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The UFC is undoubtedly a place where anything can happen. Time after time, fans have been left with their jaws on the floor thanks to some truly shocking moments inside the octagon.
2021 has seen its fair share of shocking moments inside the UFC. Some of these moments have made the year one of the most memorable in the promotion’s history.
With major upsets, nasty injuries and jaw-dropping knockouts leaving UFC fans absolutely stunned, it’s safe to say that 2021 won’t be forgotten any time soon.
With that in mind, here are the five most shocking moments in the UFC in 2021.
#5. Terrance McKinney starches Matt Frevola in record-setting time – UFC 263
Every year, it feels like at least one UFC fighter is launched into semi-stardom with an impressive knockout win. 2021 was the turn of Terrance McKinney.
The lightweight prospect began the year as a complete unknown, but after putting together three wins in a row on the regional circuit, the UFC came knocking at late notice, giving him an opportunity at UFC 262.
‘T-Wrecks’ signed to fight UFC veteran Matt Frevola on just four days' notice after Frank Camacho’s withdrawal. While ‘The Steamrolla’ could not be confused for a genuine UFC title contender, it felt like a practically impossible task for McKinney to pull off a win.
Not only did McKinney win, but he did it in truly shocking style, too.
Clearly not wanting to risk going deep into the fight with Frevola, who had far more preparation time, McKinney came out aggressively. Incredibly, he landed hard with the first combination he threw.
Frevola was folded like a bad poker hand. A couple of hammer fists from ‘T-Wrecks’ quickly sealed the victory, all in just seven seconds.
The win not only set the record for the fastest knockout in UFC lightweight history, but it tied three other fights to become the second-fastest in UFC history across all weight classes, too.
McKinney has not fought since and may not go onto more success with the UFC, but if nothing else, he’ll always have this genuinely shocking moment under his belt.
#4. Anthony Hernandez submits Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Rodolfo Vieira – UFC 258
The UFC has seen countless numbers of major upsets take place in the octagon over the years, with stunners like Matt Serra vs. Georges St-Pierre and Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey still fondly remembered by fans.
2021 saw a number of upsets in its own right, but the most shocking was undoubtedly Anthony Hernandez’s win over Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258 in March.
In this instance, the fact that Hernandez defeated Vieira wasn’t the most shocking part. After all, ‘Fluffy' was bringing more MMA experience into the octagon for his fight with the Brazilian, including three fights in the UFC compared to Vieira’s two. However, to say that not a single person watching would’ve expected Hernandez to submit Vieira would be an understatement.
Vieira, who debuted in the UFC in 2019, held a reputation as one of the greatest grapplers on the planet. With wins over the likes of Andre Galvao, Xande Ribeiro and Braulio Estima, he’d more than earned his nickname of ‘The Black Belt Hunter’ and his list of accomplishments on the mat would simply be too extensive to list.
However, at UFC 258, those grappling skills were unable to help him out of a hole when he gassed out badly in the second round of his fight with Hernandez. When ‘Fluffy’ latched onto a guillotine choke early in the second round following a flurry of elbows, the unthinkable happened and Vieira was forced to tap out.
Vieira has since rebounded with a win over Dustin Stoltzfus, but it definitely felt like his hopes of becoming a UFC middleweight contender went up in smoke here, making this one of 2021’s most shocking moments.
#3. Vyacheslav Kiselev allows Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos to abuse Benoit Saint-Denis – UFC 267
The UFC’s fighters are naturally responsible for most of the shocking moments on this list. Unfortunately, one of the most jaw-dropping incidents of 2021 was made possible by a truly diabolical refereeing job.
Vyacheslav Kiselev had not refereed in the UFC prior to UFC 267 and it’s safe to say that after the officiating job he did in the fight between Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos and Benoit Saint-Denis, it’s unlikely that we’ll see him return any time soon.
Essentially, the fight was an absolute massacre. Zaleski dos Santos abused his opponent from the word go, with UFC debutant Saint-Denis simply unable to offer any offense in return.
Despite the Frenchman doing little more than cover up, Kiselev somehow allowed the fight to go the distance, with the UFC newcomer absorbing a criminal amount of strikes.
To make matters worse, the official was even given a perfect opportunity to stop the fight in the third round when Saint-Denis informed him that he couldn’t see, only for Kiselev to ignore him and fail to call a doctor into the octagon.
Unsurprisingly, the UFC were so appalled by the Russian official’s performance that they immediately removed him from the rest of the event, but that didn’t really help Saint-Denis, who took what could easily have been seen as a career-altering beating.
Undoubtedly, this diabolical refereeing job belongs near the top of the list of 2021’s most shocking UFC moments.
#2. Glover Teixeira claims UFC gold at the age of 42 – UFC 267
Traditionally, the UFC is no country for old men. MMA fighters tend to peak at some point between the ages of 25 and 30. Prior to 2021, no fighter outside of the legendary Randy Couture had been able to win a UFC title after their 40th birthday.
That all changed at UFC 267, when Glover Teixeira choked out Jan Blachowicz to claim the UFC light heavyweight title just two days after his 42nd birthday.
Despite producing some of the best performances of his career against the likes of Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos prior to his title shot, few fans were giving Teixeira a chance of dethroning Blachowicz. The Polish fighter had looked like a world-beater in his victory over Dominick Reyes in 2020 and he’d even become the first man to defeat UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya earlier in 2021.
However, when Teixeira was able to take him to the ground, Blachowicz quickly began to look like a fish out of water. Incredibly, the aging Brazilian was able to take his back and secure a rear-naked choke to submit him late in the second round.
Was it a shock to see Teixeira win a fight via submission? Certainly not, but to see him claim UFC gold at the age of 42 by beating a fighter in the form of his life was absolutely stunning and quite rightly left the fans with their jaws on the floor.
#1. Conor McGregor snaps his leg in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier – UFC 264
Win or lose, Conor McGregor has been responsible for some of the most shocking moments in UFC history, from his wild knockouts of Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez to the insane brawl that followed his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
It should come as no surprise, then, that ‘The Notorious’ was responsible for 2021’s most shocking moment. Unfortunately for him, the moment will probably not be one that he’ll want to relive any time soon.
McGregor’s year started off badly in general, as he was stopped by bitter rival Dustin Poirier in their rematch at UFC 257. When the UFC decided to book a third bout between the two in the headline slot of UFC 264, ‘The Notorious’ was offered a chance at redemption.
Despite a bright start to the fight, McGregor found himself in trouble when Poirier escaped a guillotine attempt and began to nail him with elbows from the top position. McGregor was able to escape to his feet, but following an exchange, the Irishman was sent crashing to the ground.
It quickly became apparent that this was not a regular knockdown, though. McGregor’s left ankle twisted bizarrely as he hit the ground, forcing referee Herb Dean to call off the fight there and then.
It transpired that McGregor had broken both his tibia and fibula. While he desperately shouted at announcer Bruce Buffer in an attempt to have his loss labeled a ‘doctor's stoppage’ rather than TKO, the moment was still a major shocker.
The event ended with McGregor being carried to the back on a stretcher following a wild, curse-filled interview that saw him throw insults at Poirier and his wife.
To say this was a stunning scene would be an understatement and it quite rightly should be recognized as the UFC’s most shocking moment of 2021.
