#7 – Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera

(Video courtesy of YouTube/68Evildeeds.)
What happened: Leading into his UFC 127 match with Michael Bisping, Jorge Rivera released a series of Youtube videos designed to get inside the TUF 3 winner’s head, the best of which can be seen here. I guess you could say that they were effective, as Bisping not only banned Matt Phinney (a.k.a “Count Bisping”) from the event’s weigh-ins, but nearly got into a tussle with Rivera at the weigh-ins as well. But it was the fight itself that truly elevated Bispings status from “cheeky bastard” to “pre-American Revolution level British douchebag.” Not only did Bisping deliver a blatantly illegal knee in the first round (which he claimed was unintentional, of course) but after defeating Rivera, proceeded to spit on his cornermen (which he again claimed was unintentional).

The fallout: Bisping was denied his win bonus as a result of his actions, and issued a weak apology a few days afterward. Rivera would go on to drop his next fight to Constantinos Philippou, and Bisping would continue to exploit his aforementioned douchbaggery during interviews and as a coach on the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter. Cheerio.

#6 – The Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFCwords.)
What happened: No, not that Strikeforce brawl, we’re talking about the other one involving the brothers Diaz. In the aftermath of his come-from-behind victory over Dan Henderson, Jake Shields stood amongst his ragtag crew of middle finger enthusiasts (a.k.a Team Cesar Gracie) to discuss his toughest fight to date. Suddenly, from the depths of the audience, Jason “Mayhem” Miller sprang up and interrupted Shield’s speech with talks of a rematch. This insolence would not be tolerated by the 209, whom immediately pounced on Miller and performed a dramatic retelling of American History X on his ass.

The fallout: After all parties involved issued an apology, sort of, the Texas Athletic Commission launched a formal investigation of the event, and ended up recommending that all the fighters involved be fined $20,000 and suspended from fighting for 9 months. But as Lindsay Lohan has already proved, recommended punishments rarely see the light of day when you’re a celebrity. Each fighter was suspended three months and fined between $5,000-$7,500. The issue did not sit well with CBS however, who gave Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker the old silent routine for a few months following the incident. But the real damage done was to that of MMA’s namesake, as the brawl only furthered the mainstream theory that MMA was just a mix of WWE style antics and mindless violence involving a bunch of slack jawed ingrates. Hopefully recent events have helped curb this belief.

#5 – Dan Miragliotta gifts Kimbo a victory at EliteXC:Primetime

(Video courtesy of Youtube/janipt.)
What happened: Believe it or not, there was a time when another MMA promotion was making it’s major network debut. That organization was EliteXC, the network was CBS. Having purchased Youtube sensation “Kimbo Slice” as their meal ticket to success, the geniuses at EliteXC decided it was time for Kimbo to take a slight step up in competition from the old, soggy sons of bitches he had fought in his two previous contests. That step up was James Thompson, a glass-jawed Goliath who was best known for getting his ass kicked by Neil Grove, Aleksander Emelianenko, and perpetual bean bag Eric Esch in a combined total of under 2 minutes.

But their plan ran into a wall when Thompson not only held his own in the fight, but by all means should have been awarded a TKO victory at the end of the second round. Obviously worried that their golden boy was about to fall to a nobody on their big night, one of EliteXC’s head honchos likely sent a message down to referee Dan Miragliotta, Buffalo Wild Wings style, and told him to end that shit as soon as Kimbo gained the upper hand whatsoever. Kimbo obliged by bursting James Thompson ear open with a right hand, and Dan obliged by calling a rarely seen standing TKO on Thompson, who was sound minded enough to protest immediately.

The fallout: One of the rare moments in MMA history where fans cried “fix,” EliteXC: Primetime showed its true colors that evening, even cutting away from the fight at one point in the first round where it appeared Kimbo was about to tap. Kimbo would meet his maker just five months later at the hands of last minute replacement Seth Petruzelli, and it only got more disgraceful from there.

#4 – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson lives up to his nickname

(Video courtesy of Youtube/icemanwc117, ironically.) 
What happened: Quinton Jackson, believe it or not, has a mindset that can best be decribed as “Charlie Day on amphetamines.” When he’s not threatening the life of a reporter one day, he’s motorboating another one in front of their husband the next. Coming down off his disappointing title-losing effort against Forest Griffin at UFC 86, Mr. Jackson proceeded to go on a three day bender of energy drinks and The Secret, culminating in a car chase with police across Costa Mesa that saw at least three cars wrecked. One of the cars’ occupants happened to be a pregnant mother, who soon after the accident had a miscarriage.

The fallout: Rampage was arrested on a $25,000 bond and charged with hit-and-run driving, felony evading and reckless driving. Jackson would plead guilty, and receive community service for his actions. No evidence was found linking his incident with the woman’s miscarriage. Nothing short of bizarre, this event gave the general population a glimpse into the clownshit craziness that is Quinton Jackson, thusly turning it into one of the things we like about the guy.

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