Not even Holly Holm vs Miesha Tate can save this card.

You may have heard some opinions on the contrary (I’m looking at you Lionel), but despite what some people may be trying to tell themselves, UFC 196 is officially a bust. Maybe it’s the curse of Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, but maybe UFC 196 was never meant to be a blockbuster. The blame can’t be put on Rafael dos Anjos, after all training injuries do occur in the gym from time to time. The problem is that it had to happen at an event that was potentially going to be one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year. Like him or hate him, Conor McGregor is the UFC’s shinning star. He is the biggest draw now that Ronda Rousey is on the shelf and he has his mind set on big, big things. With dos Anjos scratched from the card it leaves McGregor and the UFC in a tough position. As mentioned before there are tons of great fights for McGregor to take as a replacement, but do they match up quite as well to the dos Anjos showdown? The simple answer is no. Despite the fact that men like Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Nate Diaz, and Eddie Alvarez are potential opponents to fill in the champions shoes, the fact that they offer nothing for McGregor is a sticking point that will make the fights even harder to sell. Cerrone, Pettis, and Diaz were all beaten down by dos Anjos and besides Alvarez, who didn’t win any fans with his performance against the former champ Pettis, none of the candidates don’t have much in the way of win streaks heading into the potential bout. The Holly Holm/Miesha Tate bout also complicates matters further. Say Donald Cerrone or any of the other candidates were selected as replacements, they would have to be demoted to the co-main event slot to accommodate the Holm-Tate title match. The only way you keep Conor McGregor’s name up at the top of the marquee is if he’s fighting for a belt. At this point making a lightweight interim belt would be absolutely ludicrous and there are no featherweight opponents ready to battle McGregor on under two weeks notice. A non-title bout just for fun at this stage of McGregor’s career seems almost counterproductive. The point of the event was to either see history made or watch it be crushed without ceremony. At this point, anything else is simply a farce. So do you think UFC 196 is doomed? Should Conor McGregor compete in a non-title bout? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter to keep up with his antics.