If you’re a fan of combat sports then this hasn’t been a good week. Over the last several days there has been a number of frustrating disappointments and one very serious scandal in the fight business.

On Tuesday there was a major let-down in the world of boxing. Canelo Alvarez had to pull out of his rematch with Gennady Golovkin after Alverez failed two drugs tests. This rematch was highly anticipated not only because of the skill of the two boxers but also the fact that their first encounter ended in a controversial draw.

It isn’t clear if the drug results were a deliberate violation of the anti-doping policy by Alverez or was due to, as he claims, unknowing eating tainted meat (there is an issue with meat from Mexico, where Alverez was training at the time). Either way, one of the mostly eagerly awaited boxing matches of 2018 is not happening (more on this story here).

The other disappointments happened in the UFC. To start off, one of the most hyped match ups in recent years was meant to take place this weekend between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ferguson and Nurmagomedov are two of the best talents in all of MMA and fans were eager to see who would prove to be the better fighter. Unfortunately Ferguson seriously injured his knee after tripping during a media day conference and now is unable to fight.

What makes this cancellation even more disheartening is that this is the fourth time these two elite level fighters have been scheduled to face each other. On three previous occasions this fight has been fallen through and now a freak accident has robbed the fans of one of the most anticipated Lightweight title fights in the history of the sport (more details here).

As a result of Ferguson dropping out, Featherweight champion Max Holloway was brought in as a replacement. Given that Holloway is a champion in his own division and widely regarded as one of the best young fighters in the UFC, there was still excitement for a contest between him and Nurmagomedov. But then this also was cancelled as Holloway was declared medically unfit to continue.

This medical intervention was due to him being unable to safely make weight, which is understandable given how little time he had to prepare. The replacement for Holloway is Lightweight contender Al Iaquinta. While Al laquinta has several impression victories in the UFC it is doubtful that he is ready for Nurmagomedov who is 25-0 (update: Nurmagomedov did indeed defeat Al laquinta in a unanimous decision to obtain the Lightweight title)

And finally, in a climax to an already bad week there was a serious incident involving MMA superstar Conor McGregor. On Thursday McGregor and a group of his team mates attacked a bus containing members of a rival team, including Khabib Nurmagomedov. Missiles such as chairs and two-wheel trolleys were used to smash windows and several fighters on board received lacerations. In fact as a result of their injuries two fighters, Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg, have had to pull out of their fights. The fracas was related to a confrontation Nurmagomedov had with McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov earlier in the week. Lobov has also been pulled from his fight at UFC 223 due to his involvement in the bus attack. That means that three fights have been cancelled on this weekend’s card because of this incident.

Currently McGregor has been released on bail and has been charged by the NYPD with assault and criminal mischief. He will be back in court on June 14th. Several commentators had noted that McGregor will likely be sued by those on the bus who were injured. Furthermore UFC President Dana White has strongly condemned McGregor’s behaviour calling it “criminal” and “disgusting.” (It is also likely McGregor will face disciplinary action from the UFC but as of now nothing has been confirmed by the organisation).

All of these events have been demoralising to fight fans and especially MMA fans. Brendan Schaub, former fighter and MMA commentator, wrote on his twitter feed “Worse week in combat sports history?”

It’s definitely a contender.