The UFC is not a stranger to bizarre incidents. However, this incident from a 2020 match between Shane Burgos and Tiago Dos Santos E Silva takes the cake. Burgos faced ‘Trator’ on a hot-win streak after he won 8 matches straight. But, one can never be too confident in themselves. Because it leads to heavy expectations and pressure from fans. So, Burgos came up with an excellent tactic to distract fans and his opponent. Not sure if it’s considered cheating, but it yielded the perfect result. The MMA world took note of this totally unexpected move.
Shane Burgos threw his opponent off, with a haircut
Fans couldn’t believe their eyes as Shane Burgos got himself a fresh cut between rounds at UFC Fight Night 102 in Albany. Some fans thought the barber was on a tight schedule, so he had to fix the appointment between fights.
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Others genuinely believed it was a strong mind game from Burgos to throw off his opponent. But, many fans missed him in the UFC as he moved on to the featherweight division in the Professional Fighters league.
As a fighter, @HurricaneShaneB is willing to risk it all in pursuit of victory.
Between rounds of his UFC debut, his ponytail — which had become distracting — paid the ultimate price 💇♂️ #UFCVegas3 pic.twitter.com/4biG893Y1X
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 17, 2020
Fans wrote in an ESPN Instagram post:
- “Imagine your barber is so booked that you have to take an appointment between rounds”
- “pfl level fighter”
- “Gave him the fade to give fades”
- “next level mind games.”
- “Haircut so bad opponent starts laughing next round and gets knocked out. Good tactic”
- “Ufc shouldn’t have let him go ”
- “When you start believing a haircut will win the fight”
- “Lined him up real quick”
- “laughs in Clay Guida”
- “Look good, feel good, fight good”
No matter what happens, this shenanigan will never be topped. And secured a place for itself in UFC history.
The story behind the haircut
The 31-year-old ex-UFC star revealed that it was all part of his plan after the fight. One of his cornermen was a hairstylist. So, Burgos instructed his hairstylist to cut off his ponytail, to get a better view. As that ponytail distracted him between the second and third rounds. The fight ended via decision. Burgos took the victory and scored 30-26, 29-28, and 29-27 in his favor.
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Therefore, in the end, the master plan worked in Burgos’ favor.
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Do you think Burgos cheated here?