The stages of grieving a last-minute UFC fight scratch, in GIF form

It happened again.

One of UFC 216’s most anticipated bouts fell apart just before the event’s start time, as Derrick Lewis withdrew from his fight with Fabricio Werdum due to a back injury.

We’ve been here before, sadly. We’ve been here 14 times this year, in fact. We know how it goes.

It starts with this fight you really want to see. From the moment it’s first announced, all you can do is pray that it doesn’t get canceled or postponed. Both have been known to happen with some regularity in MMA. A broken hand here, a tweaked knee there, and the fight you’re looking forward to can vanish in an instant. It’s nerve-wracking.

But then weigh-in day comes and, what do you know, both fighters actually made weight. Nobody binged on late-night desserts. Nobody showed up looking sick and ghostly and barely ambulatory while still being five pounds over. This fight is really going to happen.

Then it’s fight day. We’re in the clear. Everyone is rehydrated, sitting around hotel rooms watching TV and eating. What could go wrong there? We made it. All we have to do now is sit back and wait.

Wait, what’s this? Why is everyone tweeting about this fight four hours before it’s supposed to happen? And why do they seem so mad? Don’t … don’t tell me. It can’t be …

Are you kidding me with this? On fight day this happens? How?! We were almost there! Why can’t we have nice things?

It … just … it’s not fair. Why couldn’t it have been one of these other fights? Preferably one of the fights between two people without Wikipedia pages. I’d give three of those to get this one back! Please?

You know what, though? This is crap. No other sport deals with this. You don’t buy tickets to see the Patriots vs. Steelers, only to show up and be told that the Steelers couldn’t make it so the Calgary Stampede will be filling in. Broadway plays don’t even pull these kinds of last-minute switcheroos with this kind of frequency. Why do we have to live this way?!

Fine. So this is just how’s it going to be, isn’t it? It’s our fault for ever getting our hopes up. We should have known that no fight is truly official until the fighters are in the cage with the door locked behind them. Maybe we deserve to have our hearts broken for ever forgetting that.

Wait, what did you say? The co-main event is still on? Or at least, it hasn’t been canceled yet, so maybe we should go ahead and get hyped for that now, knowing full well that there’s still time for it, too, to be yanked out from under us?

It’s not easy being an MMA fan. And yet, what else are you going to do with your Saturday night? Go out and live a normal life?

For complete coverage of UFC 216, check out the UFC Events section of the site.