5 times UFC stars fought outside the octagon

#2. Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva – fought during TUF Brazil 3 tapings

Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva famously came to blows during the tapings of TUF Brazil 3

The Ultimate Fighter reality show has seen plenty of heated coaching rivalries over the years, including feuds like Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz and Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate. However, arguably the most heated was the rivalry between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen.

The two middleweight standouts coached opposing teams on TUF: Brazil 3. To date, they remain the only coaches on the reality show to actually come to blows during the tapings before their teams could separate them.

In what has now become a legendary scene, the two coaches were waiting in the TUF gym for their teams to arrive, when Silva began to taunt his hated rival about their scheduled fight, wagging his finger at him and repeating “soon, motherf*cker, soon.”

Sonnen did not react initially, but when the Brazilian attempted to get even more intimidating, ‘The American Gangster’ responded with a shove and the immortal line “I can’t let you get close!”

Suddenly, ‘The Axe Murderer’ lunged towards Sonnen with a flurry, only for Sonnen to respond with a double leg takedown. The two men exchanged wild blows on the ground, with Silva’s assistant coach Andre Dida also punching Sonnen in the side of the head.

Eventually, the two men were separated and, incredibly, a hand injury suffered by Silva in the brawl caused their fight to be delayed. In turn, the delay resulted in ‘The Axe Murderer’ failing a drug test and the feud had to be resolved some three years later in Bellator MMA instead.

Despite this, nearly a decade on, the brawl remains one of the most iconic moments in TUF history, and it seems unlikely that it’ll ever be topped.

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#1. Lee Murray vs. Tito Ortiz – fought after UFC 38

Lee Murray made a name for himself after allegedly knocking out Tito Ortiz in a drunken brawl

Arguably the most legendary tale of UFC fighters brawling outside the octagon took place way back in 2002, in the aftermath of the promotion’s first visit to the UK.

Exactly what happened remains somewhat questionable, but the best-known version of the story came from former welterweight champion turned legendary coach Pat Miletich.

According to ‘The Croatian Sensation’, who explained the details to then-welterweight kingpin Matt Hughes, who was not involved in the incident, a number of UFC fighters, as well as a number of MMA fighters from the UK, were drinking in a club until the early hours.

While waiting for transport to take them back to the hotel, a fracas broke out due to a misunderstanding that saw one of then-light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz’s friends jump onto Miletich’s back.

One of Miletich’s fighters believed that his coach was being choked and attempted to defend him. From there, all hell allegedly broke loose, ending in Lee Murray, a UK-based middleweight training with Miletich, dropping Ortiz with a combination before kicking him in the head.

With the police heading to deal with the incident, the fighters quickly scarpered, but due to Ortiz’s status as the UFC’s poster-boy and light heavyweight champ, Murray’s name quickly entered into legend.

Less than two years after the incident, ‘Lightning’ was signed by the UFC. While an official bout with Ortiz never took place, largely due to Murray’s legal issues keeping him away from the promotion in the long term, the fight remains one of the most notorious incidents in MMA history.