Despite MMA fans regularly getting the best fights with the greatest fighters week in and week out, we can't help but always wonder. That wondering comes in the form of "what-if?" questions, which normally elicit intense arguments from diehard MMA fans. What-ifs such as "what-if PRIDE never shut down?" are topics that MMA fans think about regularly.

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However, we're going to be taking the attention away from PRIDE and putting it on the UFC instead. The world's largest MMA promotion has more than enough what-if's on its own to beat out any other sort of company. Mainly due to their illustrious history, and questionable decision-making

10 Brock Lesnar Fought Sooner

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Despite Brock Lesnar approaching the age of 30 when he debuted in MMA, he quickly became one of the best fighters on the planet. He was fast-tracked by the UFC and got zero easy fights as he finished out with a 5-3-1 record.

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His record is deceiving, as he became UFC Heavyweight Champion and had multiple title defenses. However, Lesnar had a clear lacking skill-set outside his wrestling. Many fans couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if he had trained in MMA sooner, rather than getting into it after already being beaten down by wrestling.

9 Ken Shamrock Never Left The UFC

Ken Shamrock In The Cage

Ken Shamrock was at the peak of his powers in 1996 when he decided to leave the UFC. He was only one fight gone from being UFC super-fight champion when he decided to head back to his pro-wrestling roots and join WWE.

When Shamrock returned to MMA four years later, he was a shell of himself. He could never seem to find his footing, mainly because he spent his prime years wrestling. It's not hard to question how his career would have ended had he not left in 1996.

8 Chris Weidman Fought At UFC 199

Chris Wiedman at UFC 261 weigh-ins

An underrated pick in this discussion is Chris Weidman's pullout from UFC 199. Weidman withdrew from his fight with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, which led to Michael Bisping stepping in and becoming middleweight champion.

Had Weidman not pulled out, Bisping likely would have never been champion, which means Georges St-Pierre may have not come out of retirement. In addition to this, it's hard to not imagine how a Weidman vs. Rockhold II bout would have been won by the former champion, given how their first bout was competitive.

7 Conor McGregor Never Fought Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz
Credit: USA Today Network

Conor McGregor fighting Nate Diaz at UFC 196 shot both men into the stratosphere. Following Rafael Dos Anjos' pullout from his showdown with The Notorious, Diaz stepped up on short notice and claimed the win to become a star.

However, it was Diaz's rivalry with McGregor that shot both men to super-stardom. If the two had never fought, where would their careers be today?

6 TJ Grant's Career

TJ Grant Flexes

TJ Grant's entire career is a massive what-if. Grant was a middling UFC welterweight until he dropped to 155lbs in 2011. Following the weight change, he quickly became a contender.

He scored a knockout over Gray Maynard to receive a UFC lightweight title shot, however, he never got to fight for gold. Grant suffered a bad concussion in training and couldn't be cleared. As a result, he never returned to MMA.

5 The Ultimate Fighter Failed

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The story is well known by now, but The Ultimate Fighter seemingly saved the UFC. The promotion was massively in debt, but the first season combined with the finale of the show helped boost the UFC in popularity and ratings.

However, what would have happened if the show failed? Would the UFC have been sold? Would the UFC even still be around in any capacity today? It's a dark thought, but one that was close to happening.

4 Vince McMahon Bought The UFC

Vince McMahon returns in 2015 Cropped

Yes, believe it or not, Vince McMahon nearly bought the UFC. His son Shane, urged the WWE CEO to buy the company, seeing that it had lots of potential. McMahon went as far as having meetings with the owners of the promotion in 2001, but discussions didn't go further past that.

In the end, it would be the Fertitta brothers who bought the promotion and installed Dana White as president. Vince McMahon has dabbled in sports such as football before, so we know what it's like for him to try and run a "real" sport. Nonetheless, it would have been a weird universe to see the McMahons running the UFC.

3 Conor McGregor Never Fought Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather vs McGregor (2)
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

It's easy to forget, but Conor McGregor was arguably the greatest fighter on the planet in 2017. He was a dual-weight champion in UFC, in arguably the two hardest divisions in the promotion. He held victories over names such as Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez, Chad Mendes, and Max Holloway before he took a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

While The Notorious took home a massive payday for fighting Money, it's hard not to imagine how his legacy could have been had he stayed active in MMA.

2 Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson

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via mmafighting.com

The one that got away. The UFC has missed out on some massive fights over the years, however, none sting worse than Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson. Two competitors who were the best fighters on the planet at the time, they were scheduled five times to compete.

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In the end, they never fought in the cage. With Nurmagomedov retired now, and Ferguson on a losing streak, this one will have to sit in fans' imaginations.

1 Fedor Signed To The UFC

Fedor Bellator 198
Dave Mandel-USA TODAY Sports

Fedor Emelianenko is the biggest fighter to have never competed in the UFC. While Emelianenko's prime was spent in the arguably better PRIDE promotion, most fans wanted to see him compete inside the UFC octagon one day.

The closest he came was in 2009 when he nearly signed to fight Brock Lesnar. However, negotiations fell apart and now fans will just have to wonder how that dream fight and many others could have gone.