5 times UFC fighters used questionable techniques to their advantage in the octagon

#4. Fishhook – Bryan Caraway vs. Erik Perez at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov

The UFC’s rule book, which follows the Unified Rules of MMA, lists a number of banned techniques. They include headbutts, groin strikes and small joint manipulation.

Among the banned techniques is the fish hook, which essentially sees a fighter insert their fingers into the mouth or nose of their opponent and pulling. It goes without saying that the technique is frowned upon in nearly all martial arts circles.

However, this highly unsavory technique has been used in the UFC, and surprisingly enough, the incident in question didn’t take place in the promotion’s Dark Ages. Instead, it happened on a 2014 UFC Fight Night card in a bantamweight bout between veteran Bryan Caraway and prospect Erik Perez.

The first round of the fight saw Caraway take Perez’s back. And as ‘El Goyito’ worked to defend a potential rear-naked choke, the camera clearly showed Caraway inserting his fingers into the Mexican’s mouth and yanking for all he was worth.

Incredibly, the move went completely unnoticed by referee Raul Porrata. Perez survived the round, only to succumb to a choke in the second round.

Naturally, though, online fans were shocked and appalled by the use of such a questionable move. They were further stunned when Caraway appeared to admit to it in a Facebook post. He stated that he didn’t realize he’d done it until after the fight. He immediately apologized when he was told about it.

That didn’t make things much better, though, and despite his win, ‘Kid Lightning’ saw his reputation with the fans go downhill after the fight.

---

#3. Faceplant/Pedigree – Alan Belcher vs. Patrick Cote at UFC 113

Among the UFC’s banned techniques is any kind of move that spikes a fighter onto their head. That's essentially the equivalent of professional wrestling’s largely outlawed piledriver.

Thankfully for UFC fighters, and their necks, we’ve never seen a piledriver used inside the octagon, although the move did appear at times in Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships.

But in his fight with Patrick Cote at UFC 113, Alan Belcher pushed the rules to their absolute limit. And in doing so, he used a similar, highly questionable technique to set up a rear-naked choke finish.

The incident in question saw Cote shoot in for a takedown, only for ‘The Talent’ to block it before underhooking the Canadian’s body. He then lifted him into the air and drove him into the ground face-first.

The move resembled pro-wrestler Triple H’s infamous ‘Pedigree’ move. Despite Belcher not underhooking Cote’s arms, the effect was basically the same.

‘The Predator’ was so stunned that he was unable to defend, and Belcher quickly spun onto his back, locked up a choke and forced him to submit.

The fans in attendance at the show were horrified by what they’d seen, although to be fair, some of their reaction was perhaps down to Cote being a hometown fighter. Even so, whether or not the technique used by Belcher was actually illegal, or simply questionable, remains debatable over a decade on.