2017's best of MMA so far: The most absurd, wild, and surreal moments

As the year in cage fighting reaches its halfway point, theScore's MMA staff looks back at a time of chaos, controversy, and lots of people getting clobbered in the face.

2017's best of MMA so far:

• The most thunderous knockouts
• The savviest submissions
• The best fight thus far (July 2)

In the third part of our best-of series, we look at a handful of awe-, laughter-, and befuddlement-inspiring moments in the always wacky world of MMA:

(Warning: Some videos contain graphic content and coarse language)

Alcantara, Elkins stage back-to-back comebacks

The shots Luke Sanders rained on Iuri Alcantara's head for more than a round at UFC 209 would have left most men with lifelong nightmares, but the Brazilian bantamweight just ate them and ate them until he eventually snaked his legs around one of Sanders' and rolled his way to a stunning kneebar for the comeback victory.

Moments later, Darren Elkins pulled off the impossible: he upstaged Alcantara.

The featherweight looked like little more than a stepping stone for vaunted prospect Mirsad Bektic's rise up the rankings for the near entirety of their bout, but "The Damage" - glorious crimson mask and all - miraculously turned the tables in Round 3, as he dug deep to pummel Bektic against the cage before leaving us all aghast with a head kick that had his foe looking like he'd just been decapitated.

Let me bang, bro

Don't ever tell Marcel Fortuna size matters.

A career light heavyweight primarily known as a submission artist making his UFC debut against a man with nearly 50 pounds on him, the Brazilian needed just one right hand over the top to clip Anthony Hamilton on the temple and leave him flailing on the canvas for Fortuna's first career KO at UFC Fight Night 104.

Hamilton hasn't been seen since.

Mama Kichigin don't take no mess

Hell hath no fury like that of an enraged mother's scorn.

Not only did Viktor Kichigin have to hear his mom - and trainer - berate him as he was being beaten bloody by Ruslan Yamanbaev at Fight Nights Global 67 in May, he suffered further punishment at her hands before he could even make it back to his feet from the nasty stoppage.

Mothers have a truly special penchant for the dramatic.

Lewis spits fire in postfight interview

Derrick Lewis' performance on the mic can sometimes upstage his performance in the Octagon - which is already saying a lot - but he outdid himself at UFC Fight Night 105.

Moments after scoring a nasty comeback KO at Travis Browne's expense in the card's Fight of the Night, the fan favorite heavyweight proceeded to drop gem after gem during his postfight interview.

Not only did "The Black Beast" attribute the pain in his midsection to an urgent need to use the facilities, he questioned Browne's manhood before catcalling his girlfriend - former bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey - in front of 8,000 fans at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As if he hadn't already immortalized his brief exchange with commentator Brian Stann, Lewis announced his heavy workload in both the gym and the bedroom had earned him a much needed vacation.

Don't ever change, Derrick.

Chandler's night goes from bad to worse

Michael Chandler nearly broke his ankle just over two minutes into his New York City debut, but he hadn't suffered enough in the eyes of one presiding official.

Referee Todd Anderson deemed Chandler's injury enough to call a timeout in his lightweight title fight with Brent Primus at Bellator NYC, but an official apparently didn't deem Chandler's condition worthy of a stool, pulling it away from a still game Chandler before the fighter inadvertently added insult to his own injury with a blunder straight out of a Three Stooges sketch.

To make matters worse, he was ruled unfit to continue - a verdict that ended his reign as champion. If he never sees New York again, it'd be too soon.

Kish gets the ish choked out of her

Few people can say they've literally had the crap choked out of them. Justine Kish joined that select circle at UFC Fight Night 112 last Sunday.

The strawweight repeatedly found herself fending off Felice Herrig's efforts to submit her, but her habit of fighting her way out of trouble on strength alone reared its ugly, putrid head in the third round, with the evidence of her impromptu bowel movement tarnishing the canvas.

To her credit, Kish handled the incident like a champ:

Showboater gets slept

Joe Harding went into February's BCMMA 18 with a big head, and Johan Segas kicked it down to size.

The Brit looked all too pleased with himself after flicking a few strikes at Segas in the third round of their clash, but the Frenchman reminded him he's no "Sugar" Ray Leonard, and made him pay for his showboating with a nasty head kick that left him limp on the canvas.

Fedor, Mitrione get sat at the same time

Chaos has a habit of following Fedor Emelianenko to the cage, but it didn't do him any favors at Bellator NYC.

In an exchange no sane man could have scripted, both the heavyweight legend and Matt Mitrione connected right hands to each other's chins and fell to the canvas in perfect synchronicity, but Fedor was beat to the next punch by Mitrione, who finished him off with ground-and-pound for the 74-second KO.