Every sportsperson experiences fear and anxiety before stepping on the stage of sporting competition. Battling the anxiety and holding one’s nerves is a part of every sportsperson’s life. However, combat sports ups-the-ante in this regard.
In soccer, when you miss a shot at goal, your team misses a scoring opportunity; in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when you miss a shot, you get punished for it with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, joint-locks, choke-holds and various other painful manoeuvres.
In other words, you can ‘play’ other sports, but you can’t ‘play’ combat sports. Saying that ‘Combat sports’ are different from most other sports would be an understatement. Now MMA, in particular, is considered to be one of the scariest, if not the scariest combat sport as of today.
MMA athletes are highly-skilled and brave, but they are after all human. MMA combatants experience fear just like you and me. Now it’s essential to understand that there are levels to the intensity of these emotions that fighters experience once the cage door slams shut.
A select few MMA fighters, although they may experience fear themselves, serve to generate insane amounts of emotional upheavals in the minds of their opponents. As the saying goes - The inside of an MMA cage is a lonely and scary place.
You may be surrounded by thousands of fans in the arena and millions watching all over the world, but when that bell rings it’s just you and your opponent. MMA is a sport that is high on emotions with fear being one of the most common amongst them.
After years of critical observations and technical analysis by MMA pundits and fans alike, a group of rare fighters have been arguably agreed upon as being the ‘Scariest fighters’ in our sport of MMA.
A few such fighters that scare the living hell out of the men they stand across the cage have made our list-
#5 Robbie Lawler
‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler (27-11-1) is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight (WW/170 pound) champion and a former EliteXC, ICON Sport and Superbrawl Middleweight (MW/185 pound) champion.
Lawler has an MMA base of wrestling and boxing. He also trained in karate as a child. Lawler is known for having insane one-punch KO power in both hands, great knees and for the utilisation of the old-school MMA style of sprawl-and-brawl.
He has decent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and developed into a more well-rounded MMA fighter after working with American Top Team (ATT) from 2012-2017. 20 of Lawler’s 27 wins have come by way of knockout.
His fights against Frank Trigg, Tiki Ghosn, Murilo Rua, Scott Smith, Melvin Manhoef, Matt Lindland, Adlan Amagov, Josh Koscheck, Bobby Voelker, Rory Macdonald (2X) and Jake Ellenberger are just a few examples of his toughness and super-human KO power.
After knocking down Macdonald en route to a split-decision victory at UFC 167 in 2013, Lawler faced Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 in March of 2014 for the UFC WW strap.
Lawler lost a close decision to Hendricks and then went on a path of ruthless destruction knocking out Ellenberger, dominating Matt Brown and then outworking Hendricks in their rematch at UFC 181 in December of the same year.
Also read: 5 Most Hated Fighters In MMA History
Lawler went on to have brutal 5-round wars with Rory Macdonald in July of 2015 and Carlos Condit in January of 2016, successfully defending his WW strap by knocking out Macdonald and brutalising Condit.
Lawler lost the title in his most recent fight by a flash-KO at the hands of his former training partner Tyron Woodley, and what’s interesting to note is that Woodley had stated in multiple interviews before and after their fight how hard ‘Ruthless’ hits from their time spent together in the sparring sessions at ATT.
Add to that Lawler’s penchant for smiling after eating his opponent’s best shots, and it doesn’t exactly instil a sense of confidence in his in-cage opponent. Each and every one of Lawler’s opponents as well as sparring partners have attested to the fact that standing toe-to-toe with Lawler is one of the toughest things in MMA.
Considering the fact that the aforementioned fighters themselves are extremely tough and highly-skilled in their own right, it comes as no surprise that ‘Ruthless’ is one of the last persons you want to see staring you down from across the cage.
#4 Yoel Romero
Yoel ‘Soldier of God’ Romero (13-1) is a former World Champion and Olympic Silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. He was born in Cuba and now resides in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. Romero is best known for his fights in the UFC and Strikeforce.
He is known for his excellent wrestling skills that he has perfectly transitioned to the cage alongside his scary one-punch KO power. Romero possesses the rare ability of being able to score one-strike KOs with his punches, kicks, knees as well as elbows.
