With a last-minute main event change, a comeback for the ages and inept refereeing at every turn, the UFC’s fourth venture onto the Versus network was anything but predictable.

It also ended up being one of the most fun cards to watch in recent memory.

The big story coming into the night was that headliner Nate Marquardt had been ruled medically ineligible to fight by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission and would be pulled from the card. UFC president Dana White followed that up by announcing that, not only would Marquardt be out of the main event, he was out of the UFC as well. And while we still don’t know the details — Marquardt is expected to address the incident in an interview on Tuesday — the show must go on, and what a show it was.

Kongo and Barry put on instant classic:

As sports fans, we love clichés. Anything can happen in MMA. It’s not over until the fat lady sings. The same tired, tried and true phrases that we spout when one fighter is clearly dominating the other.

But then, every once in awhile, a fighter pulls off a comeback that is so remarkable, so out of the blue, so damn improbable that it validates those clichés. Mike Russow, Scott Smith and Anderson Silva are just a few of the fighters that have done this, and after Sunday night you can add Cheick Kongo to the list in bold, capital letters.

Pat Barry was contending with a significant reach disadvantage in this fight, but was using his signature leg kicks to score with some consistency. Then Barry switched to a southpaw stance and connected with a crushing overhand right that floored Kongo. Another right put Kongo down for a second time, and this fight looked all but finished.

But then, a funny thing happened. Kongo was somehow able to work back to his feet, and as Barry lunged in for the finish, Kongo landed an overhand right. Barry was wobbled, but tried to recover with a looping left hook. That left his chin wide open for a counter uppercut from Kongo that put Barry completely out cold, sealing a win that Joe Rogan dubbed one of the most unbelievable things he had ever seen.

So what exactly happened? Well, there is a reason that referees tell fighters to protect themselves at all times. In a sport where 4 oz. gloves do more to protect your hand than your opponent’s skull, a single punch is all it takes to turn victory into defeat and vice versa. It’s a lesson that Barry learned dearly, and had he taken a more measured approach while Kongo was dazed and ready to be put away, he likely would have walked away a winner. Instead, Kongo leaves the cage with a Knockout of the Night bonus and a highlight that will likely be shown for years to come.

Brenneman scores huge upset, derails Story’s hype train:

You have to feel bad for Rick Story.

Coming off of the most important win of his career against Thiago Alves, Story jumped on the opportunity to face a former middleweight title contender and marquee name in Nate Marquadt just three weeks later. Win, and Story locked firmly in the title hunt. It is a dream scenario.

But then, things started to fall apart. Marquadt pulls out, and the UFC replaces him with Charlie Brenneman, a relatively unknown fighter who was 2-1 in the UFC and originally scheduled to compete on the undercard before his own opponent got hurt. It looked to be a significant step down in competition, but Story should have been able to walk through this late replacement and extend his winning streak to seven. Right?

The only problem was, nobody told that to Brenneman, and he came ready to fight.

Fueled by a wrestling-first attack, Brenneman was able to put Story on his back for the majority of the first two rounds, neutralizing him with a suffocating top game. And while Story had his chances to win — he had full mount and twice worked for armbars in the third round — he was ultimately unable to dig out of the two-round hole that Brenneman had put him in.

Story may have been overtrained fighting twice in a three-week span, and it would explain why his cardio and takedown defense looked subpar compared previous outings. Regardless of the reason, Brenneman took full advantage of the opportunity given, and made a huge statement by knocking off one of the hottest prospects in the UFC.

Odds & Ends:

- The work that Matt Mitrione is putting in with Duke Roufus is paying dividends, as the ex-NFL player blasted Christian Morecraft with right crosses, putting him down for good in the second round. Mitrione’s takedown defense is still suspect, and I wonder how he would do against a fighter with a wrestling-first offense, but he continues to learn and evolve as a fighter at an encouraging pace. If you want to learn how to strike like Mitrione, make sure you check out his pro training modules on TapouTVTC.com.

- Matt Brown took a cautious approach to a must-win fight and outpointed John Howard for a unanimous decision. Howard actually looked to be winning the stand up battle early, but then chose to clinch with Brown and ended up wearing himself out.

- An unfortunate end to the Charles Oliveira/ Nik Lentz fight, when the referee missed a blatantly illegal knee from Oliveira that hurt Lentz and opened up an opportunity for the finish. It was the biggest incident in a night filled with refereeing mistakes that included bad stand ups and general incompetence. Oliveira is an impressive prospect with some serious skills on the feet and on the ground, but he has a tendency to get careless on the mat. He found himself in several guillotine attempts that he could have avoided, and this is after giving up a careless kneebar to Jim Miller in his last fight.

- When Joe Lauzon smells blood, he goes into absolute blitzkrieg mode, and his kimura finish of Curt Warburton was fast and violent. The Submission of the Night bonus that he earned was his fifth consecutive bonus — three Submission of the Night, two Fight of the Night — and his seventh overall in ten career UFC appearances.

Cameron Gidari is the official writer for TapouTVTC.com. Follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/GidariTapouTVTC