Five Times UFC Fights Ended In DQ
UFC Fight Night 143 hit the headlines for all sorts of reasons this past weekend; not least because of the controversial finish to the Greg Hardy versus Allen Crowder bout which saw former NFL star, Hardy received a rare disqualification, denying him a win in his UFC debut.
For a sport that was initially marketed as having "No rules", the UFC always has had some. Even way back at UFC 1 in November 1993, there was no eye gouging or fish hooking allowed. As the UFC has moved forward and gained acceptance as a mainstream sport from State Athletic Commissions, it has introduced weight classes and a much more detailed rule book to ensure the safety of all fighters is 100% paramount.
It appears the controversial Hardy has not finished reading said rule book as he was on the wrong end of a DQ decision when he earlier looked like winning the fight.
Hardy struck a downed Crowder with a knee to the head which is illegal due to how dangerous a move it is.
Despite what many observers may think about Hardy personally and his past transgressions are in the public domain for people to make up their own mind, it genuinely seems as if the offending blow was not meant as a cheap advantage, but due simply to the fact he did not know the move was not allowed.
Which is incredible when you think about it. The fault for these negative headlines lies squarely with UFC for booking such an inexperienced fighter (this is his fourth pro fight, and prior to this bout had only spent around two minutes inside an MMA ring) in a featured spot on a major card.
Hardy will get another chance but it may take a while for him to shake off the image as a short cut taker.
However, Hardy is not the first man to find himself on the wrong side of a DQ in the UFC far from it. SK revisits five occasions from the UFC's past where a fighter has lost a fight via DQ.
#5 Frank Mir vs Wes Sims - UFC 43 (June 6, 2003)
Way back in 2003, Wes Sims's loss to Frank Mir bore more than a passing resemblance to the Greg Hardy DQ from UFC Fight Night 143.
Early in the fight, the smaller Mir attempted to lock in an armbar on the giant Sims. Sims's escape from the hold was quite incredible. Sims used his superior strength to hoist Mir up and drop him to the mat to release the hold. With Mir on the mat, the six feet 10 inch Sims let emotion take over.
To the shock of everybody watching, Sims grabbed hold of the fence, his first violation of the rulebook and proceeded to stomp on the fallen Mir again and again. For any fans of pro-wrestling, there was more than a hint of Stone Cold Steve Austin stomping a mudhole here.
Mir had no answer to the unexpected assault and the referee interjected. Sims thought he had won and was annoyed to find he had been disqualified.
It was a dangerous display. Mir exacted a measure of revenge at UFC 46 when he defeated Sims in a one-sided re-match via legal Knockout.