Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold and 5 of the weirdest UFC fights

#2. Carla Esparza vs. Rose Namajunas 2

In general, Rose Namajunas tends to be an odd fighter, though not from a stylistic standpoint. Instead, Namajunas' off-cage behavior is sometimes called into question, like her decision to use anti-Communist rhetoric during the buildup to her first fight with Zhang Weili. However, at UFC 274, Namajunas' weirdness emerged inside the octagon when she faced Carla Esparza in a rematch.

Hoping to defend her UFC strawweight title, Namajunas sought vengeance against the woman who first defeated her eight years prior. On her way to the octagon, 'Thug Rose' echoed her now well-known mantra, "I'm the best."

Alas, after screaming it to herself before the matchup, what ensued inside the octagon left fight fans across the globe stunned. Across 25 minutes, Namajunas landed only 38 strikes, while her opponent landed 30.

Esparza, a wrestler, attempted 11 takedowns but only succeeded in securing two, neither of which led to anything since Namajunas popped right back to her feet both times. Despite her strong takedown defense and counter-wrestling, Namajunas did nothing but circle on the outside and deny her foe the chance to engage.

With neither woman interested in pursuing the action, the bout was an extremely low-volume and uneventful affair. In the 1st round, a total of eight strikes were landed by both women. It was an exceptionally bizarre fight because, for some inexplicable reason, Namajunas and Esparza decided against engaging each other at all.

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#1. Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold

Last Saturday's co-main event was originally scheduled for UFC 277. For one reason or another, though, the bout was moved to UFC 278, where the high altitude of Salt Lake City played an enormous factor in how the matchup transpired.

Paulo Costa was intent on reminding spectators of the vicious bruiser who tore through the middleweight division as an undefeated force before his shocking loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253.

Meanwhile, Luke Rockhold hoped to recapture his old form en route to a 2nd run for the UFC middleweight championship he once held. When both locked horns, the fight turned into a weird affair. Before the end of the 1st round, both men succumbed to the effects of fighting at high altitude.

Rockhold was so exhausted he could do nothing else but rest his hands on his knees, while Costa was tired enough to withhold most of his offense even when his foe was hurt.

As both men grew more tired, Rockhold began overreacting to the blows he was suffering, wincing and spinning around. Somehow, Costa did nothing to capitalize on his opponent's compromised state.

Instead, Rockhold channeled his own warrior spirit, screaming an insult at Costa before blasting him with punches and rocking the Brazilian. Unfortunately, he was too tired to follow-up.

When Costa landed an uppercut on Rockhold's groin, the action was called but 'Borrachinha' mistook it for a TKO win. He ran around the cage celebrating before climbing on it. Though when he realized he had not won the fight and had instead caused a lull in the action due to an illegal blow, the bout resumed.

In its closing moments, Rockhold finally managed to secure a dominant position on the ground. Instead of fishing for a last-minute submission or unloading his patented ground and pound, the former champion opted to smear his own blood over Costa's face, rubbing his bleeding face on the Brazilian's in a bout that was as weird as it could have been.