The longer one is a fan of the sport of mixed martial arts, the more one begins to feel as if he or she has seen it all. But no matter how long one is a fan of the sport of mixed martial arts, there will always be things that occur that leaves one scratching their head in puzzlement, with their jaws on the floor in disbelief.

On June 20, 2015, Chinese fighters Ze Wu and Jianbing Yang squared off for One Championship at the Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China in a rematch of their June, 2014 scrap that would see Wu declared the victor by submission due to a second round rear naked choke. What occurred in their rematch is something previously unseen in the sport, and was globally broadcast to over one billion homes across 75 countries.

After escaping from Yang’s guard, Wu throws a kick to Yang’s legs while trying to decide how to proceed. In a moment of creativity the likes of which no one watching at home could have predicted, Ze Wu attempts to either pass his opponent’s guard or strike him in the abdomen (his intentions are very much unclear) with a move that could only be described as a flying side flip.

As bizarre as the attempt may have been, the result of whatever Wu was attempting was likely even less predictable, as he landed squarely on Yang’s groin, stomping with the force of gravity and all his weight.

Adding insult to injury, Yang would go on to lose by split decision.

Tragically, he passed away in December, while attempting an extreme weight cut. ONE Championship responded nobly, but leading the industry in becoming the first league to ban weight cutting.

Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.