'Google Me' and MMA's 5 Most Embarrassing Nightlife Escapades

What is it about athletes and the nightlife? Something about the siren song of hedonism seems very difficult to resist for young men who find themselves famous, in elite physical shape and with perhaps a little extra change in their pockets.

Your guess is as good as mine. But it continues unabated, and it goes across all sports. No, it's not just MMA. Imagine what would happen if a fighter at the club shot himself in the foot or rode an inflatable swan? Bedlam.

The issue for cage fighters recently resurfaced when a young fighter by the name of Cody Gibson advised a larger club patron to "Google" him after a night of being taunted, then called said patron a female dog. Shockingly, an altercation ensued. And here's the weirdest part: The antagonist there didn't get a lot of publicity! Gibson was the lucky one in that regard.

So anyway, on a relative scale, MMA really is not so bad, I suppose, at least as far as the stuff that makes the headlines. And yet, it has its moments. These are cage fighters, after all.

Here are the top five that come to mind from across the history of the sport. They are ranked based on the notoriety of each incident. Indulge yourself.

5. Cody Gibson and 'Google Me'

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Cody Gibson

Gotta include the reason for the slideshow, even if it doesn't seem all that terrible compared with other things that could have happened and have in other situations.

If you're not familiar, the basic story (and there is supporting video there) goes that after a Sept. 27 loss to Manny Gamburyan, bantamweight Cody Gibson hit the Las Vegas strip with a buddy. It's been known to happen. As has also been known to happen, everyone was having a few adult beverages.

A larger, anonymous bar-goer picked a verbal fight with Gibson. After repeatedly demurring, Gibson was eventually goaded into uttering one of the MMA community's newest catch phrases: "Google me, b---h!"

No word on whether the bar-goer did so, but there is word that he punched Gibson. The scuffle was quickly broken up, but not before it was all captured on a phone camera.

Gibson later admitted to feeling rather sheepish about the whole thing. But cheer up, Cody. It could have been much worse. For proof, just keep reading.

4. Chuck Liddell, Various

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As the man himself is not afraid to tell you, Chuck Liddell loves himself some nightlife. 

Liddell is well-known as someone who likes to drown his sorrows (or happinesses). And that's perfectly fine, after all: that's his right as an adult. 

But being a public figure and all, sometimes you get a little more scrutiny than the average partier. And sometimes, you have to do television interviews when you're not exactly in peak condition, as was the case in 2007 when he gave this semi-coherent appearance.

Liddell later indicated the problem with the interview was Nyquil taken in an attempt to sleep. Either way, it's the sort of thing that happens when your candle is burning too brightly at both ends.

3. Renzo Gracie and the Bouncer Beatdown

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Renzo Gracie

Renzo Gracie is one of the most famous jiu-jitsu players of all time and a successful MMA fighter. Because of his last name, he'll always be UFC royalty.

But he was little more than a highly skilled rabble-rouser several months ago when he and cousin Igor led the beating of a bouncer at a trendy Manhattan club.

The May brawl, in which Gracie was charged with second-degree gang assault, was not the first time Gracie found himself in a late-night scrape. In 2012, he was actually on the right side of the law (er, relatively speaking) when he took down a couple of dudes who were purportedly trying to mug him—and live-tweeted the entire incident (contains NSFW language).

Still, pretty embarrassing when, in the wee hours of the morning, you and your black-belt self and your black-belt family and friends feel compelled to gang up on a civilian.

2. War Machine and the Spit Bag

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We all know War Machine has far bigger problems now, ones very much of his own making.

But five years ago, he was perhaps best known as the fighter who was arrested multiple times for fighting at various late-night clubs and parties.

The most notorious of those earlier incidents was the time he was arrested at a San Diego nightclub and had to be fitted with a "spit bag" after he wouldn't stop expectorating on officers. 

Hard to conceive of anything in this genre more embarrassing than doing your perp walk with a lunch-lady hairnet over your face because you can't control your base impulses.

What a guy.

1. 'Lightning' Strikes on Tito Ortiz

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Tito Ortiz

Curse you, "Lightning" Lee Murray! Curse you forever!

In the first of what would, in retrospect, be many public humiliations for The Huntington Beach Bad Boy, Tito Ortiz got into a very early-morning donnybrook after a London club emptied for the night.

It should be noted that eyewitness accounts have differed, but none other than former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes tells a story that involves Murray knocking Ortiz cold in an alley behind the venue.

Murray is a former fighter and perhaps—no kidding—one of the most dangerous criminals around. But in an MMA context only, he's pretty anonymous.

So for the UFC light heavyweight champion to get himself cold-cocked (allegedly) in the streets by a relative no-name? Well, it's not a good look. 

Scott Harris likes to write and talk about MMA. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.