5 of the worst haircuts in UFC history

UFC fighters, just like other famous athletes, are often spotted sporting unique looks. While many have signature tattoos to make them stand out from the crowd, a few go for signature hairstyles. Many athletes across sports have failed when going for cool hairdos, and UFC fighters are no exception.

UFC fights over the years have made fans witness all kinds of unsettling style statements. Be it long, unkempt hair blinding a fighter inside the octagon or ugly hair color that is so unnerving that it ends up distracting the opponent, the UFC has had its fair share of bad haircuts. On that note, let's take a look at some of the worst haircuts ever seen in the UFC.

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#5 - Clay Guida

Clay Guida training | Image via IG @clayguida

The former and inaugural Strikeforce lightweight champion made his UFC debut in 2006. Over the years, Clay Guida has fought many MMA legends like Nick Diaz, Kenny Florian and BJ Penn.

In his most recent UFC fight in 2021, 'The Carpenter' defeated Michael Johnson via unanimous decision. From securing a 15-fight winning streak across different promotions to going 9-9 in the last decade in the UFC, a lot has changed for Guida. Everything except his hairstyle.

Clay Guida makes our list of some of the worst haircuts in UFC history. Guida sports a shoulder-length hairstyle, which plays a role in distracting his opponents, apart from hiding his bald spot. The lightweight fighter once had to braid his caveman-like hair when Gray Maynard filed a complaint with the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board a month before their bout in 2012.

According to the counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Nick Lembo, Gray Maynard's complaint stated:

"(Clay Guida's hair) could pose a distraction to their fighter…and that they thought it gave an unfair advantage to their opponent."

Check Clay Guida's braided hair look here:

#4 - Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem sporting one of the worst haircuts in UFC history

Alistair Overeem is a former heavyweight champion with various MMA promotions, including Strikeforce and K-1. The former kickboxing champ enjoyed quite a successful run in the UFC since making his debut in 2011. However, Overeem is not just a fighter with one of the worst haircuts in UFC history but also one with perhaps the most hairstyle changes.

'The Demolition Man' has sported at least half a dozen different hairstyles over his 67-fight long MMA career. From giant mohawks to mini-mohawks to crew-cuts, Overeem has done it all. There is just something about the former UFC heavyweight contender's bullet-shaped head that whatever haircut he sports, it just doesn't suit.

#3 - Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck hadone of the worst haircuts in UFC history

Josh Koscheck fought in the UFC for ten years before moving on to Bellator MMA in 2017. Koscheck never won a championship in his MMA career but came closest against Georges St-Pierre in 2012. He appeared on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter as a contestant and in the 12th season as a coach.

Throughout his MMA career, Josh Koscheck has sported one of the worst haircuts in UFC history. His bleached blonde hair with a curly texture made him look like a weird version of Pennywise from the movie 'IT.' The disparity between the color of his facial hair and hairstyle could make a hairstylist cringe.

While it is hard to say that Koscheck had a glorious MMA career, he did best some of the greatest MMA legends like Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez. However, he could have had better fan support had he not gone with one of the worst haircuts in UFC history.

#2 - Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley

Sean O'Malley rose to fame after he knocked out his opponent in Dana White's Contender Series 2 in 2017. Five months later, the bantamweight fighter made his UFC debut. The rainbow-colored hair-owner is 13-1 in his professional MMA career (5-1 in the UFC).

Sean O'Malley's hair varies from one degree of weirdness to another. 'Sugar' is a promising bantamweight UFC fighter, but his cheerios-like hairdo is one of the worst haircuts in UFC history. O'Malley once styled his hair to resemble a marijuana leaf.

Sean O'Malley has revealed it took him around 12 hours to prepare his hairstyle for his UFC debut. Speaking about the inspiration behind his eccentric hairdo, 'Sugar' said:

"One of my buddies told me that ‘You should do your hair like 6ix9ine. I don’t know if I will ever have normal hair again."

#1 - Heath Herring

Heath Herring

Heath Herring fought in MMA promotions like Pride, K-1 and the UFC. While 'The Texas Crazy Horse' was in the UFC for a little over a year, his crazy hairstyle was good enough to land in the Hall of Fame of the worst haircuts ever. If you find yourself thinking about what is worse, Herring's nickname or hairstyle, it's the latter.

Given Heath Herring's varied and equally bad hairstyles, his nickname should have been 'The Texas Crazy Hair.'

Herring took a hiatus from MMA after losing to Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 in 2008. He made a comeback to the fight scene and made his debut at Rizin in 2016. However, to live up to his name, Heath Herring took a haircut from none other than Roy Nelson.