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Meryl Streep is definitely one of those people who on hearing the term "mixed martial arts" would bray that fighters are as much artists as "tree surgeons" are doctors. Your Highness, 3 Oscars, 8 Golden Globes and being the greatest living actress doesn't make you an authority on what art is or isn't. Art is different things to different people, and whether amorphous or precise, it has the wondrous ability to produce a surge of sensation through a person.
To an MMA fan, art is Anderson Silva weaving around Forrest Griffin's punches, Matrix-style, before putting him down with a single shot. And TJ Dillashaw's phantom footwork that has his opponents so hypnotized that they never see the kill shot.
So, MMA fighters are artists and it doesn't need saying that all artists are given to their whims. UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway is obsessed with mini-cupcakes. Pablo Picasso carried a revolver loaded with blanks that he would fire at anyone who pestered him about his paintings. Okay, completely different ends of the eccentricity spectrum, but harmless all the same... right? Maybe, maybe not. We'll let you decide:
#5 Art Jimmerson, the one-gloved wonder
As an opening act, UFC 1 did make its mark, to say the least. People gasped when they saw Sumo wrestler Teila Tuli's teeth kicked out by savateur Gerard Gordeau. They did double takes when the smallest man in the tournament sliced through his opponents with ill-matched ease. But perhaps the most enduring image from the UFC's world premiere was boxer Art Jimmerson stepping into the cage wearing one glove - it makes fans chuckle to this day.
Riding a 15-fight win streak in a sport that was much better known than the others represented, Jimmerson was considered a favourite at UFC 1. Showing off fast hands while quoting Muhammad Ali's legendary "You can't hit what you can't see" in a pre-fight promo, Jimmerson looked every bit a frontrunner. Until he was hit by the Gracie train.
Glove or no glove, the top-10 Cruiserweight didn't throw a single punch against Royce Gracie. In fact, he tapped out because he was trapped under the BJJ magician, quite possibly making it the only submission by "position" in the sport's history.
But what many fans don't know is WHY Jimmerson donned his Infinity Gauntlet to the cage. A few years ago, Campbell McLaren, one of the producers for the UFC and the man who signed Jimmerson for the tournament, gave Darce Side Radio the insider scoop. The story goes that Big John McCarthy, who wasn't yet a referee but was known as a training partner of Royce Gracie, was at the event. Jimmerson decided to understand the enemy better by probing Big John as much as possible, but he probably wished he hadn't. Being a boxer, Jimmerson was under the impression that when fighters clinched in MMA, the ref would separate them.
Big John told him that there is no such thing in MMA and that Royce would take him to the ground and most likely break his arm! It was in this moment of enlightenment that Jimmerson decided to wear just one glove so that when he tapped with his other hand, it would be clear to the referee that he was giving up. That's more anticlimactic than buying a pretty girl fancy drinks, being stunned into silence as her boyfriend shows up, gets his apology for being late kissed away and then watching them leave together as you get too drunk to catch a cab.
We're pretty sure that Benjamin Disraeli wasn't talking about this when he said "hope for the best but prepare for the worst".
#2 Roy Nelson rubs his (Budai) belly
Rubbing the Budai or Laughing Buddha's belly is supposed to bring wealth and good fortune. UFC veteran and fan favourite Roy Nelson had his own version of the superstition, where he'd haul his 120 kg frame atop the fence and wax on, wax off his wealth belly.
Did it work? To a fair extent - Nelson won The Ultimate Fighter 10 and looked to be on track for a title shot, but lost to future champion Junior Dos Santos. His UFC title dreams did not come to fruition, but nonetheless, Big Country has six bonuses, of which four are for Knockout Of The Night! He has wins against legends like Big Nog, Mirko Cro Cop and was the winning coach of The Ultimate Fighter 16, knocking out Matt Mitrione in the finale and guiding Colton Smith to victory.
At 6 feet tall, Nelson wasn't a rangy fighter but banked on his hull of a chin to step into range where he could land his lethal right hand, his weapon of choice. His ability to poke fun at himself by walking out to Weird Al Jankovic's "Fat" only made him all the more affable. Roy Nelson will rematch Matt Mitrione under the Bellator banner, next year.
#3 Ben Rothwell, the hot stepper
There exists a silver bullet when it comes to street-fighting; one that is as ancient as life itself. It is observable in nature, in the atavistic confrontations of fearsome beasts. Basically, it says that when you're up against an imposing opponent, you should just start going crazy! Stomp your feet, scream, bang your head against something and your challenger will get so unnerved that he or she won't want to get into it with an apparent loon and back off.
Sounds like the flat earth theory, right? Not to top UFC heavyweight Big Ben Rothwell who put it to the test, in the octagon of all places! And what's more, he passed with flying colours!
At UFC 164, Rothwell faced Brandon Vera and in the third round, suddenly broke into a hip-hop dance or something that made a lot of people squint their eyes and scratch their heads. Whatever it was, it worked; Rothwell TKO'd Vera a little after the freestyling display.
Ben Rothwell has not fought since losing to Junior Dos Santos last April and failed a drug test in March 2017, so it is unclear when he will return to the octagon.
#4 Nick Diaz does a Kate Winslet from Titanic
Whether he's Stockton slapping all-time greats like Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit or lighting up $2000 golden blunts, Nick Diaz is always watchable. Which is why fight fans sat up with pricked ears when it was announced that he would be Anderson Silva's welcoming committee at UFC 183.
Silva was looking for redemption after two ignominious defeats to Chris Weidman and Diaz was holding out for a big name. It was a match made in Joe Silva's heaven. Diaz didn't have an answer for The Spider's measured and tactical approach, but he definitely makes the list of top 10 taunts in the UFC.
A master counter-striker, Silva is known for successfully getting under his opponents' skin with his awkward hand movements and goading while against the cage. But in the first round of their clash at UFC 183, a calculating Silva became the butt of Diaz's mockery. Silva had the last laugh with a UD win, but not before Diaz and everyone watching had a few chuckles at his expense. Look out for Diaz's Kate Winslet pose in the above vid
#5 Everything Genki Sudo
Genki Sudo's entrances might just be the most colourful in the history of MMA. That's saying something, considering that most of them were in Japan, where MMA entrances were quite often more of a spectacle than those in pro-wrestling.
Sudo would outdo his supremely entertaining entrances with his bizarre fighting style, often starting fights with his back towards his opponents and dancing to throw them off. UFC fans were treated to his in his fights against Duane Ludwig, Leigh Remedios and Mike Brown.
Well, something worked because he retired with an impressive 16-4-1 record, which included wins against WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown, Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate Marquard, Royler Gracie, former WWE star Eric "Butterbean" Esch and Muay Thai legend Ramon Dekkers.
But what will be foremost in fans' memory is when, after a fight, he would unfurl a flag which read "We Are All One". It endeared him no end to fans and nevermind the applause it never failed to draw, it is a thought which will be forever relevant in society, perhaps now more than ever.
After retiring from MMA in 2006, Genki Sudo donned many hats - he became the lead vocalist of the Japanese synthpop group "World Order", acted in a couple of movies, authored more than a dozen books, received a Master's degree and even managed a university wrestling team with great success.
