UFC 137: Nick Diaz, BJ Penn and the 10 Worst Post-Fight Faces of 2011

Last night’s UFC 137 main event between Nick Diaz and BJ Penn will be remembered for many things, but perhaps none more than the damage on Penn’s face during the 15-minute slug-fest. He wasn’t alone, either, as Diaz himself will certainly be nursing some wounds over the next few days.

Both men had their battle scars and their now famous post-fight picture will never be forgotten.

Though they looked terrible after the fight, Penn and Diaz were only two of many memorably awful-looking post-fight faces this year. So with that in mind, let’s take a look back at the best of the worst examples of facial damage in MMA from 2011.  

10. Georges St-Pierre

The bully: Jake Shields

The event: UFC 129

Georges St-Pierre was expected to dominate the standup game against former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields, but things got interesting after Shields caught him with a poke to the eye early in the fight.

That strike alone caused some damage, but more importantly, it left the champion having a difficult time seeing out of that eye. The veteran, Shields, took advantage by landing some nice strikes in the standup game. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to steal a decision in his second UFC fight and GSP left as the champion once again. 

9. Nick Diaz vs. BJ Penn

The bully: BJ Penn

The event: UFC 137

“Yeah, but you should’ve seen the other guy!”

Though he convincingly won the fight, Nick Diaz certainly has to respect the amount of damage that BJ Penn was able to deliver while being peppered by punches for the better part of 10 minutes.

Diaz’s reach advantage was likely the biggest difference in the fight as he was able to repeatedly land jabs on Penn, but every time he wound up to land body shots, it seemed that Penn would answer with hooks to Diaz’s face. It was an interesting boxing match between two of the best in the sport.

8. Brandon Vera

The bully: Thiago Silva

The event: UFC 125

Brandon Vera made a successful return to the Octagon at UFC 137, but it was only possible because the UFC decision-makers gave him a second chance following the violent beating he took at the hands of Thiago Silva at UFC 125.

Some expected Vera to win the standup battle with Silva in this one, but when the fight went to the ground, Silva absolutely destroyed the former heavyweight with a lethal ground-and-pound assault. Vera turtled up for the majority of the later moments in the fight, but Silva made him pay when he opened up, eventually breaking Vera’s nose in what was one of the grosser looking moments we’ve seen this year. 

7. Chris Tuchscherer

The bully: Mark Hunt

The event: UFC 127

A 20-1 Chris Tuchscherer made his UFC debut in 2009, but has not fared nearly as well in the Octagon as he did outside of it. His record in the UFC is just 1-3, but his biggest beating came at the hands of K-1 legend Mark Hunt at UFC 127.

Tuchscherer didn’t quite make it to the half-way point in the fight as he was repeatedly tagged by Hunt before finally being caught with a violent uppercut that put him out for good. Hunt had done more damage in seven minutes than most fighters will ever do in the full 15. What a beatdown. 

6. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio “Big Foot” Silva

The bully: Antonio “Big Foot” Silva

The event: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva

Fedor Emelianenko may be the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of the sport, but he didn’t look like it after his bout with Antonio “Big Foot” Silva this past February.

Fedor looked tiny in comparison to the giant he was fighting and Silva was able to take advantage of it in the standup game. The size difference, however, was even more significant once the fight went to the ground. From there, Silva unleashed a hellacious fury of ground-and-pound that left the former Pride champion looking like his face had been beaten with a meat tenderizer.

The fight was stopped between the second and third rounds when the doctor got a better look at Fedor’s wounds. 

5. Keith Jardine vs. Gegard Mousasi

The bully: Gegard Mousasi

The event: Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi was looking to get back into the title picture and was fighting a declining former star in Keith Jardine. Not only that, but Jardine was taking the fight on very short notice, leaving Mousasi as a huge favorite going into the contest.

What he wasn’t expecting, though, was a zombie version of Keith Jardine to show up and just keep coming, and coming, and coming. He looked like he was going to fall apart at the end of the fight, but Jardine battled through it, showing amazing heart and determination on his way to forcing a draw. 

4. BJ Penn vs. Nick Diaz

The bully: Nick Diaz

The event: UFC 137

Those who have followed BJ Penn throughout his career could tell you many things about him. His determination, his mind for the sport, his pure physical talent. But one of the things that has always been a trait of BJ Penn is that he is a guy who just does not look like he has been in a fight even when he comes up on the losing end.

That came to an end last night in what may very well be the final fight of his career.

Penn’s eye was practically completely closed after taking what seemed like hundreds of jabs from one of the best boxers in all of MMA. Nick Diaz systematically picked him apart, just like he has done to so many others before, and walked away with a unanimous decision victory. 

3. Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos

The bully: Junior dos Santos

The event: UFC 131

Like others on this list, Shane Carwin took this fight against Junior dos Santos on short-notice, replacing what was supposed to be The Ultimate Fighter coach-vs-coach match between dos Santos and Brock Lesnar.

The storyline became Carwin’s power against dos Santos’ technique. Not surprisingly, like so many times before this, skill prevailed as dos Santos completely smashed the former UFC interim heavyweight champion for 15-minutes.

Carwin displayed amazing heart to stay alive in the fight and keep going, but he looked like he was in a horror movie when it was all said and done.

2. Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann

The bully: Martin Kampmann

The event: UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

One of the most controversial decisions of 2011 came in this fight as Martin Kampmann completely pummeled Diego Sanchez in what looked like it was set to be a one-sided unanimous decision victory for the Danish welterweight.

When the judges announced Sanchez as not only the winner, but a unanimous winner, fans and experts alike simply threw their hands up in the air.

Sure, Sanchez got a nice takedown, but the striking wasn’t even close. Just look at Diego’s face! Yuck!

1. Mark Hominick vs. Jose Aldo

The bully: Jose Aldo

The event: UFC 129

There have been some terrible-looking post-fight faces in 2011, but none has been anywhere near as bad as what happened to Mark Hominick in his UFC featherweight title fight against champion Jose Aldo.

Hominick battled in his home country and it looked like he was going to take the beating of a lifetime early in the bout as Aldo crushed him with big shots and sickening ground-and-pound. Eventually, Aldo landed a shot over Hominick’s eye which caused a hematoma that ballooned up like a golf ball under the skin.

Thankfully it never burst open or it could’ve been a serious problem, but the damage was still horrendous-looking.

Somehow Hominick battled back late in the fight even after a huge beating, but he eventually fell short on the judges’ scorecards.