When Tim Boetsch hurt Yushin Okami early in the third round of their middleweight match at UFC 144 in Tokyo, he got the sense that he was in the midst of a special comeback.

If he didn't realize it himself, though, he got plenty of help from UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan, who went berserk as Boetsch rallied from far behind to stop Okami in dramatic fashion in February.

"I heard Joe's reaction live, which is how I knew it was an incredible comeback," Boetsch said by telephone from Calgary, where he is preparing for an important fight against Hector Lombard Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in the co-main event of UFC 149. "I heard Joe Rogan screaming. I looked over and saw him going nuts and I was going crazy. Joe Rogan and I had a nice little moment there together."

An overly enthused Rogan called it the greatest comeback he'd ever seen, though he later backed off that stance.

But Boetsch's win over Okami represented a major career comeback of sorts. He's now, to

About 14 months ago, at the same time Hector Lombard was piling up wins while cloaked in anonymity, Jorge Santiago was about to make a highly anticipated return to the UFC.

Santiago fought three times for the UFC in 2006, but went 1-2 and was unceremoniously cut. Rather than sulk or look for a new line of work, Santiago assessed his weaknesses, found a new camp and remade himself as a fighter.

Hector Lombard hasn't lost since facing Gegard Mousasi on November 5, 2006.

He won 11 of 12 after the UFC cut him and earned a new contract with the promotion. When he did, he was immediately welcomed as some sort of conquering hero by a portion of the fan base, which expected him to inject a jolt of life into what had become a staid middleweight division.

Fans were starving for a challenger who was good enough to beat champion Anderson Silva. Santiago, with that brilliant 11-1 streak and an amazing win over Kazuo Misaki, was deemed to be the guy.

Turns out, though, he wasn't. Far from it, actually.

Santiago was beaten up by Brian Stann and stopped in the

The list of high-profile fighters who were once on and then subsequently off the bill of Saturday's UFC 149 at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome is staggering.

Featherweight champion Jose Aldo was injured and his main event bout against Erik Koch was postponed. Former light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was bumped from the card after his opponent, Thiago Silva, was injured and pulled out.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira wasn't sufficiently recovered from an arm injury he suffered in a loss to Frank Mir in December and had to withdraw from an announced match against Cheick Kongo.

Featherweight champ Jose Aldo was originally scheduled to headline UFC 149.

Michael Bisping and Thiago Alves were also on the card, but were yanked because of injuries. There were plenty of other fighters who were scheduled but couldn't make it – quality fighters like Bibiano Fernandes, George Roop, Claude Patrick and Siyar Bahadurzada – likely making UFC 149 the most cursed card in the promotion's history.

"This one wins," UFC president Dana White said of it earning

LAS VEGAS – Amir Khan made a fateful choice, one that cost him his world championship Saturday, his standing as an elite fighter and a mega-million dollar payday against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Khan's size, reach and speed advantages were such that he could have easily worked from a distance, fought conservatively and probably jabbed his way to a victory Saturday over Danny Garcia in their World Boxing Association-World Boxing Council super lightweight unification bout before 7,061 fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

That, though, wasn't Khan's choice. He chose to try to put on a show and he paid the ultimate price. Garcia caught Khan with a blistering counter left hand in the third round that dropped him, then put him down twice more in the fourth before referee Kenny Bayless stopped it at 2:28 of the fourth round.

Danny Garcia backed up his dad's trash talk by pummeling Amir Khan. (Reuters)

It was a stunning outcome as Khan, a 7-1 favorite who likely would have gotten a match with Mayweather had he won, wilted under Garcia's pressure.

"Amir Khan

LAS VEGAS – Amir Khan is looking at a daily double of unbeaten fighters.

If the super lightweight title holder defeats Danny Garcia on Saturday in their World Boxing Association-World Boxing Council unification bout at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, he's likely going to meet an opponent with another perfect record.

The normally reserved Amir Khan has gotten into a war of words with the Garcia family. (Getty)

That would be a fighter you may have heard a bit about – a guy by the name of Mayweather.

Barring a miracle that would help to arrange a fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather's next opponent will likely be Khan, assuming he defeats Garcia on Saturday.

It's why Khan says the Garcia match "is a big, big fight for me," even though he's a 5-1 favorite and Garcia is primarily known for his father's outlandish boasts and frequently offensive trash talk.

Angel Garcia told reporters "Pakistanis can't fight," – Khan is British, of Pakistani descent – and said God punished Khan in 2008 when he was knocked out by Breidis Prescott.

Khan hasn't

LAS VEGAS – Sergio Martinez oozes class, inside and outside of the ring. He's the third-ranked fighter in the world in the Yahoo! Sports boxing ratings and is widely regarded as the top middleweight.

He's an elite athlete who was a professional in soccer and cycling before turning his attention to boxing.

Martinez, 37, is a philanthropist and a supporter of numerous charitable causes. He runs an anti-bullying campaign and mentors a young girl who had been terribly bullied.

Sergio Martinez had to resort to trash talk in the run-up to his bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (Reuters) He's an outspoken advocate against domestic violence and works with battered women's shelters around the world. He doesn't simply lend his name, getting personally involved in helping women who have been abused to escape the cycle of violence and rebuild their lives.

A man like that, with movie-idol looks, a soft-spoken demeanor, high-level athleticism and extraordinary character, should be a boxing star of the highest order.

But here was Martinez at a news conference in a ballroom at the ritzy Wynn Hotel

LAS VEGAS – Little buzz surrounds Danny Garcia. His so-called grand arrival at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday was largely met with indifference. A deejay urged fans to "give it up for world champion Danny Garcia" and the 50 or so folks milling around the hotel lobby gave a lukewarm effort.

One woman standing near the makeshift stage where Garcia would sign autographs turned to her companion and asked, "Who is he? Is he that UFC guy?"

Garcia smiled and waved and did all the right things as he fulfilled his obligations before defending his World Boxing Council and newly reinstated World Boxing Association super lightweight title against Amir Khan on Saturday on HBO at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Amir Khan (left) and Danny Garcia will face off in the ring on Saturday night in Las Vegas. (Getty Images)Garcia is an unbeaten world champion and seemingly in the prime of his career. But despite what he's done in the last 15 months – beating veterans Erik Morales, Kendall Holt and Nate Campbell – he still has much to prove.

As he prepares to meet Khan, the former World Boxing Association

One of the issues a fighter who talks a massive amount of smack must confront is the pressure of having to live up to all the boasts.

David Haye knows this all too well as he wound up looking like a fool after running a smear campaign against Wladimir Klitschko and his older brother, Vitali, for months before performing miserably in his unification bout against Wladimir Klitschko on July 2, 2011, in Hamburg, Germany.

Haye was not only non-competitive, but he was timid and seemed to shy away from combat.

It's one thing to lose, but it's another to taunt an opponent so mercilessly and then show zero tenacity when the going gets tough.

After the bout, Haye offered an injured toe as an excuse for his poor performance. That unleashed a torrent of abuse from fans and media, some of which continues now, more than a year later.

[Also: Is Anderson Silva the greatest MMA fighter of all time?]

Haye would have been better off providing no excuses and taking his lumps, but it makes