Romero made his pro-MMA debut fairly late in his athletic career, at 31. However, he has managed to accomplish much more than most other MMA fighters could ever dream of, in his fairly brief career.
Romero’s ground-and-pound skills are the deadliest in the game, as evidenced by his high-profile UFC fight against former UFC Light-Heavyweight (LHW/205 pound) champion Lyoto Machida.
Romero scored a trip-takedown on Machida, secured top position on the mat and knocked Machida out cold with a series of brutal ground-and-pound elbows. All of this was done at a lightning fast speed.
In his UFC debut, Romero knocked out Clifford Starks with a flying knee and follow-up punches. In his most recent fight against former UFC Middleweight (MW/185 pound) champion Chris Weidman, after a close first round, Romero out-grappled the ‘All-American’, rag-dolling Weidman all over the Octagon.
Furthermore, in the third and final round, Romero caught Weidman with a perfectly timed flying knee, knocking him out and leaving him in a pool of his own blood. Weidman was dazed for several minutes after the fight and was bleeding profusely from Romero’s powerful and precise flying-knee.
Romero is considered to be one of the best athletic specimens to ever compete in the sport of MMA. Considering the fact that MMA is a sport that is filled with athletic specimens such as Demetrius Johnson, Stipe Miocic, Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos and several others.
Romero’s fame as being the UFC’s best athlete is a huge accomplishment for the Cuban KO-artist. Romero’s cat-like reflexes and scary finishing power lands him the 4th spot on our list.
#3 Cain Velasquez
Cain Velasquez (14-2) is a former 2-time UFC Heavyweight (HW/265 pound) champion and NCAA Division-1 wrestler.
Velasquez developed into a well-rounded MMA fighter owing to his time spent at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California where he trains alongside elite MMA superstars such as Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, Josh Thomson and many others.
Velasquez is known as a wrestle-boxer with a grinding work ethic, brutal ground-and-pound and a granite chin. He proudly represents his Mexican-American heritage and regards Mexican boxing legends as his inspiration.
Velasquez broke through into the big-time when he brutalised the former UFC HW champion and WWE Superstar, Brock Lesnar. Velasquez held his own in the grappling department against Lesnar and out-struck ‘The Beast Incarnate’ en-route to a 1st round TKO at UFC 121.
Velasquez dethroned Lesnar for the UFC HW title but lost his strap to Junior ‘Cigano’ Dos Santos in November of 2011 at UFC’s first event on the FOX network.
Velasquez came back with a vengeance to reclaim his belt, knocking out Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at UFC 146 and then outclassing Cigano in a brutal 5-round bloodbath en-route to a dominant decision win at UFC 155.
He defended his strap in a rematch against ‘Bigfoot’ and then finished Cigano with a slam and follow-up punches at UFC 166. Velasquez’s aforementioned 5-fight win streak with the exception of the lone loss to Cigano were all brutal bloodbaths with Velasquez leaving his opponents in a puddle of their own blood.
Most recently, Velasquez rebounded from a submission loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188, by knocking out the 6’7” Hawaiian HW Travis Browne at UFC 200.
Velasquez is often referred to by his fans as ‘The Mexican Cain-Saw’ (meaning- Chainsaw), owing to his ability to cut and brutalise his opponents.
Velasquez is not only feared for his ability to decimate his opponents on the ground but is also widely respected for his crisp boxing game, with a stinging jab, lethal overhand right and excellent dirty boxing (roughing his opponent up in the clinch).
Add to this the fact that Velasquez is an oddly calm fighter even in the most chaotic in-cage scenarios, and you have a nightmare opponent - A Mexican nightmare to be precise!
#2 Anthony Johnson
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson (22-5) is one of the scariest fighters to ever compete in the sport of MMA. His MMA base is kickboxing and wrestling, and he is well-known for having one-punch KO power in both hands
His Dutch kickboxing style roundhouse-head-kicks are lethal and precise. Johnson has competed in the Welterweight, Middleweight, Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight divisions in his MMA career.
He also has an excellent chin and has proved his ability to eat punches from the best in the world right from 170 to 265+ pounds.
