MMA-PHOTOs-25 Ugliest Happenings of 2011
 

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MMA is home to some of the best moments in all of sports. Unfortunately, in a sport filled with testosterone and where most competitors are too stubborn for their own good, the sport features a lot of bad moments as well.
2011 was no different, as there were plenty of happenings that gave MMA a black eye and were downright ugly at times.
These happenings occurred both inside the cage and out. MMA came under a bigger microscope as the sport grew and these occurrences, although common to most fans, caused quite a bit of negative backlash from the new wave of fans.

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Donald Cerrone and Paul Kelly Touch Gloves...Sort of


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When Donald Cerrone met Paul Kelly at UFC 126, many fans were expecting the fight to be a showcase for the arrival of one of the better lightweights coming from the WEC.
Besides the nasty rear-naked choke that ended the fight, the only highlight to this bout was Kelly's "sucker punch" to start off the fight.
Kelly tried to explain his actions, but it still doesn't excuse this kind of act in the biggest stage of the sports.

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Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua's Loss to Bones


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For weeks, fans of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua were taking to the Internet saying how their hero was going to destroy the chicken legs of Jon Jones.
Rua must've avoided the Internet discussions, as he came out completely flat against Jones.
Perhaps it was simply a case of Jones being that good, but there's no reason a fighter of "Shogun's" caliber should look like that, even in a loss.

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Nick Ring Defies Logic


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When Nick Ring and Riki Fukuda fought to a decision, most fans were making a quick bathroom run or to grab another drink, as it was pretty clear who won the fight.
As we heard the words, "The winner by unanimous decision..." we all knew Fukuda's name was coming. But then Bruce Buffer uttered Ring's name across the microphone.
In MMA, we are used to horrible judging decisions and this, at first glance, probably would've been looked at as a case of a wrestler fighting to win on points instead of looking for a finish.
But when you look at the flight metric scores and see Ring failed to land a single takedown and was out-struck by Fukuda in every round, you have another black eye for MMA judging.

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Thiago Silva Gives Brandon Vera a Musical Send-Off


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Fans were expecting a good scrap when Brandon Vera met Thiago Silva at UFC 125. It was a bit of a disappointment for fans as Silva manhandled Vera throughout the contest.
Things turned ugly when Silva, seemingly bored with beating Vera senseless, decided to play the drums on Vera's back and attempt to slap some sense back into Vera.
In a sport where commentators and president Dana White always attempt to point out the mutual respect between fighters, the Silva incident showed there's still room for real bad blood.

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Chael Sonnen Launders Money; Gets Put on Hold by the UFC


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As if Chael Sonnen didn't have enough problems while serving a suspension from the CSAC, his athletic troubles transcended into legal issues.
Sonnen pled guilty to money laundering. He faced charges and could've been locked away for a long time.
Of course Sonnen returned to being a prominent figure in the UFC after moving past the legal concerns, but this only added fuel to the fire for the anti-Sonnen crowd.

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The First Half of 2011 for Ryan Bader


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Ryan Bader may have closed his 2011 campaign with a victory, but the year got off to a rough start for The Ultimate Fighter winner.
After being out-classed against future champion Jon Jones, Bader was given a virtual "gimme" fight against a Tito Ortiz who already had one foot out the door.
Instead of sending the former legend out of the promotion, Bader was tapped once again to a guillotine choke.
The two losses to begin the year were describable in a few ways, but "ugly" is definitely a word that should be used.

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Mark Hominick Auditions for The Elephant Man 2


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Mark Hominick brought his A-game to UFC 129, but it just wasn't enough to dethrone Jose Aldo.
More impressive (or disturbing?) than Hominick's heart was the massive hematoma that formed on his forehead during the bout.
Hominick continued to fight on and somehow the hematoma didn't burst into a bloody spectacle in the Octagon, but it was still nasty.

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Shane Carwin Gets an Extreme Makeover: Face Edition


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Most people expected Shane Carwin to utilize his wrestling to take Junior dos Santos down in order to win at UFC 131.
Finding himself on the other end of a vicious beatdown, Carwin's face was mangled throughout the bout and it was amazing that he survived the bout.
Other than not utilizing a game plan, Carwin's facial rearrangement was one of the uglier and eye-opening images of 2011.

