Flashback Friday: Great fights in Kentucky vs. Louisville history
Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey’s spat outside Tay Kinney’s apartment didn’t escalate into fisticuffs, but it was the latest charged moment in one of the best rivalries in sports. Where does it rank among the great fights in Kentucky vs. Louisville history? Probably not near the top, but we’ll take any excuse to go down memory lane.
1989: Boo Brewer vs. Sean Woods
Eddie Sutton was the first Kentucky coach to call Louisville “Little Brother,” back in 1986. Three years later, the brothers brawled. In the 1989 game at Rupp Arena, Sean Woods drove the lane and Boo Brewer slid under the basket to take the charge. Woods landed on Brewer’s left shoulder, and instead of just setting him down, Brewer tossed Woods over his shoulder. Once he popped up, Woods tried to go after Brewer and had to be held back by an official.
1998: Jamaal Magloire vs. Nate Johnson
Magloire and Nate Johnson butted heads throughout the 1998 game in Louisville, earning double technical fouls in the second half. Tempers flared again at the end when Magloire fouled Johnson on a dunk at the buzzer. Unfortunately, Kentucky was on the losing end of this one.
2010: Cousins forearms Swopshire
The first Kentucky vs. Louisville game of the John Calipari era delivered. It started with Eric Bledsoe and Reggie Delk exchanging words, after which Calipari told Delk that he picked the “wrong guy” to mess with. Later in that game, DeMarcus Cousins and Jared Swopshire went after a loose ball, and Boogie put his forearm to Swopshire’s chin to hold him down. Doug Shows had a field day with that one.
2012: Fans fight at dialysis clinic
No Kentucky or Louisville players were involved in this one, but it’s still legendary. Ahead of Kentucky’s game vs. Louisville in the 2012 Final Four, a 71-year-old Louisville fan got into an argument with a 68-year-old Kentucky fan at a dialysis clinic in Georgetown. When the Kentucky fan flipped off the Louisville fan, the Louisville fan punched him in the face. Kentucky, of course, beat Louisville a few days later, giving the Cats fan the last laugh.
2014: Bobby Petrino vs. Dan Berezowitz
The football series has had its fair share of fights as well. Several broke out between Kentucky and Louisville players during pregame warmups in 2014, and even the coaches got involved, with Bobby Petrino shoving Kentucky assistant Dan Berezowitz. What a moment.
2014: Chris Jones flops, Tyler Ulis bleeds
The most epic flop of all time took place in the 2014 basketball game, when Chris Jones dramatically fell to the floor after a phantom elbow from Dakari Johnson. Jones even held his jaw in imaginary pain for minutes after. Glorious.
Ironically, Jones actually did elbow Tyler Ulis in the face earlier in the game, causing Ulis to bleed, giving us this famous screenshot. Ulis finished with a team-high 14 points, two assists, and zero turnovers in 26 minutes. He didn’t realize he was bleeding until one of the other players on the floor told the refs.
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2015: Rick Pitino flips off Rupp Arena
A year later, Rick Pitino was so upset after Louisville’s 75-73 loss to the Cats — his eighth to John Calipari in the series — that he flipped off the Rupp Arena crowd on his way to the tunnel. Pitino tried to deny the gesture afterward, but fans brought the receipts.
2017: Jordan Jones vs. Lamar Jackson, Denzil Ware’s trash can
Just when you thought the brawl between Jordan Jones and Lamar Jackson would be the headline of the 2017 Governor’s Cup, another video surfaced of Denzil Ware picking up a trash can and shoving Louisville offensive lineman Geron Christian with it.
2024: Chinanu Onuaku spits on Nate Sestina in TBT
Last summer, we got proof that the rivalry never ends. After Andrew Harrison hit the game-winner for La Familia vs. The Ville in the 2024 TBT Quarterfinals, Chinanu Onuaku took offense to Nate Sestina’s celebratory Ls Down and spat in his face, sparking a brawl.
On the sideline, an upset Louisville fan punched our own Drew Franklin in the throat, another example of the Cards being bad losers.
2024: Sideline scuffle
We got our first fight of the Mark Pope-Pat Kelsey era of the rivalry in the first matchup. Kentucky had a seven-point lead in the second half at Rupp when Brandon Garrison tried to take the ball from Reyne Smith, a scuffle that spilled onto the bench. Pope ran in to help break it up and inadvertently put Kelsey in a headlock, a screenshot that made the rounds again yesterday.
2025: Pope vs. Kelsey spat on the recruiting trail
That brings us to the altercation outside Tay Kinney’s apartment a few weeks ago. No punches were thrown, but words were exchanged between two of college basketball’s “nice guys,” tossing some fuel on the fire ahead of November’s showdown at the Yum Center. I have a feeling I might be adding to this list after that one.
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