The UFC is a secretive organisation with a somewhat shady past which is the perfect breeding ground for urban legends and myths to flourish. Mixed Martian Arts (MMA) promoters are generally ‘colourful’ characters to put it mildly, either with histories associated with organised crime or professional boxing, and the fighters themselves often exhibit bizarre behaviour both in and out of the cage. The urban legends and myths that generally surround the UFC are often of the match-fixing variety, and there are plenty of tales of fighters taking dives and cashing cheques in return. Here we round up some of the most prolific UFC urban legends.

Belfort vs. Rockhold Fixed Fight

UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold’s career has been marred by conspiracy theories right from the start, and he is in fact accused of taking a dive in his first ever UFC fight. Rockhold was pitted against a supercharged Vitor Belfort who took Rockhold out with a perfectly executed spinning back kick. So perfect that rumours immediately surfaced that the knockout was staged.

The urban legend is that Rockhold gave a subtle nod to Belfort right before the perfect knockout as a signal to complete the staged ending to the fight. When watched in slow motion it would appear that Rockhold nods at Belfort, but this in fact a normal head movement in MMA fighting. Of course, Rockhold denies these claims and says he just got caught by a good kick.

Miesha Tate Chokes Popstar Taylor Swift

According to urban legend, both UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and pop superstar Taylor Swift were both backstage at a JabbaWockeeZ concert in New York where Swift was seen getting cheeky with Tate. Swift most likely had no idea who Tate was and how badly she could hurt her if she went full-tilt, but it’s been said that Tate put Swift in a chokehold after Swift got all up in her face. However, alternate eye witnesses say that Tate just shoved Swift out of the way.

We aren’t sure how this would’ve affected Miesha’s UFC betting odds if this were true, but we would like to think they would’ve swung in her favour.

Hughes Twins Switch It Up During Weigh-Ins

Matt Hughes is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Hall of Famer, and currently works for the organisation in a promotional role. His twin brother, Mark Hughes, participated in a few fights and then decided that MMA wasn’t a career worth pursuing, but a strange urban legend frequently crops up regarding these two brothers.

The myth is that Mark used to step on the scales at weigh-ins in place of Matt, allowing Matt to walk into the ring well-rested after not having to drop weight and weighing in excess of the 200 lbs. maximum for welterweights. However there aren’t many people who believe this myth considering Matt’s excellent reputation in the world of MMA.

Floyd Mayweather, Nate Diaz, and $1,000,000

Nate Diaz most likely made an unthinkable amount of money when he beat Conor McGregor at UFC 196 on March 5^th, 2016. So much money that he could probably live off of it for the rest of his life, but rumour has it that he has even more money thanks to Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. Mayweather apparently gave Diaz a duffel bag containing $1 million as a thank you for beating McGregor, owing to continuing beef between Mayweather and McGregor. Mayweather was apparently so grateful that someone managed to briefly humble McGregor that he deemed it worth $1 million!

This all just goes to show, don’t believe everything you read!