Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold and 5 of the weirdest UFC fights

UFC fights can transpire in any number of ways. By their very nature as mixed martial arts bouts, they are subject to countless variables. A sloppy takedown with no setup might result in a guillotine choke-counter, similar to Fabricio Werdum's stunning win over Cain Velasquez seven years ago.

Other times, MMA bouts can end in vicious knockouts when one fighter dupes the other into slipping a straight punch, only for them to lean into the path of a rising high kick. Whether it's grappling, striking, or even a combination of the two, MMA can take on many forms. Though sometimes, matchups can truly diverge from what is expected.

A series of strange UFC moments exist, either due to the fighters themselves or other factors like their environment. Yoel Romero kissing Luke Rockhold minutes after knocking him out and Ben Rothwell's bizarre supervillain promo in his post-fight interview at UFC Fight Night 68 come to mind.

In honor of these odd incidents, this list looks at 5 of some of the weirdest UFC fights to have ever taken place.

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#5. Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller

At this point, there's no such thing as a normal Rousimar Palhares fight. The Brazilian grappler is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who specializes in securing leg locks.

Unfortunately, Palhares has a tendency to maintain his grip on submissions long after his foe has tapped out in surrender and even after the referee intervenes, holding on to his opponent's trapped leg while the match official tries to literally pry his grip open.

However, when Palhares faced Dan Miller at UFC 134, it was an even more bizarre outing. Looming over a bloodied and battered Miller on the ground, Palhares rained down punches until deciding by himself with no referee intervention that his foe was beaten. The Brazilian turned away, raised his arms in celebration and even climbed to the top of the cage.

Seconds later, UFC referee Herb Dean coaxed Palhares back down from the cage to restart the fight. Once it resumed, Miller nearly flattened the Brazilian with a left hand that could have won him the fight. Alas, Palhares survived to seize victory by uninamous decision in what was truly a bizarre fight.

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#4. Diego Sanchez vs. Michel Pereira

By the time of UFC Fight Night 167, Diego Sanchez was well past his prime, having made his professional MMA debut as far back as 2002. Thus, when he crossed paths with Michel Pereira 18 years later, he was not the same fighter he once was. No longer 'The Nightmare', Sanchez wallowed deeper into his unorthodox training methods alongside former head coach Joshua Fabia.

The matchup was intended as a showcase for Pereira as the Brazilian eclipsed his veteran foe in size, athleticism, and overall skill. During the bout, Sanchez twice attempted bizarre somersaults that were likely ill-timed rolling thunder kicks, if anything.

Neither of them landed, nor did Sanchez's sudden forward charges, which would see the UFC legend literally sprint across the cage to land punches.

Pereira was just as strange, fighting more like a Tekken character than a UFC fighter, while also engaging in truly odd behaviors like tapping his own heels and bouncing from side to side without making eye contact with Sanchez. Nevertheless, by the 3rd round, Sanchez had been thoroughly dominated before fortune shone on him.

His foe landed an illegal knee. While 'The Nightmare' seemed relatively fine, he opted against resuming the bout upon being informed that he'd win by disqualification if he chose not to continue the fight. Sanchez chose not to continue the fight, claiming the win via DQ to cap off a truly strange contest.

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#3. Ilia Topuria vs. Ryan Hall

At UFC 264, one of the most bizarre fights in recent memory took place when the oft-avoided Ryan Hall collided with undefeated finisher Ilia Topuria. From the onset of the bout, it was clear that Hall—a feared Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt—had no reliable strategy other than implementing an Imanari roll to force the fight to the ground. Thus, Hall kept using the Imanari roll with no setup, again and again to no effect.

No matter how many times he failed, Hall repeatedly tried securing an Imanari roll while Joe Rogan vehemently defended the featherweight grappler's questionable approach to the bout. The commentator even hit out at fans who began booing the American's performance.

When Topuria dragged Hall to the ground, securing his foe's back, Rogan upped the odd nature of the bout by asserting that Topuria—who had back control—was in trouble for doing so.

Right before the final seconds of the fight, which Topuria won via KO, UFC commentators Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan were pushing the narrative of how the Georgian couldn't approach the matchup the same way he approached all others, while ignoring Hall's decision to constantly roll or fall onto his own back.

Yet, moments later, Topuria secured a dominant position on the ground, knocking Hall unconscious with ground and pound.

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#2. Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas 2

In general, Rose Namajunas tends to be an odd fighter, though not from a stylistic standpoint. Instead, Namajunas' off-cage behavior is sometimes called into question, like her decision to use anti-Communist rhetoric during the buildup to her first fight with Zhang Weili. However, at UFC 274, Namajunas' weirdness emerged inside the octagon when she faced Carla Esparza in a rematch.

Hoping to defend her UFC strawweight title, Namajunas sought vengeance against the woman who first defeated her eight years prior. On her way to the octagon, 'Thug Rose' echoed her now well-known mantra, "I'm the best."

Alas, after screaming it to herself before the matchup, what ensued inside the octagon left fight fans across the globe stunned. Across 25 minutes, Namajunas landed only 38 strikes, while her opponent landed 30.

Esparza, a wrestler, attempted 11 takedowns but only succeeded in securing two, neither of which led to anything since Namajunas popped right back to her feet both times. Despite her strong takedown defense and counter-wrestling, Namajunas did nothing but circle on the outside and deny her foe the chance to engage.

With neither woman interested in pursuing the action, the bout was an extremely low-volume and uneventful affair. In the 1st round, a total of eight strikes were landed by both women. It was an exceptionally bizarre fight because, for some inexplicable reason, Namajunas and Esparza decided against engaging each other at all.

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#1. Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold

Last Saturday's co-main event was originally scheduled for UFC 277. For one reason or another, though, the bout was moved to UFC 278, where the high altitude of Salt Lake City played an enormous factor in how the matchup transpired.

Paulo Costa was intent on reminding spectators of the vicious bruiser who tore through the middleweight division as an undefeated force before his shocking loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253.

Meanwhile, Luke Rockhold hoped to recapture his old form en route to a 2nd run for the UFC middleweight championship he once held. When both locked horns, the fight turned into a weird affair. Before the end of the 1st round, both men succumbed to the effects of fighting at high altitude.

Rockhold was so exhausted he could do nothing else but rest his hands on his knees, while Costa was tired enough to withhold most of his offense even when his foe was hurt.

As both men grew more tired, Rockhold began overreacting to the blows he was suffering, wincing and spinning around. Somehow, Costa did nothing to capitalize on his opponent's compromised state.

Instead, Rockhold channeled his own warrior spirit, screaming an insult at Costa before blasting him with punches and rocking the Brazilian. Unfortunately, he was too tired to follow-up.

When Costa landed an uppercut on Rockhold's groin, the action was called but 'Borrachinha' mistook it for a TKO win. He ran around the cage celebrating before climbing on it. Though when he realized he had not won the fight and had instead caused a lull in the action due to an illegal blow, the bout resumed.

In its closing moments, Rockhold finally managed to secure a dominant position on the ground. Instead of fishing for a last-minute submission or unloading his patented ground and pound, the former champion opted to smear his own blood over Costa's face, rubbing his bleeding face on the Brazilian's in a bout that was as weird as it could have been.