Now that 2018 has begun, there’s just no other way to say it: 2017 was simply a strange year for the UFC. With record-low pay-per-view numbers at points and outright messes in more than one division as titles became more devalued, it may not have been a banner year for the UFC, but the sport’s […]
Now that 2018 has begun, there’s just no other way to say it: 2017 was simply a strange year for the UFC.
With record-low pay-per-view numbers at points and outright messes in more than one division as titles became more devalued, it may not have been a banner year for the UFC, but the sport’s leading promotion and its fighters still managed to produce plenty of major talking points over the course of the year.
In this article, we’ll look back at 10 of the craziest moments in the UFC over the past 12 months, from the jaw-dropping action inside the Octagon through to wild antics outside of it, and the occasional curveball that no one saw coming.
Check out the 10 craziest moments from a year that was full of them.
Cris ‘Cyborg’ Punches Angela Magana At UFC Athlete Retreat
The UFC Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas in May was supposed to be an opportunity for fighters to relax, have fun and network, but instead, it turned into a battleground between two bitter rivals.
For several months beforehand, strawweight fighter Angela Magana had been waging an unprovoked cyberbullying campaign against the featherweight star, making fun of her appearance in a series of unflattering memes and messages.
Angered by the insults, ‘Cyborg’ took it upon herself to confront her foe face-to-face at the retreat, but Magana remained defiant and made it clear she had no intention of apologizing, leading to the Brazilian star punching her in the face.
In the aftermath of the incident ‘Cyborg’ received support from fans and other UFC fighters for confronting her tormentor, but Magana ignored the backlash and reported the incident to the police, claimed to have been treated in hospital for a cut lip and ‘cervical strain’ and threatened to file a lawsuit against her rival.
’Cyborg’ was later charged with misdemeanor battery by the Las Vegas Police Department.
With the new year quickly approaching, there’s no better time to reflect on the great fights we’ve witnessed this past year. 2017 gave us Mayweather vs McGregor, GSP vs Bisping, and Jones vs Cormier II, failed drug tests, and epic showdowns. Let’s take a look at the best fights of 2017 in review of a […]
With the new year quickly approaching, there’s no better time to reflect on the great fights we’ve witnessed this past year. 2017 gave us Mayweather vs McGregor, GSP vs Bisping, and Jones vs Cormier II, failed drug tests, and epic showdowns.
Let’s take a look at the best fights of 2017 in review of a year that broke barriers and records while also alienating fans and making them question of the future of the UFC alike:
Photo Credit: MMA Junkie/USA Today Sports
5. Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping
This fight had it all; a title fight with a former champion returning to reclaim his former glory, an expert trash-talking Brit with a chip on his shoulder, and perhaps the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Fans and pundits didn’t know what to make of St-Pierre’s return, having been in retirement for the past four years. Ring rust is real, but the former longtime welterweight champion looked better than he ever had against Bisping at UFC 217. St. Pierre controlled the entire fight before finishing the middleweight champ with a rear naked choke in the third round.
It was one of those moments in MMA that shine a little brighter than the rest. Even though GSP would ultimately give up the belt he just won, his performance against an always game and gutsy Michael Bisping was nothing short of spectacular.
Justin Gaethje is reflecting on his UFC 218 loss to Eddie Alvarez. Earlier this month, Gaethje took on former UFC lightweight kingpin Alvarez inside the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. For the first time in his professional mixed martial art…
Justin Gaethje is reflecting on his UFC 218 loss to Eddie Alvarez. Earlier this month, Gaethje took on former UFC lightweight kingpin Alvarez inside the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. For the first time in his professional mixed martial arts career, Gaethje suffered a loss. He was knocked out in the third round. Both […]
Justin Gaethje may have lost his perfect record at UFC 218 against Eddie Alvarez but, as he sees it, things could have been worse Gaethje told MMA Tonight on SiriusXM Rush recently that he sees a positive in the manner of his knockout loss to Alvarez (…
Justin Gaethje may have lost his perfect record at UFC 218 against Eddie Alvarez but, as he sees it, things could have been worse Gaethje told MMA Tonight on SiriusXM Rush recently that he sees a positive in the manner of his knockout loss to Alvarez (h/t MMAFighting.com): “It’s crazy, the way I fight, it’s definitely hard to […]
Paul Felder enjoys a good scrap, but he isn’t digging the most violent fighter trend. In the buildup to their UFC 218 encounter, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje said the bout would determine the most violent fighter in the UFC. Alvarez ended up …
Paul Felder enjoys a good scrap, but he isn’t digging the most violent fighter trend. In the buildup to their UFC 218 encounter, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje said the bout would determine the most violent fighter in the UFC. Alvarez ended up winning the fight via third-round TKO. During a recent appearance on MMA […]
The title of “Most Violent Man” in the UFC has been settled.
