Top 5 UFC Post Fight Celebrations: Signature Gestures That Are More Than Just Viral

At that game-changing, slick pocket of time when a fighter has had the ironclad choke, or a barrage of ground-and-pounds and hammerfists. Then comes that post-fight moment where the referee dives in and shields it with his own body to prevent further action, and the victor does something celebratory to mark his win and make it more momentous than possible. Here are the Top 5 post fight celebrations that are hard to mimic but easy to get behind.

From calling spontaneous audibles, to even post fight eats; fighters have had many such awesome acts to “close out the show”. Here is a brief look.

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#5 Tai Tuivasa ‘Shoey’

It’s all in the footwork. Some take that to tap dances or air kicks, while Tai Tuivasa accessorizes a bit with his post-KO Shoey. He knocks them out and chugs beer from shoes in pure mayhem, and the crowd loves it! The Aussie HW out of Team Lions High Performance Centre has done it many times now.

For some, it is street-side larrikinism from down under. But Tai Tuivasa has made his shoey a pop culture reference and larger than life. ‘Bam Bam’ Tuivasa hasn’t gone bam bam for a while and is on a 5-fight losing streak. But when he was on a roll (a 5-fight win streak all by finishes), he immortalized the odd beer chug with wins over Greg Hardy, Derrick Lewis, and others.

The fighter told ESPN that it came about when he and his friends were on a bender. It’s a good-time method that has found its way into the Top 5 post fight celebrations and taken up by other peers as well. Even Aussie gal and two-time Women’s World Champ/RAW brand WWE Women’s Champ Rhea Ripley also did a shoey at her WWE presser and when visiting a UFC card.

#4 Sticking the landing feat. Justin Gaethje

What does a man with 14 post-fight fight-night bonuses in 14 ballot fights do when he gets the ‘W’? Justin Gaethje does a ritualistic backflip and sticks the landing. When the WSOF alum made his debut in the promotion, it wasn’t easy to pick up that Gaethje was full of energy and would go on to be an X9 FOTN honors winner.

Early on, ‘Highlight’ was able to get the lively crowd to rally behind him in his first UFC bout against Michael Johnson. But when Gaethje got a late second-round finish (4:48 mark), he had the outrageous idea for a backflip. He tried a first time and a second time. But it was apparent that he had used up much of his energy in the electric fight.

Third time’s a charm and he stuck the landing — later opting it as his go-to celebration to reserve. However, the NASC deemed hopping onto the fence for an upside-down opposite flip too dangerous. Gathje even took a mickey out of such a ruling, later saying that sports commissions are willing to let them bleed but not make a cool backflip!

#3 Whirl-and-twirl feat. Valentina Shevchenko

The #1 Women’s Pound-for-pound fighter and current WMMA flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, has had many title wins. And when Shevchenko wins – she dances and twirls in the centerspace of the octagon – and she wins a lot.

It’s a Caucasus region adjacent mountainmen’s speciality dance – the Lezginka. Of course, thank Bullet’s mother for making her and her sister Antonina take up the dance routine in addition to fighting, so that she held on to her grace. Valentina Shevchenko has done that many times as soon as UFC CEO Dana White is done with strapping the hardware onto her waist.

Matter of fact, Shevchenko was an S4 alum of the well-known ATV’s Peruvian dance competition reality show Combate. She has also done many photo ops in her dance poses that went viral

#2 Worm dance from Johnny Walker

It’s no wonder that the most intentionally funny and quirky character on the roster would sprawl on the floor like a worm! Johnny Walker scored a 38-second finish of Misha Cirkunov in 2019 and flopped on his belly for a rippling, centipede-like wavy dance.

In that particular instance, Walker even split his left shoulder head after hitting the mat, post-fight. Now, after a few more tries, he has perfected the ‘worm‘ and made it deserving of the Top 5 post fight celebrations. He now does a two-hand variant with his arms stretched forward to bear the grunt of it.

Obviously, while a good fighter, Walker is also characterized by a weird chin and even weirder falls that put Humpty Dumpty to shame. Fan cliques and chatboards often point out how weirdly he folds, which defies the impact of even a normal understanding of physical bounds. Maybe the ‘worm‘ routine comes as the subconscious polar opposite of them, to wobble but in front. It sure has made up for one zingy post fight celebration.

#1 Bow-and-arrow feat. Israel Adesanya

A WWE-ish or maybe more even a Mortal Kombat-esque KO-finish montage is not what any had on their bingo card. But after former middleweight king Israel Adesanya did it, it got to be quite viral. Izzy and Alex Pereira are 1 a piece in MMA after the popular counterpart transitioned from GLORY kickboxing to MMA.

Pereira won the gold at UFC 281, and Adesanya won it back with his UFC 287 second-round TKO. His animated way of shooting arrows and (apparent) spontaneous combustion of a downed Pereira was one for the ages. The Team CKB fighter did sour it a bit with his “frozen like Elsa” and “beat that guy” one-time routine. But he and Izzy have mended fences now and are on better terms this last year.

But the celebration itself is more than just a Top 5 UFC post fight “show closing” moment. It defied expectations and then added to it, which is why it tops as #1 on this list.