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MMA is supposed to be a professional sport where two fighters settle their differences inside the cage. However, sometimes a 25-minute sanctioned fight is just not enough for two competitors, as demonstrated in the recent arrest of Jorge Masvidal for attacking Colby Covington in a public place a week after losing their UFC bout.
Three years earlier at UFC's record-breaking PPV UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov silenced Conor McGregor with an emphatic submission win, but then initiated a mass brawl involving both camps that marred the event.
Nine years before that, Strikeforce had got a massive contract with CBS to air their fights and was hoping to challenge the UFC with their new exposure. However, after Jake Shields beat Dan Henderson in a Middleweight title match, Jason Miller's unscheduled appearance in the ring triggered a melee. Shields' training partners including Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, and younger brother Nate proceeded to wipe the floor with Miller. The incident led to CBS canceling their MMA coverage, sinking Strikeforce.
While those incidents took place inside the ring immediately after a fight, this list looks at 7 instances of infamous backstage brawls involving MMA fighters.
7
Chael Sonnen Vs Wanderlei Silva - TUF Brazil 3-4.jpg)
Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei 'Axe Murderer' Silva were the opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3, and it wasn't long before there was an unplanned fight between the two. After exchanging words during a weigh-in, Silva challenged Sonnen to a fight then and there.
Sonnen repeatedly asked Silva to back off but eventually decided to protect himself, shoving Silva and delivering the famous 'I can't let you get close' line. Despite being in flipflops, the American gangster proceeded to deliver a takedown on Silva and the two started to brawl on the floor before getting separated by the TUF fighters.
6
Jorge Masvidal Vs Leon Edwards - UFC London 2019-3.jpg)
Jorge Masvidal was supposed to be the sacrificial lamb for Britain's newest prospect Darren Till at UFC: London in 2019. However, when the night was over, Masvidal had devastated not one, but two British fighters. After knocking out favorite Till in the main event to collect two 'Of the night' bonuses, Masvidal was doing an interview with Laura Sanko when Leon Edwards sauntered by, running his mouth.
Gamebred went up to Edwards and delivered multiple jabs to the Brit, opening a cut below his left eye. Masvidal would hilariously claim in a later interview that he was afraid for his life and that forced him to deliver 'a three-piece with soda' to Edwards.
5
Jon Jones Vs Daniel Cormier - UFC 178 Media Day-4.jpg)
At UFC 178, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (22-1 at the time) was scheduled to defend his belt against Daniel Cormier (19-1 at the time) and both were at a media event to promote the fight. UFC PR Head Dave Sholler invited the two on to the stage for the stare down and Cormier shoved Jones by the neck after the champion pressed his forehead against Cormier's.
In a moment that would become viral on the internet, Jones shoved Sholler aside like he was nothing, trying to get at Cormier. This resulted in poor Sholler crashing into the background banner and falling off the stage while UFC personnel tried to restrain Jones and Cormier.
4
Charles Bennett Vs Wanderlei Silva - Pride 2005
Charles 'Krazy Horse' Bennett was a promising Featherweight in 2004 and got signed to Pride FC after compiling a 12-5 record. A year later, Bennett - who had a reputation for being unpredictable - badmouthed the Chute Boxe Academy MMA team and their star pupil Wanderlei Silva backstage at Pride FC: Shockwave 2005.
Silva's teammate Cristiano Marcella took down a charging Krazy Horse and put him to sleep with a triangle choke. After the fight was broken up, the featherweight Bennett recovered and knocked out Silva with one punch. Eleven years later, Silva's protégé Minoru Kimura fought Bennett at a Rizin event to gain revenge only to get TKO'd by Krazy Horse in just seven seconds.
3
Nick Diaz Vs Joe Riggs - Fight At A Hospital-4.jpg)
UFC 57 is now mostly remembered for the infamous hospital fight between Joe Riggs and Stockton's resident troublemaker Nick Diaz. Riggs had edged out Diaz via unanimous decision on the card but while both were loaded into separate ambulances post-fight, Riggs told a reporter that he could have fared even better in the fight, which prompted Diaz to yell 'Let's go round four then ****'.
At the hospital, Riggs was asked to go to the nurses' station to deliver his urine sample, and he had to walk past Nick's room with an IV drip attached. Feeling that Riggs had come over to gloat, a still-bloodied Diaz came out of his room to deliver a punch that dropped Riggs and sent a tooth flying. The two then proceeded to fight inside a broom closet, with Nick's brother Nate also joining the beat-down, sending the hospital floor into a frenzy.
2
Conor McGregor Vs Khabib Nurmagomedov - UFC 223-5.jpg)
In 2017, Conor McGregor was in his champ-champ glory days but decided to seek a huge fight with boxer Floyd Mayweather instead of defending either of his titles. This led to the No:1 Lightweight contender Khabib calling Conor a 'chicken' and slapping his teammate Artem Lobov in a New York hotel lobby prior to UFC 223.
This led to McGregor and his team arriving in New York to get revenge, but the UFC bus carrying the fighters had already started to leave when McGregor and crew showed up. McGregor proceeded to throw a dolly through the bus window, which injured Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg, canceling their fights on the UFC 223 card. Conor was arrested and Khabib proceeded to win the vacant lightweight title at the event.
This led to the highly anticipated title match between Khabib and Conor at UFC 229 and the Russian proceeded to submit McGregor with a neck crank and then jumped over the cage to attack the rest of Conor's trash-talking teammates, sparking another brawl.
1
Skrap Pack Vs Team Khabib - WSOF 22-6.jpg)
In 2015, the World Series Of Fighting produced the event WSOF 22 which had former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields and Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin, Abubakar fighting on separate bouts. This meant that Shields' fellow 'Skrap Pack' members from Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu academy, namely the Diaz brothers and Gilbert Melendez were in attendance alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and the rest of the feared Dagestani contingent.
It was a powder keg waiting to explode and sure enough, words were exchanged between Khabib and Nate Diaz after the younger Diaz brother felt that Team Khabib was making fun of him. Diaz allegedly went on to slap Khabib and a full-scale brawl broke out. Khabib would then punch Diaz's teammate Martin Sano and Nick Diaz would hurl a beer bottle at Khabib.
The two groups would get into another melee again outside the arena before it was once again broken up. With this fight and the infamous Strikeforce: Nashville brawl, it is safe to say that the 'Skrap Pack' aren't the ones to be taken lightly.