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While UFC fights are the main attraction for most fans, there's no discounting the importance that a proper buildup has in drawing fan interest to specific matchups. The historic bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, for example, would not have been as successful were it not for the preceding events.
Press conferences can make or break a matchup from the perspective of entertainment. They help sell fights to the promotion's main consumer: MMA fans. While most press conferences are generally tame and feature generic trash talk, some are forever etched into the pages of MMA history.
To no one's surprise, the biggest and best pre-fight press conferences take place in the UFC. With UFC 287 looming closer, there will certainly be an entertaining press conference with Israel Adesanya and Jorge Masvidal at the helm.
That said, this list compiles some of the craziest moments in UFC press conference history.
#5. A fan brings a megaphone to the UFC 243 pre-fight press conference
The enmity between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya is well-noted. Their personalities clashed and 'The Last Stylebender' took offense to a meme about him that his rival once shared on social media. So ahead of the pair's first-ever clash at UFC 243, the Nigerian striking specialist was heated.
However, with the hometown love from the Australian crowd, 'The Reaper' was more than comfortable at the pre-fight press conference. While Adesanya was animated, the banter surrounding them was fairly tame. The wildest moment, however, came when a fan asked Adesanya a question.
Instead of using a microphone, he used a megaphone to make himself heard, even earning Adesanya's approval despite being his main heckler throughout the press conference. With the megaphone in hand, he chastised him for disrespecting 'The Reaper', who he hailed for fighting 10 rounds with Yoel Romero.
#4. Conor McGregor's tirades at the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference
Thus far in his UFC career, Donald Cerrone and Dustin Poirier are the only fighters who can claim to have had a pleasant time in a press conference with Conor McGregor as their opponent. The Irishman is a vitriolic trash talker who isn't afraid to take things as far as necessary to shatter his foe's will.
His most hated-ever rival remains Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two men were scheduled to fight at UFC 229, but their pre-fight press conference felt like a war. The former double champion held nothing back as he attacked the Russian's religion, culture, family, and even questioned his political allegiance.
This led to Dana White branding it as the darkest press conference he has ever witnessed. While things typically simmer down towards the end, that wasn't the case there as 'The Notorious' brought up Ali Abdelaziz's past as an FBI informant before asking him about Noah, a son he allegedly abandoned in Colorado.
#3. Pink Suit Guy steals the show at the UFC 264 pre-fight press conference
While Dustin Poirier's first rematch with Conor McGregor was a largely positive experience, the pair's trilogy bout was preceded by sky-high levels of animosity. After 'The Diamond' outed the Irishman for not making good on his promise to donate to his Good Fight Foundation charity, all hell broke loose.
So at the UFC 264 pre-fight press conference, 'The Notorious' was a foul-mouthed caricature of his former self. Although he claimed that he would give his foe the beating of a lifetime and that 'The Diamond' would leave the octagon on a stretcher, it wasn't the first time he promised to annihilate an opponent.
Given the nature of his prior loss to the Louisianan, a reporter by the name of Josh Cohen questioned the Irishman on his promises. More popularly known as 'Pink Suit Guy', he pointed out that Conor McGregor has won exactly one fight since Barack Obama was the United States president.
He punctuated his question by stating that Poirier took him to a place where time didn't exist. So why should fans think the pair's third fight will transpire any differently? Reporters rarely, if ever, call fighters out for their performances, and it left McGregor with no response other than to threaten Cohen.
#2. The UFC 202 pre-fight press conference incident
The first great rivalry of Conor McGregor's career was against Nate Diaz. Stockton's finest handed him his first-ever UFC loss as a short-notice replacement by forcing the Irishman to tap out to a rear-naked choke.
During the leadup to their rematch, the pair had a pre-fight press conference that nearly sparked a brawl. The Irishman was 30 minutes late, prompting Diaz to leave just as he arrived. As this happened, the 'BMF' claimant and his crew launched obscenities at McGregor.
Within seconds, they threw water bottles at the Irishman, who retaliated by throwing cans of Monster Energy. This caused security to lead Nate Diaz's team out of the venue before Dana White called an abrupt end to the press conference.
#1. Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa come to blows at the UFC Summer Kickoff press conference
It's a sad state of affairs when one of the things that Kevin Lee is most well-known for is an incident at a press conference. In 2017, 'The Motown Phenom' was scheduled to face Michael Chiesa in a lightweight bout. At the time, he was at the forefront of a four-fight win streak, with his eyes set on a possible title fight.
Meanwhile, 'Maverick' helmed a three-fight win streak, including wins over the likes of Beneil Dariush and Jim Miller. To promote a series of upcoming fights, the promotion hosted a press conference, during which Lee engaged in trash talk about his status as a main eventer compared to Chiesa.
He mentioned that Chiesa's mother bought tickets to their fight, prompting 'Maverick' to leap to his feet, warning Lee against mentioning his mother. Tensions rose and Chiesa stormed across the stage to attack his opponent. Lee stung him with a hard overhand right and security did their best to break up the brawl.
