---

5. Black Eye
Strikeforce “Nashville”
April 17, 2010 | Nashville, Tenn.
“Sometimes these things happen in MMA,” CBS commentator Gus Johnson said, uttering a line that has since become infamous both for its tone-deafness and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. “Gentlemen, please, we’re on national television,” Johnson pleaded, as members of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu camp brawled around him.

Strikeforce’s April 2010 show on CBS, its second on the network, was intended to be a crowning jewel for the upstart promotion. It was a marker of how far it had come since the days of untelevised kickboxing cards in northern California. The promotion booked three title fights to showcase its talent. At light heavyweight, Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed Lawal faced off for the belt; at lightweight, Gilbert Melendez and Japanese standout Shinya Aoki met; and the headliner at middleweight was between reigning champion Jake Shields and expensive recent acquisition Dan Henderson.

As the Ultimate Fighting Championship found out when it scheduled three title fights for UFC 33, three five-round decisions is a lot for viewers to take, and Strikeforce’s “Nashville” card was no exception. None of the fights was especially eventful, aside from the first round of Henderson-Shields, and by the end of the headliner, almost everyone was ready to pack it in and head for home. Johnson stepped into the cage to interview Shields, and that would be that.

Instead, former middleweight title challenger Jason Miller managed to get into the cage and demand a rematch while Shields was giving his post-fight talk. Precisely what happened next is unclear -- the production team cut away for a moment -- but when the camera returned to the cage, Nick Diaz could be seen throwing a punch at Miller, and all hell broke loose.

Eventually, members of Henderson’s corner and arena security broke it up, and all the while, Johnson uttered his now-famous phrases, with Mauro Ranallo and Frank Shamrock expressing their disapproval in the background. Strikeforce would not return to CBS before its dissolution, which was a major factor in the eventual demise of the promotion.

Perhaps MMA was not quite ready for the mainstream.

Number 4 » Changing of the Guard