Sherdog’s Top 10: Ghoulish MMA Moments

4. Recipe for Disaster

Mix a notorious biker club like The Mongols with a regional MMA event featuring one of their own, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. Exhibit A: Ultimate Athlete 2 on March 16, 2002 in Cabazon, California.

The headliner between Rick Slaton -- a heavyweight with alleged ties to The Mongols -- and Leo Pavlushkin was at the epicenter of chaos. Slaton connected with a low blow, and their bout came to a close 2:55 into round one. The crowd became incensed by the unresolved finish. One person was reportedly stabbed and nine others injured in a melee that ensued. The incident was detailed in the June 2002 edition of “Black Belt” magazine: “Witnesses allege that several members of a motorcycle club then began throwing cups of beer and rushed the ring after Slaton was disqualified. By the time they reached ringside, 200 to 300 spectators in the 2,500-strong audience had become involved in the ruckus.” Sheriff’s deputies wearing riot gear and wielding M-16s were said to have been called in to quell the free-for-all.

The Slaton-Pavlushkin match was later ruled a no-contest due to crowd interference, and the scar it left on the sport remains.

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