Watch: The most absurd, wild, and funny MMA moments of 2016

As the year in cage fighting comes to a close, theScore's MMA staff takes a look back at what will be remembered as a time of change, controversy, and lots of people getting punched in the face.

Best of MMA 2016

• The most absurd, wild, and funny MMA moments of 2016
• MMA's most devastating knockouts of 2016
• The most debilitating submissions of 2016
• The best MMA fights of 2016
• The 2016 fighter of the year
• 2016's most impactful MMA moments

We kick things off with a collection of the most peculiar moments in a sport that's no stranger to peculiarity:

(Warning: Some videos contain explicit language)

McGregor ends Stephens' career with 6 words

Come at the king, you best not miss.

Conor McGregor showed everyone why he's the stop stick man in the business when he completely buried Jeremy Stephens' attempt to call him out at a presser for UFC 205. In what was either a brilliant moment of improvisation or a genuine moment of ignorance, "The Notorious" responded to a Stephens boast with the now immortal retort: "Who the fuck is that guy?"

Stephens has been fighting for 11 years and competed in almost 40 fights, but with one sentence, McGregor made him famous for all the wrong reasons.

Kimbo and Dada 5000 brawl in Texas

The passing of Kimbo Slice this past June and the health problems that hospitalized Dada 5000 after their bout at Bellator 149 has cast a pall over the encounter, but at the time it lived up to the hype for better or worse.

Nobody was expecting this meeting between two former street fight kings to be a technical classic, and while it occasionally devolved into farce, it was also mesmerizing to see Slice and Dada continue to go to war even as their training and cardio failed them.

The end saw a completely exhausted Dada plummet to the mat after a glancing blow from Slice, a grisly image that perfectly encapsulated the beauty and ugliness of MMA.

Jon Jones tells Rogan he has "a huge c---"

"Why does a guy like you need Cialis?"

"I have a huge c---, Joe."

Joe Rogan has a reputation for asking the hard questions, and when he booked Jon Jones for a podcast session to ask him about his recent drug suspension, he likely got more information than he was looking for.

Barberena nails the "Super Sage" spin

It wasn't enough for Bryan Barberena to derail the Sage Northcutt hype train, he had to steal his moves, too.

"Bam Bam" defeated Northcutt via second-round submission, then proceeded to show off his incredible agility in an imitation of the teenager's memorable celebration from his first UFC fight.

Check out the video below for comparison:

Nailed it, right?

Mitrione grows a second head

Of all the injuries and afflictions that can befall a fighter, there are few more visually disturbing than that of the hematoma. In short, it's a temporary deformity that occurs when blood rushes to a part of the body where blood shouldn't go, usually causing some sort of abnormal swelling.

Matt Mitrione learned exactly what a hematoma was at UFC Fight Night 81 when his eye was the victim of multiple pokes from Travis Browne. As the fight progressed, it looked like Mitirione's right eyebrow was about to give birth.

Add in Mitrione's wide-eyed amazement at the situation, and you have an image that few fight fans are likely to forget (no matter how hard they try).

Rountree tells his mom to shut up

Maybe Khalil Rountree should have focused on silencing his opponent instead of his mother.

The "Ultimate Fighter 23" finalist was having a tough go in his first UFC fight, and apparently mom's ringside support wasn't welcome. Something tells us that the next Rountree family dinner must have been a little awkward.

Krazy Horse lives up to his name

The fight took seven seconds, the celebration an eternity.

Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett rang in his 17th year of MMA competition with a lightning-fast KO of Minoru Kimura followed by Bennett bouncing around the ring like Simone Biles. Postfight, Bennett collapsed to the mat before thanking the Japanese audience and calling out nemesis Wanderlei Silva.

Romero expresses love for Bisping

The only thing more terrifying than a jacked up Cuban wrestler threatening to beat you up is a jacked up Cuban wrestler saying he loves you.

That's exactly what happened at UFC 205 when Yoel Romero took the mic after his flying knee KO of Chris Weidman. The "Soldier of God" spotted middleweight champion Michael Bisping in the upper deck of Madison Square Garden and proceeded to express his deep affection for the champ even as Bisping laughed at him and flipped him off.

"I love you," said Romero. "See you soon boy."

Next year could be a scary on for "The Count."