Joe Rogan and his fellow commentators were left stunned ahead of Saturday night's preliminary bout between bantamweight contenders Jonathan Martinez and Marcus McGhee at UFC 309.
It was predicted to be a highly entertaining fight and it delivered as McGhee defeated Martinez via unanimous decision, but the main talking point was a rare delay before the scheduled bout.
As referee Herb Dean prepared to get the contest underway, cut man Scott Rahm could be heard shouting: "The doctor wants to look at his toenails."
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That's right. The contest was brought to a halt as commentator Jon Anik explained what was happening to viewers.
A confused Rogan, meanwhile, admitted he had never seen an incident like it, despite working for the UFC for more than 25 years. “Wow! That’s new,” he said. “They might do it. Very interesting. I’ve never seen that before.”
Former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who joined Rogan and Anik on the commentary team, also said he'd "never seen that before in my life" as Martinez's toenails were checked by the official.
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Dean was heard saying: “I’m not gonna clip those now" before getting the fight underway.
Here's how fans on social media reacted to the scenes.
One said: "Making him self-conscious about his gross toenails is an amazing psychological head game to open with. He is going to be SO in his own head about it now. Devastating."
A second wrote: "That’s gotta be the first time a fight was delayed due to a toenail inspection," while a third commented: "So Herb Dean won’t stop a fight but he won’t let one start because he wants to clip someone’s toenail???"
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A fourth said: "I have been watching UFC/other MMA promotions for over 5 years pretty regularly and I have never seen a referee check toenails 5 seconds before a fight starts."
A fifth added: "Herb Dean will watch a man elbow another man unconscious but long toenails is where he draws the line? Lol."
Thoughts on the incident? Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Joe Rogan, UFC, Daniel Cormier
Jack Kenmare