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Michael Bisping Becomes Public Enemy No. 1


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The back-and-forth pre-fight talk between Jorge Rivera and Michael Bisping got heated and probably stepped over the lines on a few occasions.
But Bisping decided to cross the line again and set up shop.
The Brit blatantly wound up for an illegal knee and hit Rivera in the head while Rivera was on the ground. Worse yet, Bisping showed no remorse and looked like a caged lion waiting to pounce on his prey while Rivera recovered.
If the knee wasn't bad enough, Bisping walked over to Rivera's corner and spat at/near/down towards Rivera's cornermen.
In a matter of minutes, Bisping replaced Jon Fitch's fighting style as public enemy No. 1.

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Nate Marquardt Gets Booted from the UFC After Failing Medical Tests


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UFC on Versus 4 event was supposed to feature the welterweight debut of Nate Marquardt against perennial contender, Anthony Johnson.
Marquardt failed medical tests prior to the event and was subsequently released from the UFC.
More than just a shock from releasing Marquardt was the refusal of Dana White or anyone to release any information which only lead to more speculation about what really happened.
Later on we learned Marquardt had extremely high testosterone levels. Any sympathy fans had for the former middleweight contender was gone.

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Yushin Okami Can't Bring the Thunder to Rio


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The rematch between Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva headlined the UFC's return to Brazil at UFC 134. Although Okami held a victory over the champion, many fans were confidently picking "The Spider" to defend his title in front of his countrymen.
Silva not only avenged his "loss," he destroyed Okami.
As impressive as Silva's performance was, it was nearly overshadowed by the ineffectiveness by Okami during the bout.
"The Spider" repeatedly put his hands at his waist and Okami failed to do anything during these moments. This is one of the few times fans could see the "fear factor" of a fighter at work.
If Okami wanted to win the title, what was he waiting for?

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Greg Jackson Atttempts to Get Jon Jones Some Fans



Jon Jones' public image spiraled downward just as his career was beginning to skyrocket upward.
After finishing Lyoto Machida in convincing fashion at UFC 140, some footage emerged which would lose Jones even more fans.
In the video, Jones' coach, Greg Jackson, tells his fighter to go check on Machida to "get some fans."
There are a lot of ways to manage your public image, but this move was an embarrassment not only for Jones but also for Jackson as well.

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Ronda Rousey Plays Doctor with Julia Budd's Arm


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mmamania.com


Ronda Rousey entered the cage at the Strikeforce Challengers 20 event and handled Julia Budd with ease.
Other than using her impressive judo skills to secure yet another armbar victory, Rousey snapped Budd's arm in half.
Budd's arm break is almost on the same level as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's broken arm against Frank Mir at UFC 140.

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Jason Miller Gets His Own Bully Beatdown


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When Jason "Mayhem" Miller made his return to the UFC, he had everything going for him. He's one of the few fighters to have a successful career (both with fighting and in financial terms) outside of the UFC and had quite a bit of fan backing.
"Mayhem" came in and fought hard...for about the first minute.
After that, the fight resembled a beating at a local middle school as Michael Bisping took "Mayhem's" lunch money and just about anything else he wanted to.
"Mayhem's" poor performance was ugly, but it has to make him sick to think of what could've been had he beaten Bisping.

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Forced Retirements for Some UFC Legends


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The year 2011 saw some of our favorite legends of the sport be forced out in devastating fashion.
Lyoto Machida channeled his inner "Daniel-son" and nailed a crane kick to the face of Randy Couture, effectively ceasing the Hall of Famer's career.
Josh Koscheck crossed off one of the items on his bucket list by finally facing Matt Hughes. Kos looked tentative early on but eventually finished Hughes. In the post-fight interview, Hughes didn't say the "r-word," but was left speechless in regards to his future plans.

