MMA: 25 of the Biggest Disgraces in MMA History

The sport of mixed martial arts has grown by leaps and bounds since the UFC started a martial arts revolution in 1993, but the process hasn't been glorious.

In fact, there were many moments along the way that totally embarrassed the sport and could have caused it long term damage. There were also moments that, while not egregiously disgraceful, were enough to warrant millions of "facepalms."

What were these moments and why were they so bad? Read and find out!

Oleg Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias

UFC 6's fight between Oleg Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias has fallen off the radar of MMA fans because it was short and sweet; it ended by guillotine choke submission only nine seconds in!

Why then is it a disgrace for MMA?

Of all the fights in the early UFC, it's the most likely candidate for a fixed fight. The truth is that both men had the same manager, Buddy Albin, and Albin elected to stand in Taktarov's corner.

Combine that with the fact that Macias was a Muay Thai fighter who suddenly abandoned his discipline against the Russian and easily gave him his neck on a double leg. Even the announcers at the event were calling out how shady it was!

The Detroit Dance

UFC 9's main event is infamous in MMA because of the sheer boredom of it.

There was a rule enforced by uptight politicians banning close-fisted strikes to the head under pain of arrest.

While the UFC and referee John McCarthy looked the other way when infractions were made in the undercard, Shamrock and Severn didn't take any risks, and the fight was 20 minutes of circling. The fight, which was one of the most anticipated of the time, was therefore dubbed "The Detroit Dance."

It was a disgrace because it made the early UFC look terrible and angered many, many fans.

WWE Brawl for All

WWE (although they were the WWF at the time) Brawl for All. Just the mention of it will make the blood of a professional wrestling fan cringe. It should do the same for any MMA fan as well.

WWE Brawl for All was their attempt at bringing MMA into the squared circle. So, how well did it compare to real MMA? Watch the video and find out.

Even worse, the reputation of UFC great Dan Severn was soiled having been in this joke of a "tournament."

With such an awful display of fighting, it is no doubt that the beginning of Brawl for All was a date in which legitimate MMA fans were crying; it was a huge disgrace to the sport!

Kevin Randleman Knocks Himself out

By the time UFC 24 came along, Kevin Randleman had recently been crowned UFC heavyweight champion and was scheduled to make his first defense against Brazilian standout Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo. Hence the event's rather unimaginative title, UFC 24: First Defense.

As fate would have it, the two fighters would not meet at UFC 24. While Randleman was backstage, he slipped and fell on the concrete and was completely knocked out and therefore unable to fight. When you knock yourself out, it's pretty disgraceful.

Yamma Pit Fighting

Bob Meyrowitz, the owner of the UFC before it was sold to Zuffa, decided to venture back into the MMA business after the Zuffa purchase. Unfortunately for the MMA world, the product of this was Yamma Pit Fighting.

The primary advertising gimmick employed by Yamma was their "revolutionary" cage, which was circular and had slanted edges—supposedly to prevent "lay and pray" and make the fights more exciting. Yamma also returned to the tournament structure.

The card was boring, since it was packed with heavyweight wrestlers with poor conditioning as well as two "masters super fights" in which fighters who had not been relevant in nearly a decade were marketed as though they were still stars.

Even worse, some of the announce team was kept from the original UFC days.

All of this helped to make Yamma Pit Fighting a blemish on the face of the sport that, thankfully, only lasted one event.

Tim Sylvia Loses to Ray Mercer

Boxing has been the subject of harsh criticism from MMA fans since the days of Art Jimmerson's lone boxing glove. However, on June 13th 2009, boxing had its revenge.

It took only nine seconds for a former boxing champion Ray Mercer to knock out former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in what was (and perhaps still is) the most humiliating and disgraceful moment for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Ken Shamrock Gets Destroyed by Robert "Buzz" Berry

Ken Shamrock was one of the first superstars in the UFC and was a legend in his time. Sadly, Shamrock stayed in the cage for far too long and damaged not only his legacy but likely his body as well.

His fight against England's Robert "Buzz" Berry was supposed to be a cake walk for him; Berry was a can who was only 11-7.

Much to everyone's surprise, Berry knocked Shamrock out in the second round in a fight that signaled that the once great fighter was well and truly finished. Shamrock totally disgraced himself and made the sport look bad by continuing on.

Kalib Starnes Demonstrates a New Fighting Style: Run Fu

The bout between Kalib Starnes and Nate Quarry is one of the most infamous in mixed martial arts.

Why?

Because Starnes spent the majority of the "fight" ("farce" would be a more appropriate word) backpedaling and even running away from Quarry.

The fight disgraced the sport and Starnes himself, who was booted from the organization afterwards and hasn't returned since.

