5 UFC fighters with the most unusual training methods

#2. Tony Ferguson

There is perhaps no active UFC fighter with training methods more bizarre than Tony Ferguson. The former UFC interim lightweight champion is known for being an odd character inside and outside the octagon, willing to engage in daring actions like following up a spinning elbow with another spinning elbow. When it comes to his training, however, things grow even stranger.

For example, 'El Cucy' has tried to improve his balance by standing on a medicine ball while swinging a sledgehammer around himself. He was also notorious for attempting to condition his shin after major leg surgery by kicking steel lamp posts.

As an extension of his shin conditioning methods, Ferguson also conditions his forearms and elbows in a similar manner, striking metal posts with the aforementioned body parts.

For his knees, 'El Cucuy' uses tires, ramming his knee into them to toughen the joint. Yet, the extent of Ferguson's strange training methods goes beyond even that, as the former UFC interim lightweight champion has been seen practicing pullovers with a barbell while balancing on his own head.

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#1. Diego Sanchez

MMA pioneer Diego Sanchez is no longer an active fighter for the promotion. But before MMA fans knew of Tony Ferguson, Diego Sanchez was the sport's most bizarre character.

His penchant for the unorthodox, however, worsened upon his adoption of Joshua Fabia as his head coach. The training the pair underwent left the entire MMA world in shock, confusion, and concern.

Sanchez would hang upside down while meditating before Fabia used his head as a punching bag, striking him with punches, kicks, slaps, and even a stick. As extreme as that was, Sanchez was also blindfolded in his subsequent workout while Fabia chased him around the ring with a belt.

Fabia's rationale was that he was conditioning his pupil's body to understand impact to prevent him from suffering knockouts.

In order to do so, the controversial coach claimed to hit the UFC legend up to 20 times a day. On a final note, in Fabia's bid to teach Sanchez's body to react correctly to a scenario in which it could not be touched, he chased both Sanchez and Emil Meek around a cage with a knife.