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Mile High Failure at Heavyweight


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UFC 135 took place in Denver, CO and some fans began to speculate about cardio issues for certain fighters.
For some odd reason, the UFC decided to put on two heavyweight bouts on the main card despite the concerns about the crisp Denver air.
The result was some of the worst heavyweight fighting I think I've ever seen. Travis Browne and Rob Broughton fought a relatively uneventful bout, but even worse than that was the matchup between Ben Rothwell and Mark Hunt.
Both men were clearly gassed but Rothwell looked dreadful and even had to be carried back to his corner by his coach following the end to the second round. How Rothwell has a job after that embarrassment is beyond me.

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Fedor Gets Flatlined


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2011 saw the effective end of Fedors career in the United States. The beating he took from Antonio Silva was just as disturbing to watch as it was shocking to see the great fighter manhandled in such a way.
There was still hope for fans of "The Last Emperor" that he would return to form against another Pride legend, Dan Henderson.
Expecting to see remnants of the "old Fedor," fans were left wondering what was next for the great fighter as Emelianenko face-planted into the canvas after eating a number of punches.
Emelianenko was forced back to fighting overseas and it looks as if his days of fighting the US are done.

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Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace Can't Read a Scale


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It's one thing to come in a half-pound or pound overweight. Scales don't always match up and it's mostly a case of a fighter needing to disrobe to make weight.
But when a fighter shows up three and six pounds over weight like Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace did, respectively, it really damages their credibility as being UFC-worthy fighters.
Besides forfeiting a hefty percentage of their fight purse, it was an embarrassment for both men.

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UFC 136 Breaks the Wrong Kind of Record


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UFC 136 should've been a hit with fans and a huge moneymaker for the UFC, considering it had two title fights for main events.
The event turned out to be largely uneventful and dragged on for hours that saw few highlights.
The main event between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar was almost a mirror image of their match at UFC 125 until Edgar finished his opponent in the fourth round. The other title fight between Kenny Florian and Jose Aldo was just as uneventful.

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Chris Leben Is His Own Worst Enemy


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Chris Leben started off 2011 with an unimpressive showing against Brian Stann but turned things around with a bout against Wanderlei Silva.
Leben effectively ruined any chances at a title run with his loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138. Although Leben lost the fight, it wasn't the loss that hindered his chances as much as what emerged after the fight.
"The Crippler" was suspended for one year after failing a drug test for UFC 138 and clearly still has some personal demons to get past before he can reach his full potential.

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Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Refuses to Tap


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As Frank Mir stumbled to the mat in his rematch with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, fans were on their feet expecting a quick finish from their Pride hero.
What followed was a moment that saw the MMA world let out a collective "Oooohhh!" and turned away as Big Nog's arm was broken.
Originally it looked as if he suffered a dislocated shoulder as his arm "popped," but it was later revealed to be a broken arm. Nogueira will be on the shelf for quite some time.

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Tim Sylvia Continues His Career of Embarrassment


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Tim Sylvia was never a physical specimen, but while he was at the top of the UFC heavyweight ladder, he at least somewhat looked the part of a fighter.
In January, Sylvia looked nothing like his former self. In fact, Sylvia looked sad and pathetic with his physique and was forced to begin a career at super-heavyweight.
Worse than seeing a former UFC champion fight while weighing 300-plus pounds was watching him lose to Abe Wagner in under a minute.

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Miguel Torres and Twitter


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When Miguel Torres took to Twitter to tweet a quote from one of his favorite TV shows, it didn't strike his boss' funny bone.
Torres was subsequently released from the UFC and caused quite a bit of backlash from media critics. Many fans of MMA were used to things like this being said by fighters, but fighters will have to be used to being more politically correct in environments like Twitter given the increased exposure of the promotion.

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Rashad Evans Wants to Touch Phil Davis


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At the press conference for their upcoming bout, Rashad Evans and Phil Davis engaged in a back and forth trash talk.

Evans took a step too far when he made a comment in regards to Davis and the ongoing Penn State situation.

The comment itself was bad, but when you consider that the Sandusky case was a major story in the sports world only weeks ago and even caused small rioting on the Penn State campus, it was a case of "too soon" for Evans' zing.