There’s dedication to your craft, and then there’s what Shane Burgos did Friday night.
The featherweight fighter was matched up against Tiago Trator at UFC Fight Night Albany in a preliminary card bout, but after two rounds, Burgos identified a problem: His ponytail was getting in his face.
So, when the second bell sounded, Burgos acted on impulse, telling his corner to cut off his extra locks completely. And his corner did just that.
No longer inhibited by the added distraction, Burgos went on to beat Trator by more than a hair, scoring a unanimous three-round victory. After the bout, “The Hurricane” explained the bizarre sequence.
“I told my corner that if the fight goes past the first round and my hair is getting in my face to cut (my ponytail) off,” Burgos said, via MMAJunkie.com. “It wasn’t getting in my face the first round, but it started to in the second, so I told them to cut it off.
“It was pretty memorable, but it was planned beforehand. That was the first octagon haircut, right? I think that’s worth a bonus. ‘Fight of the Night’ maybe?”
Burgos didn’t get his wish, as “Fight of the Night” honors went to Gian Villante’s second-round TKO of Saparbeg Safarov. But the New York-based fighter now is a perfect 8-0-0 on the MMA circuit, which, in this case, was something to lose his hair over.
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Thumbnail photo via Michael Adamucci/USA TODAY Sports Images
