5 of the most infamous fighters in UFC history

#4 Chael Sonnen – infamous for trash talk

Plenty of UFC fighters have become infamous for their trash talk over the years – Tito Ortiz, Conor McGregor and Colby Covington all come to mind – but perhaps no other fighter found as much success – and as much infamy – with their work on a microphone than Chael Sonnen, who competed in the UFC on-and-off from 2005 through to 2013.

During his first run with the promotion in 2005-6, Sonnen was little more than a vanilla wrestler who barely showed any personality – he didn’t even have a nickname! But when he returned to the UFC from the WEC in 2009, everything began to change. Suddenly, Sonnen began to use the microphone like a pro-wrestler, spouting wild boasts and calling out numerous fighters in various wacky ways.

Sonnen’s best use of trash talk, of course, came during his two-fight series with legendary UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen hit out at Silva’s fighting style, his Brazilian heritage, his training partners, and everything else imaginable – building the fights like nobody else could and transforming the stoic Silva into one of the UFC’s most popular fighters.

Admittedly, Sonnen’s skills in the cage didn’t always back up his big words – he lost the majority of his big fights – but nobody worked the mic quite like Chael P. His tongue-in-cheek style and incredible wit sets him apart even today from the likes of McGregor and Covington – meaning he still remains the most infamous trash-talker in UFC history.