Rumble’s head-kick KOs over Kevin Burns, Charlie Brenneman and Jake Rosholt are a few examples of his excellent usage of Dutch kickboxing manoeuvres that he has further refined after training under the tutelage of highly-respected Dutch kickboxing coach Henri Hooft.
Besides, Rumble has excellent boxing offence and defence with an immaculate sense of timing and distance. Rumble’s KO of lanky Swedish-kickboxer Alexander Gustaffson is a great example of his excellent boxing and great KO power.
Furthermore, Rumble’s clean boxing in his one-punch KO wins over Jimi Manuwa and Glover Teixeira in his most recent fights inside the Octagon, tell us that Rumble’s power stems from technique just as much as it does from raw strength.
The most significant and recent illustration of the fear Rumble instils into his opponent’s mind is his UFC on FOX main event matchup against athletic wrestle-boxer Ryan Bader. Bader was visibly disturbed by the very thought of striking with Rumble, which in turn, lead to Bader shooting in for a takedown on Rumble from halfway across the Octagon.
Rumble saw it coming from a mile away, easily sprawled and a few ground-and-pound shots later, Bader was asleep.
Rumble’s hand speed and footwork are considered to be one of the best in MMA and when coupled with his superb technique and natural KO power, he makes for an intimidating presence inside the cage.
Many past and present Rumble opponents have confessed that his scary finishing power serves to intimidate and mentally defeat his opponents well before they enter the cage. Rumble’s otherworldly KO power and lightning-fast movement has landed him the 2nd spot on our list.
#1 Mark Hunt
Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt (12-10-1-1 MMA; 30-13 Kickboxing) is an MMA and kickboxing veteran known as the ‘King of the Walk-off KO’, in reference to his habit of knocking his opponents out and walking away before the referee steps in to stop the fight.
Hunt is the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion (K-1 was the top kickboxing organisation at the time, not GLORY kickboxing). Hunt entered MMA as a pure kickboxer, however, he has developed good grappling skills in his UFC run.
Hunt is well-known for his granite chin and iron will. He is ridiculously tough to finish and boasts excellent hand-speed and head-movement in the pocket. He is also known for his mental toughness and his uncanny ability to intimidate his opponents despite having a friendly and casual demeanour.
Hunt’s walk-off KOs against 6’11” Dutch kickboxer Stefan Struve, former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir and the indestructible Roy Nelson are highlight-reel illustrations of his brutal and accurate punching.
Hunt’s back-and-forth battles in the sports of MMA and kickboxing are evidence of his toughness and tenacity, with most of them ending with his opponents being helped up staring at the lights.
Reigning UFC HW champion Stipe Miocic set a UFC record against Hunt, for the most strikes landed in a fight, out-landing Hunt 361-48 over the duration of their bout.
Most of the strikes Miocic landed were on the ground, and it’s safe to say that no human on the planet except Hunt could have eaten that many strikes from an athletic young HW star like Miocic, and lived to tell the tale.
Hunt also holds dominant wins over kickboxing greats such as Jerome Le Banner, Mirko Filipovic, Stefan Leko and many others.
It’s essential to note that despite being undersized against most of his opponents, Hunt’s striking skills and mental fortitude have helped him not only survive but decimate several notable foes such as Wanderlei Silva, Cheick Kongo, Frank Mir, Roy Nelson and many others.
Hunt, much like the aforementioned Cain Velasquez, is one of the calmest and most composed MMA fighters that don’t need any trash-talk to instil fear into their foes’ minds. Mark Hunt’s ice-cold attitude and hands of stone make ‘The King of the Walk-off KO’, the King of our list.
Be it Lawler’s evil smile or Romero’s Cuban funky-boxing style; Velasquez and Hunt’s eerie calm or ‘Rumble’ Johnson’s lightning strikes; certain MMA fighters have that extra zing to their game.
The ability to instil fear in your opponent whilst holding your own nerve is one of the most desirable qualities if you are an MMA fighter. The fighters featured on our list are known for scaring the living daylights out of their opponents, as much as they are for their martial arts skills.
Keeping up with our combat tradition, I’d like you, the reader, to chime in with examples of fighters you feel are just as intimidating as my top-5. Till then, keep training and don’t be scared homie!
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