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In the UFC world, a fight isn’t over until the referee says it is, and so attempting to declare a "walk-off knockout" is always a bit of a risky game to play.
Over the years, we’ve seen a number of examples of fighters who ended up celebrating what they thought was a big win, only for the referee to decide that the fight wasn’t actually over.
Sometimes these premature celebrations didn’t matter, as the fighter indeed went onto pull off a victory – but on occasion, we’ve also seen that they can be very costly indeed.
With that considered, here are five UFC fighters who prematurely celebrated before the fight was over.
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#5. Alessio Sakara vs. Victor Valimaki – UFC 70
UFC 70 is usually remembered as the show that saw Gabriel Gonzaga practically decapitate Mirko Cro Cop with one of the most violent head kicks in MMA history It also saw one of the most bizarre examples of a premature celebration in the octagon on top of that.
Essentially, Sakara – a renowned boxer hailing from Italy – didn’t take long to make his mark on Canada’s Valimaki. Midway through the first round, he stunned him with a huge right hand that caused him to turn away from the action.
‘Legionarius’ followed with a head kick, and as referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to apparently stop the fight, Sakara naturally began to celebrate, leaping onto the fence to salute the fans.
Incredibly, though, it turned out that Yamasaki hadn’t called the fight off. Instead, he’d inexplicably decided to call time to replace Valimaki’s mouthpiece, despite ‘The Matrix’ basically being out on his feet.
Sure enough, as soon as the official restarted the fight, Sakara unloaded on his foe with another combination, and seconds later, the bout was officially stopped.
The incident was so bizarre that some fans in attendance believed that ‘Legionarius’ had simply lost his mind and assaulted Valimaki after the bout had been stopped, which obviously would’ve made it a far more infamous moment in UFC history.
As it was, though, it simply stands as an example of both a comical premature celebration – and also a pretty epic refereeing gaffe.
#4. Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Ribas – UFC 257
When strawweight prospects Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Ribas were matched against one another at UFC 257, it was hard not to get excited. The two women had a combined octagon record of 6-1-2, and it looked like the winner would be elevated to title contention.
The fight ended up living up to the hype, and was one of the more memorable bouts in what was one of 2021’s biggest events – but it also featured a premature celebration triggered by a bad refereeing botch from Herb Dean.
After struggling with Ribas’ ground game in the first round, Rodriguez came out far with a ton of aggression in the second. Just moments into the stanza, she dropped her opponent with a brutal right hand.
Ribas went down face-first, and when Rodriguez began to land follow-up punches, Dean appeared to touch her on the back. Assuming the fight was over, Rodriguez then walked away, celebrating what looked to be a big victory.
Incredibly, though, Dean apparently didn’t stop the fight at all – and a wobbly Ribas was allowed to stand up, leaving Rodriguez baffled, and then furious when it became clear that the bout wasn’t over.
Unsurprisingly, Rodriguez wasted little time in blitzing Ribas with more heavy strikes, and after forcing her to eat more punishment, Dean finally called the bout off with the Brazilian still on her feet.
Quite why Dean chose to touch the fighters if he had no intention of stopping proceedings remains a mystery, but thankfully, the premature celebration didn’t harm Rodriguez, who earned a $50k bonus for her efforts.
#3. Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida – UFC 260
A fighter prematurely celebrating a win in the octagon is a relatively rare sight, so when bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley somehow managed to do it twice in his 2021 bout with Thomas Almeida, the UFC’s fanbase were naturally amused.
‘Suga’ appeared to be one step ahead of his Brazilian opponent from the off in the bout, sniping at him from range with his trademark flashy strikes, and when he connected with a nasty left hand that sent ‘Thominhas’ crashing into the fence in the first round, he was so convinced that he’d won that he simply walked away.
Unfortunately, O’Malley’s Mark Hunt impression didn’t work on referee Mark Smith, who recognized that Almeida was not quite done, forcing ‘Sugar’ to continue his assault.
Remarkably, the fight went into the second round, and to everyone’s surprise, Almeida survived that stanza too despite taking more damage.
In the third round, though, when ‘Suga’ dropped the Brazilian with another left hand, he appeared to be firmly done, rolling onto his back in clear pain. O’Malley again attempted to walk away, but just as before, Smith decided he hadn’t seen enough.
This time, though, O’Malley didn’t give ‘Thominhas’ a chance to recover – and instead knocked him unconscious with a right hand from above, finally forcing a stoppage. The win was a hugely impressive one for the prospect, even if he was lucky to get away with attempting to stop his own fight twice.
#2. Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller – UFC 134
Former UFC middleweight and welterweight contender Rousimar Palhares was always renowned for his eccentric nature, and unfortunately for the Brazilian, it resulted in his eventual release from the promotion after he gained a reputation for holding onto submissions for far too long.
However, over-cranking on leglocks wasn’t the only bizarre thing that ‘Toquinho’ became known for during his stint in the octagon, as he was also responsible for one of the wildest premature celebrations in MMA history, too.
UFC 134 – the promotion’s first event in Palhares’ native Brazil for well over a decade – was always going to be emotional for him. It came as no surprise when he started his clash with Dan Miller like a house on fire, hurting him with a front kick and taking the fight to him on the ground.
However, when he dropped Miller with a head kick later in the first round and followed the shot with a flurry, his emotions quickly got the better of him.
Before referee Herb Dean could even consider stepping in, ‘Toquinho’ had sprinted away to celebrate atop the cage, forcing the official to call him back down in a moment of huge confusion.
Bizarrely, the incident had given Miller a chance to recover – and when Palhares closed in on him, the native of New York uncorked a huge combination that leveled Palhares, sending the crowd into shock.
‘Toquinho’ managed to recover from the flurry and went onto win a clear-cut decision after dominating Miller for the remainder of the fight, but the premature celebration was all anyone could talk about after the bout, and it would stand as a reminder of Palhares’ wild nature for the rest of his octagon career.
#1. Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping – UFC Fight Night 84
While the other fighters on this list managed to go onto win their bouts despite being guilty of a premature celebration, the same could not be said for former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva in his famous clash with Michael Bisping.
Despite coming in as the favorite, ‘The Spider’ quickly found himself two rounds in the hole against an inspired Bisping, who produced two of the best rounds of his career in front of his fans in the UK. He dropped Silva twice to build a clear lead on the scorecards.
However, as the third round began to wind down, Silva upped the aggression and knocked Bisping’s mouthpiece out with a punch. Distracted, ‘The Count’ attempted to motion to referee Herb Dean to call time, but his momentary lapse in concentration left him open – and Silva capitalised by destroying him with a flying knee.
Bisping crumpled and appeared to have been knocked silly by the blow, but despite Silva leaping onto the fence to celebrate, the buzzer had sounded to end the round at the exact moment that ‘The Count’ had gone down.
Because of this, Dean decided not to call the bout off, instead giving Bisping a break between rounds to recover his wits. Whether this was justified remains debatable, but either way, Silva seemed so put off by the decision that he was barely active in the fourth round – allowing Bisping back into the fight.
Despite landing another huge shot in the fifth round to stun ‘The Count’, the fight went the distance. Silva ended up losing a unanimous decision, even though for all intents and purposes, he’d knocked his opponent out.
Some six years on, this remains probably the most infamous example of a UFC fighter celebrating prematurely, as it turned out to be all for naught.
