The 10 Craziest Sports Fights of the 2000s

You may have heard, but a little something happened at the end of Thursday night’s matchup Browns-Steelers game. After an initial skirmish on the ground between Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, things escalated to a level we have never seen in the NFL before.

Garrett ripped off Rudolph’s helmet. The rookie charged at him. Garrett smashed Rudolph over the head with the helmet. The incident will dominate talk shows for days and the highlights will live in infamy as one of the worst episodes in NFL history, if not recent sports history.

This wild melee got us thinking about some of the most memorable brawls in sports, including those that have occurred in recent years and those that have stood the test of time. Though there’s no way a list of 10 could possibly cover the wide array of epic showdowns, we’ve selected a handful of our favorites. Without further ado, Complex presents the 10 craziest sports fights.

2019: Myles Garrett vs. Mason Rudolph

Thursday night’s madness is already one of the more memorable fights in recent sports history. Cleveland was up 21-7 with just seconds left, and the game was all but over when this all went down. Rudolph threw a dump-off, and after he did, Garrett tackled him. Then the two started wrestling on the ground, with Rudolph seemingly trying to remove Garrett’s helmet.

Pittsburgh’s O-line attempted to separate the defensive end and QB, but they couldn’t split things up before Garrett landed his nasty helmet blow. The superstar defensive end, known for being mild-mannered off the field, later called the fight “foolish” and “out of character.” On Friday, the NFL announced Garrett would be suspended for at least the rest of this season and postseason.

2004: The Malice at the Palace

What has to be the most iconic fight in sports history occurred late in a November 2004 regular season game between the Pacers and Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. It kicked off when Indiana’s Ron Artest fouled Ben Wallace on a layup attempt. Wallace freaked out on his fellow defensive maestro. There were only 45.9 seconds left in the game, so it seemed like an unnecessary foul—why are you trying to hurt me, bro?

Wallace shoved Artist and nearly took him into the stands. A fight between their teammates, including the Pacers’ Stephen Jackson, erupted on the court, but it seemed to be diffused. Then, while things settled down and Artest tried to cool off on the scorer’s table, a fan threw a beverage onto him. He charged into the stands and started fighting a fan which turned out to be the wrong one! The scene was utter chaos, with numerous players and fans involved in the mess. In sum, nine players received suspensions totaling 146 games, and both players and fans received criminal charges.

2010: Andre Johnson vs. Cortland Finnegan

During a November 2010 regular-season game between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans, Houston star receiver Andre Johnson was matched up with Titans corner Cortland Finnegan, who was known for his trash talking and for being one of the most annoying D-backs in the league. Johnson was 6’3”, 227, and Finnegan was only 5’10”, 188, but the outspoken corner didn’t back down in his opportunity to strap up one of the league’s best skill position players.

After tensions had mounted throughout the game, the two engaged in a blocking situation—where many NFL fights commence. Their battle led to Johnson ripping off Finnegan’s helmet and Finnegan ripping off Johnson’s, then the WR landed three haymakers before the refs could break things up. Finnegan seemed to get beaten up, but he was smiling throughout. He also didn’t miss the opportunity to get in one final jab when he retired in 2015. He said Johsnon “hits like a bish.” Can we please lure these retired NFL players into a celebrity boxing match, a la Logan Paul-KSI?

2019: Benches Clear Between the Reds and Pirates

It may not have been Malice at the Palace 2.0, but the recent benches-clearing brawl between the Reds and Pirates was wild in its own right. Six players and both managers were ultimately suspended. The longest suspension went to Pirates pitcher Keone Kele, who drew 10 games for intentionally throwing near the head of Cincy’s Derek Dietrich (who had originally ignited this bad blood between the teams earlier in the season by pimping a home run). An inning later, Cincy’s Jared Hughes threw at Starling Marte in retaliation. That’s what really got the party started.

Nasty words, as one would expect, were exchanged. Amir Garrett ran toward Pittsburgh’s dugout and basically fought half of the Pirates. It turned into a group wrestling match with some side boxing matches. Pittsburgh hitting coach Rick Eckstein put Cincy’s David Bell in a headlock. A blonde-Mohawked and fired-up Yasiel Puig was at the center of everything. Yeah, basically everyone on these teams engaged in a war.

2004: Alex Rodriguez vs. Jason Varitek

Surely you remember this one. It’s another baseball brawl that was set into action by—what else?—a batter being hit by a pitch. This time, it was Boston’s Bronson Arroyo who drilled New York superstar Alex Rodriguez. As he walked toward first and removed his elbow pad, A-Rod stared down Arroyo and yelled some choice words at him. A-Rod is a national treasure now, but he was dispised back then.

Boston catcher Jason Varitek didn’t like that, or A-Rod, in general, so he stepped between them and smashed his catcher’s mitt into the third baseman’s face. Then all hell broke loose, with the benches clearing and numerous side fights emerging. This followed another memorable fight between the Yankees and Sox the year prior (the one with Pedro Martinez slamming Don Zimmer). Tensions between the AL East foes have since cooled. Maybe someday things will escalate back to this level of rivalry. You could argue it’d be a good thing for baseball.

