Ariel Helwani left stunned as former UFC star admits wild pre-fight superstition that his children 'don't like'

Ariel Helwani was left in disbelief as he listened to an MMA fighter reveal the wildest pre-fight superstition he has ever heard.

Helwani had a number of guests in his latest episode of his show on Uncrowned, including an appearance from Phil De Fries - the longest reigning champion in the history of Polish promotion KSW.

The Brit had five matches in the UFC more than a decade ago and even fought Stipe Miocic, but he has been nothing short of a sensation in KSW, where he has held the KSW heavyweight championship since 2018 after winning it in his debut.

Helwani quizzed the 40-year-old on a number of topics, including how he prepares for fights and the rituals he adopts.

But the journalist was soon taken aback. De Fries started off by revealing that he writes positive affirmations in his diary three times a day so that he is in the zone.

He also touched on his lucky gumshield which he has had for 20 years before proceeding to explain that he cuts his children's hair when they are sleeping at night and puts it in his groin protector.

De Fries upgraded from writing names on his gloves and tried to put pieces of their hair inside but was prohibited from doing so by the commissioner.

"I've got to cut [my children's hair], and I've gotta put it in my groin protector... so I've got a bit of them with me," De Fries stated.

"They don't like it, so I go in and steal it at night.

"I used to write their names on my gloves, and I thought, no—I want a little piece of them with me. So when they were born, I thought I wanted a bit of hair with me, and I wanna keep this.

"I tried putting it in my gloves before, but the commissioner was like, 'You can't do that,' and I was like, 'I'm just sticking it in my shorts...' There's probably like 10 bits of hair in there now."

Helwani has interviewed all the big stars in combat sports but he was perplexed by De Fries' admission and said, "I don't blame them" when he revealed his kids are not fond of the superstition.

De Fries' next fight has not yet been announced but Helwani and his viewers know exactly what he will be doing before he gets inside the cage.