MMA first: In Octagon haircut

Hair pulling is prohibited under the Unified Rules of mixed martial arts. However, in the wild early days of the sport, hair pulling was legal. As a consequence, most fighters kept their hair close-cropped.

However, Erik Paulson went to the World Combat Championship in 1995 with long hair, due to the requirements of his work as a stuntman in films. In the opening round of the tournament, Paulson got by Muay Thai expert Sean McCully, despite some hair pulling. However, in the second round, former world champion in boxing and kickboxing James Warring avoided the ground by grabbing the cage (also legal then) and literally dragged Paulson around until his corner threw in the towel.

With the prohibition on hair pulling, fighters could now enjoy a variety of hair styles. The women tend toward French braids, while some of the men, perhaps most notably Clay Guida, let the hair fly where it may.

Here’s a pretty cool example.

‘Hurricane’ Shane Burgos made his UFC debut on Friday at UFC Fight Night 102. The Tiger Schulmann protege went into the UFC with a perfect 7-0 amateur record, a perfect 7-0 pro record, and a top knot.

In the middle of the fight he decided it wasn’t working and the medical scissors, ordinarily used for cutting gauze and tape from hands, instead were put to a new task. This is the first in Octagon haircut in UFC history.

In the corner after the second round, Danny Schulmann calmly offered some sage advice.

“Just jab, and then BOOM come underneath with the uppercut, okay?” said the corner. “Then come back with the left hook.” Simultaneously, the chief second took ahold of the topknot and lopped it all, all while the coach completed his instructions.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/807381944476413952

“>December 10, 2016

Your view of the episode may be influenced by your views on top knots. In any case, there was no Sampson moment here. Burgos ended up defeating the Brazilian Tiago Trator via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27).