Sarah Kaufman was almost in Leslie Smith's position back in May: across the Octagon from Cris Cyborg.
The former Strikeforce champion said her managers Malki and Abe Kawa got a call from UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby about Kaufman potentially fighting Cyborg in Cyborg's UFC debut at UFC 198 in May. They immediately said yes — not knowing that Kaufman injured herself in training.
Kaufman was willing to take the fight anyway, but it didn't come together. Smith became the opponent and Cyborg finished her via TKO in the first round in Curitiba.