The UFC Lightweight Title: A Visual History

This weekend, UFC Fight Night 182 will feature a makeshift main event between two men who are already notable for their roles in historically significant last-minute matchups.

Former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, who will make his return to the division he once ruled after a 4-4 run at welterweight, was originally scheduled to face rising contender Islam Makhachev. When Makhachev was forced to withdraw from the UFC Vegas 14 headliner due to a staph infection, in stepped Paul Felder, a reliably exciting contender in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions who had been transitioning to a role as a color commentator and had openly mulled retirement this year. Instead, he will cut all the way to 156 pounds on less than a week’s notice to save a beleaguered card.

The irony is that both men are already part of UFC lightweight lore due to their roles in injury-stung title fights. Nearly five years ago, Dos Anjos’ withdrawal from UFC 196 and a superfight with then-featherweight champion Conor McGregor delayed McGregor’s ascent to champ-champ status, but more importantly, it opened the door for Nate Diaz to step up on short notice and upset McGregor, which ended up elevating both men’s star power enormously. Meanwhile, Felder, who had been scheduled to face Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in April 2018, was a favored option to step in against Khabib Nurmagomedov, when Tony Ferguson suffered a freak injury during fight week and was unable to fight for the belt that had recently been vacated by McGregor. Felder ended up being rejected by the New York State Athletic Commission for the ridiculous reason that he was not in the UFC’s Top 10 at the time, paving the way for Iaquinta to face Nurmagomedov instead, despite Iaquinta having weighed in over the championship limit.

In November 2020, it is once again a last-minute bout cancellation that brings together dos Anjos and Felder, two longtime divisional mainstays that have been navigating the same waters for years, and now at last will meet in the Octagon.