UFC Resembles WWE in Japan

What was the disgrace at UFC Japan?

Referee John McCarthy made a big mistake that made the UFC look like it was a professional wrestling organization.

When Kazushi Sakuraba shot for a low takedown after Marcus "Conan" Silveira threw a stinging combination, he mistakenly thought that Sakuraba had been knocked out and called off the fight—Silveira was the winner.

Sakuraba refused to leave the cage in protest, and the result was eventually changed to a no contest when McCarthy saw the footage and realized his mistake.

Unfortunately, Tank Abbott was unable to continue into the finals after defeating Yonji Anjo due to a hand injury.

Thus, in what seemed like something out of the playbook of the dullest professional wrestling writer/booker, UFC officials deemed that a rematch between Silveira and Sakuraba would determine who would be the tournament champion.

Sakuraba went on to defeat Silveira and start a storied career, but the genesis of that career was unfortunately, in a disgrace that made the UFC look bush league.

Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli

At EliteXC: Heat, brawler and cash-cow Kimbo Slice was supposed to take on Ken Shamrock. Instead, Shamrock got injured on the day of the fight and wasn't allowed to compete.

Light heavyweight Seth Petruzelli was then taken off the undercard and put on the main event against Slice, a heavyweight. The result of the bout is one of the most well-known in MMA history.

Petruzelli knocked out slice with an off-balance jab only 14 seconds into the fight, and EliteXC therefore lost its most marketable star. But what was revealed after the fight was much worse.

Yahoo sports publicized a radio interview with Petruzelli in which he basically stated that the promoters enticed him to stand with Kimbo instead of taking him down. The comments about the fight ended up attracting the attention of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Even though they found no evidence of wrongdoing in EliteXC, the bad press along with Kimbo Slice being exposed was enough to destroy the company.

The UFC Signs James Toney

This one was pretty ridiculous. Apparently, the MMA world forgot what happened when a pure striker met a fighter who could grapple.

And guess what?

Couture took Toney down immediately and submitted him. No point in wasting a spot on the card or even the money it took to pay Toney (which was taken by the IRS anyway). To make the event even more of a joke, Toney's rear-end was visible at the weigh-ins.

Why was it a disgrace? Bringing in an 0-0 fighter and paying him a hefty salary to get humiliated is pretty disgraceful.

Bisping vs. Hamill

Michael Bisping versus Matt Hamill sticks out as one of the most egregiously bad decisions in the history of the UFC.

Hamill dominated Bisping throughout the fight yet Bisping was awarded with the split decision victory. The fact that the fight took place in the UK, Bisping's home country, made people raise an eyebrow at the questionable decision.

The fight is perhaps the best example of disgraceful judging in the history of MMA.

The Trial (and Trials) of Chael Sonnen

When it was announced that Chael Sonnen would fight Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight championship, many in the MMA community laughed. "Nobody can beat Silva, especially not Chael Sonnen," everyone said.

However, for the better part of 23 minutes, they were proven wrong. Chael Sonnen, after weeks of verbal tirades against the champion, managed to deliver on his promises and batter the champion like no one else had before getting caught in a last-minute triangle choke.

Despite the loss, Sonnen was still the man of the hour in the MMA world. Unfortunately, that didn't last for long.

It was eventually announced that Sonnen's testosterone levels were way above normal on his post-fight drug test. Sonnen was suspended, but he appealed the suspension.

His trial was highly controversial because the issue of TRT first came to the fore. It didn't help that Sonnen was already one of the most controversial figures in the sport; the community was polarized over him.

Eventually, Sonnen was given what amounted to a slap on the wrist, and many MMA fans were angered. Things got worse when Sonnen was accused of and pled guilty to money laundering, not the sport's finest hour.

Even till this day, fans are rigidly split over Chael Sonnen.

Chuck Liddell on Good Morning Texas

When Chuck Liddell went on Good Morning Texas to promote the movie "300" as part of a tie in with the UFC, he disgraced the sport worse than it's been disgraced in a long time.

At the time, Liddell was the face of the company and for him to act in that manner (falling asleep, being totally unintelligible, etc.) on television was horrifying to MMA fans. Whoever was in Liddell's retinue who let him go on television like that should be ashamed.

Paul Daley Hits Josh Koscheck After the Bell

While many would like to take a swing at famed trash talker Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley had 15 minutes to do it at UFC 113 and he couldn't; he was dominated by Koscheck's wrestling.

Instead of shaking Koscheck's hand, Daley decided to go for a fake handshake and a hook to the face. The blow wasn't damaging, and Koscheck was fine but the sport's image wasn't.

Daley, in attempting to give a black eye to Koscheck, gave one to the UFC and MMA. He was subsequently kicked out of the UFC and hasn't been seen there since.

Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs Fight in a Hospital

After a fight between Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs which saw the latter's arm raised in victory, a fight broke out between the two men at the hospital later in the night.

While not tremendously publicized due to the fact that it still took place in the "dark age" of the sport, it certainly was a disgrace for the sport.

Nick Diaz Wants To Slap Ariel Helwani

Nick Diaz has never been media friendly and that's OK. What's not OK is insinuating that you want to slap a member of the media.

Diaz did just this in an interview with MMAfighting.com's Ariel Helwani before his fight with Paul Daley.

ee for yourself what a disgrace this interview was.

Nick Diaz Ditches UFC 137 Press Conference, Embarrasses UFC and Himself

Noticing a trend? Nick Diaz didn't show up for the Vegas leg of the UFC 137 press tour after not showing up for the Montreal portion. He was therefore removed from his title fight against Georges St-Pierre and put in a fight against BJ Penn instead.

Diaz knew what was at stake but chose not to go; he chose not to "play the game." Even his manager, Cesar Gracie, was appalled.

Diaz cost himself the biggest fight of his life and may have even ruined his whole career! In addition, he made the sport look bad in the light of the recent FOX deal!

Dana White Uses Anti-Gay Language in a Tirade against a Reporter

In the spring of 2009, UFC president Dana White went on a profanity-laced tirade against MMA journalist Loretta Hunt and an anonymous source she used in an article that criticized the treatment of managers in the UFC.

The tirade was legendary and unfortunately included an anti-gay slur that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) thought the head of a major sports organization should not be using.

GLAAD protested the UFC and eventually got Dana White to apologize for his language although he never apologized to Hunt herself.

The whole issue has since been largely forgotten by fans, but it was a huge black eye on the sport when it was going ona total disgrace!

"Motorboat Gate"

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson pretended to "motorboat" reporter Karyn Bryant and a firestorm of controversy erupted, in part due to Jackson's history of being...forward with female reporters (read: humping them).

Things were made worse when Joe Rogan called Maggie Hendricks, a reporter who harshly criticized Rampage, "cunty" over the famous "Underground" mixed martial arts forum.

Eventually, fans settled down, and the sordid event passed on into MMA history. Unfortunately for Rampage, he was part of another incident that disgraced the sport...

Rampage's Rampage

On July 15th, 2009, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was involved in a hit and run and a subsequent high-speed police chase.

How did they know it was Rampage? Well for starters, his picture was emblazoned on the side of his monster truck.

The incident has been forgotten, but when it happened, it was a tremendous embarrassment for MMA.

Frank Mir Hopes Brock Lesnar Dies

In February 2010, MMAfighting.com publicized an interview in which Frank Mir stated that he hated Brock Lesnar, "wanted to break his neck in the ring," and wanted "him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries."

This obviously didn't go over well with the media nor anyone else in MMA since the sport has struggled with the "JUST BLEED" image it has had since the 90s. By claiming he wanted a death from Octagon-related injuries, Mir disgraced himself and the sport.

Thankfully, he apologized for his remarks and any possible bedlam that could've been caused by the event was mitigated.

Kids "Cage Fighting" in the UK

Recently, there have been numerous (false) reports of kids "cage fighting" in a UK club. While the story turned out to be a gross misrepresentation (the kids were simply grappling), it's still a disgrace for the sport for two reasons.

First, the media made the sport look bad.

Second, knowledge of MMA isn't as common as fans thought it would be. Apparently the "fastest growing sport in the world" is fallible after all.

"Greasegate"

One of the most anticipated matchups in the history of the UFC was the second fight between Georges St-Pierre and B.J. Penn for St-Pierre's welterweight title.

Each man had a legion of devoted fans pulling for them, and when they finally fought, St-Pierre proved too much for Penn, who couldn't answer the bell at the start of the fifth round.

But after the fight, B.J. Penn made a startling accusation: St-Pierre was greasing.

The whole issue created an insane amount of controversy on forums as well as in the MMA community as a whole. When one of the key figures in the sport is accused of and (essentially) caught cheating, it's bad for the sport and for the community—a disgrace!

The Nashville Brawl

Few could have imagined that Jake Shields would wind up in another fight only moments after his shocking upset victory over Dan Henderson at Strikeforce: Nashville.

During Shields' post fight interview, his middleweight rival Jason "Mayhem" Miller grabbed the microphone and asked for a rematch.

What followed was arguably the biggest black eye in the sport's history. Miller was shoved by Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, and then, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz threw a punch at Miller.

A brawl started, and the fighters involved were fined. Strikeforce has not appeared on CBS since, and many cite the brawl as the reason for that. There has been nothing that has disgraced the sport more.