now one of the most famous upsets in MMA history. However, despite Smith entering the UFC in 1997, he was reportedly invited to make his octagon debut four years prior. In 1993, the UFC would form and for the first event, co-founder and promoter Art Davie would attempt to put together a 16 man tournament and invited many famous martial artist and kickboxers to the participate. Smith would be among those publicly invited to enter the tournament but like many of those "publicly invited" to enter, Smith shown no interest and turned it down. Obviously, fans would have to wait another day for "Mo" to compete in the octagon.

War Machine

Tournament: Bellator Season Six Welterweight Tournament

One of MMA's more controversial figures is War Machine, a man who had earned fans with his exciting style but has also been a troubled jerk and earned scorn due to his constant run ins with the law and assault on his girlfriend. Speaking of run ins with the law, this would play a factor as to why the former Ultimate Fighter contestant is on this list. When Bellator began making plans and putting together their lists of tournaments for their sixth season back in 2012, War Machine was part of those plans as he was confirmed to enter that season's Welterweight Tournament and even announced to take part. Unfortunately, legal problems saw War Machine spend a year in jail which obviously prevented him from entering the tournament and he was replaced by Chris Lozano. It wouldn't be until Bellator's eighth season in late 2013 that fans would see War Machine enter a Bellator tournament but after winning in the first round against Vaughn Anderson, he fell to eventual runner up Ron Keslar in the semifinals.