UFC 218 saw to that.
In a memorable lightweight brawl last Saturday, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje did their part to stake claim to the title. After nearly 15 minutes of blood spilled and …
In a memorable lightweight brawl last Saturday, Eddie Alvarez and Justin Gaethje did their part to stake claim to the title. After nearly 15 minutes of blood spilled and guts displayed, it was Alvarez who landed a crushing finishing blow.
The Most Violent Man in the UFC, he unofficially was.
What was perhaps less evident in that moment, in the sultry afterglow that only rocket-fuelled violence can often provide, was that Alvarez has just earned another title for himself: the greatest 155-pounder in MMA history.
The one they’ve long called The Underground King was underground no more, on the top of the heap among his contemporaries in MMA’s deepest class.
A 14-year pro career has revealed things about Alvarez that MMA commoners can only dream of. He opened with 10 straight wins across nearly four years, then five more wins in the following year. By 15-1 he was Mixed Fight Championship welterweight champion and had already moved on to Japan to begin conquering the world at lightweight.
After losing to Shinya Aoki back when that was nothing to be ashamed of, Alvarez jumped to Bellator—where he would truly make his name with the North American audience—and went on a seven-fight win streak.
He stopped former UFC stalwarts Josh Neer and Roger Huerta not long after becoming Bellator lightweight champion by winning the promotion’s Season 1 tournament. As one of the most respected athletes not fighting in the UFC, he defended his title against Michael Chandler.
That loss did nothing to diminish that respect, as he wildly slugged it out with Chandler for four rounds before finally succumbing to a rear-naked choke in what many felt was the 2011 Fight of the Year.
His response to the loss?
Avenging the loss to Aoki with a TKO, stopping Patricky Freire with a first-round head kick, then beating Chandler in another sadistic slugfest that many picked as the Fight of the Year in 2013.
After losing his UFC debut to Donald Cerrone at UFC 178, Alvarez proceeded to go on one of the greatest runs in lightweight history. He beat former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, former WEC champion Anthony Pettis and then-UFC champion Rafael Dos Anjos in succession, reaching the apex of his sport and setting himself up for a fight with Conor McGregor.
Though he lost to McGregor, the rub from the Irish star surely helped Alvarez as a sellable face for the UFC. His willingness to talk a little trash and engage in back-and-forth banter with McGregor allowed people to see his personality, and the pay cheque he received as being part of the promotion’s first foray into New York City would be life-changing for anyone.
But Alvarez remained true to what got him there.
Before it was called off due to an illegal knee, his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 in May was shaping up to be the type of pandemonium the sport has come to expect when Alvarez makes the walk.
His win over Gaethje—another success over an unbeaten champion of a rival organization—was all that and more: a blend of the excitement that has made Alvarez an unmissable viewing commitment and the evolution of a fighter who still has some new tricks up his sleeve.
Now the sport sits in an eerie calm after UFC 218, waiting for the next fight or the next fighter to shake it to its core.
So in that calm, consider this: No one has done the things Alvarez has done.
He’s beaten former or current lightweight champions in no fewer than six different organizations and has fought from Jersey to Japan to Cleveland to Canada to Dallas to Detroit. In 35 fights, only five men have beaten him and only six have survived to hear the final bell when he’s won.
At his best, who could honestly claim to be better? Benson Henderson? BJ Penn? Takanori Gomi?
Perhaps. But Alvarez has a resume to match any of them, and has shown time and again that his skill level matches up with anyone in the sport.
He proved it with certainty in his latest performance.
The title of “Most Violent Man” in the UFC