MMA is an unpredictable sport. One momentary lapse of concentration and everything could be lost in the blink of an eye. Fighters are always advised to keep their guard high and be defensively sound all the time.

There is a very popular narrative in the MMA, that says, “Protect yourself at all times.” Not only is this statement very important, but also there are several examples that back up the relevance of this quote. 

One of the more famous examples, where lack of awareness and excessive showboating led to a devastating knockout, was at BCMMA 18. 

How The Bout Played out

The bout took place between Joe Harding and Johan Sega. For the early part of the fight, Harding was finding major success in landing his shots. His head moment was on point and he was hurting Sega.

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After a while, Harding began mocking his opponent and started dancing inside the octagon. Harding would throw a shot and then showboating. 

At close to halfway mark of the first round., Harding threw a left hand and started dancing with his hands down. Sega took advantage of the moment and landed a solid left kick. 

The shot hit Harding on the face and he was instantly knocked out. 

The commentators weighed in on the incident and said, “…and that’s exactly what I said. You don’t do that kind of stuff. Ends up (Harding) getting paid for it.”

Fan’s reaction to the fight:

•Imagine the frustration of his coaches, all the time they sunk into preparing him and then he does that..

•The most satisfying hammer punches of that guy’s career.

•Silva/Weidman was even better! Loved that one.

•He would have been a great dancer if he had not played MMA.

•Great dance moves especially the flying back to sleep routine.

•When you order Anderson Silva on Wish

•Will never live that one down. One for the history books of Lessons Learned.

•That dude is in the highlights forever and has to live with that. So sweet

•Always be humble! Lesson learned hopefully

•The dancing is fine. Taking his eyes off of his opponent is what did him in.

Anderson Silva KO at UFC 162

Another such incident took place at UFC 162. Anderson Silva was fighting against Chris Weidman. The spider was fighting a careless fight with his hands down and ultimately paid the price for it. Weidman landed a clean shot that knocked Silva out.

Silva was on a 17-fight win streak and the Middleweight champion during the time of that match. He clearly lost both of them after that bout. 

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