2017: A.J. Green vs. Jalen Ramsey

We’d call Ramsey the “modern-day Cortland Finnegan,” but he’s way better. Both corners, however, have been noted for their legendary trash talk of opposing wide receivers. Ramsey loves trying to irk his opponents through his words, and apparently he was successful when he faced the All-Pro Bengals receiver who has lit up many a corner in his day.

Late in the first half of a game Jacksonville went on to win 23-7, Ramsey pushed Green—then Green grabbed Ramsey by the neck, threw him on the ground, and punched him in the helmet. It was a shocking move from the normally mild-mannered Green, one of the more respected players in the league. Both players were ejected. “I lock receivers down physically and then mentally I get in their mind and get under their skin; I talk my talk,” Ramsey said. He later added that he was calling Green “weak” and “soft” during the game. Ramsey did say, however, that he didn’t say anything overly personal or about Green’s family...apparently “soft” and “weak” was all it took.

2011: Georgetown vs. Bayi Military Rockets

We had to get at least one college basketball fight onto this list (Cincinnati-Xavier also was in consideration). In August 2011—yep, in August, when college students aren’t even technically in school—the Hoyas traveled to China for a goodwill trip. During a preseason game at Beijing Olympic Stadium with the Bayi Military Rockets (a military team), things were chippy from the opening tip.

The game completely fell apart late—when, with 9:32 left and the score tied 64-64, a loose ball scrum turned into shoves, which turned into fisticuffs, which turned into water bottles and chairs being tossed. At one point, a Bayi player pushed the Hoyas’ Aaron Bowen to the ground and, while sitting on the sophomore guard’s chest, repeatedly punched him. Georgetown coach John Thompson pulled his team from the game, and they were pelted by full water bottles from fans as they hurried to the locker room. Georgetown asked for a police escort to its hotel but didn’t receive it. This was one meaningless international college basketball preseason exhibition that actually turned out to be quite meaningful.

2004: Flyers vs. Senators

It’s impossible to pick from the litany of memorable hockey fights. Certainly, there are many that warrant mention on a list like this. But we opted for this March brawl between the Flyers and Senators (Philly won 5-3) because it involved practically everyone on both teams and was truly historic.

Like many of the fights on this list, the actual incident was precipitated by previous events. The last time these teams played, Martin Havlat had swung his stick at the head of Mark Recchi. Tensions carried over into this matchup, and the team’s enforcers (mainly Rob Ray and Donald Brashear) repeatedly fought in the third period. The refs couldn’t get these guys to actually play hockey! The final fight was the one where it all spiraled, the one that went down in NHL history. Officials handed out 419 penalty minutes, a league record. Philly also set a single-team record with 213 minutes drawn. We don’t see those numbers being topped anytime soon.

2006: Miami vs. Florida International

Similarly, we had to get one college football fight on here and it should come as no surprise that it involves The U. This probably doesn’t strike you as a highly competitive matchup, and it wasn’t. Miami was still a national championship contender year in and year out back then, while FIU was one of the worst teams in D-1 (and was 0-7 at the time of this game). This game ended, predictably, in a blowout, a 35-0 win for the Hurricanes. But with just nine miles separating these schools, they were fired up for the matchup, and it was a physical battle from the start.

In the third quarter, when Miami took a 14-0 lead, a brawl erupted following the extra point. Everything went haywire, with kicks, punches, helmets thrown, coaches involved, etc. It had all the elements of a wild football fight, straight out of Last Chance U. FIU running back A’Mod Ned even charged into the melee despite being on crutches. Everyone involved was feeling some type of way after this one, as former Miami receiver turned TV commentator Lamar Thomas said, “You can’t come over to our place talking noise like that. You’ll get your butt beat...I say, why don’t we meet outside in the tunnel after the ball game and get it on some more?” Thomas is about that life.

2018: Team McGregor vs. Team Khabib

We wrap this list up with another recent classic. The hype predicating UFC 229 was intense, as Conor McGregor hurled an insane amount of trash talk at opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov. It got personal, with McGregor insulting Khabib’s country, religion, family, and closest associates. The things Conor said were...well, we won’t repeat them here. Just know the Irishman went for the jugular and crossed numerous lines.

In the actual fight, Khabib forced Conor to submit by chokehold in the fourth round. Khaib then hurried to Conor’s corner to talk that mess back at Team McGregor. This commenced Fight No. 2, as McGregor’s team shouted back and Khabib hopped over the cage to fight them, including McGregor training partner and pal Dillon Danis. Meanwhile, McGregor got up in the Octagon and started fighting Khabib’s cornermen. The violence was surreal. Conor wants a rematch, but Khabib says he hasn’t earned it with his performance of late, and he’s right. If we do get a rematch (cue Dana White diving into a pool of cash like Scrooge McDuck), it won’t be anytime soon.