5 times reporters completely owned UFC fighters

Josh Cohen (left) and Conor McGregor (right)
Josh Cohen (left) and Conor McGregor (right)

UFC fighters and reporters have a really complicated relationship. It is the reporters who can prop up an MMA athlete, but it is to them that the fighters are answerable and accountable, at least to a certain degree. More often than not, however, the dynamic between UFC fighters and reporters is contentious.

While reporters don't usually want to rub UFC fighters the wrong way, it is an occupational hazard that they cannot do away with. Sometimes, however, annoying UFC fighters is exactly what reporters are set on doing. Reporters landing a verbal 1-2 combo on MMA athletes and leaving them furious are moments that are rare and special in equal measure.

On that note, let's take a look at five times reporters completely owned UFC fighters.


#5. Female reporter asks why Jon Jones isn't banned for drug abuse

UFC 247 Jones v Reyes
UFC 247 Jones v Reyes

Ahead of UFC 232, which was headed by Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson 2, a female reporter from Sweden rocked the pre-fight press conference. The reporter, named Izabelle Kostic, irked Jon Jones to his core after asking some hard pressing questions about his drug usage history.

Other reporters present at the press conference didn't even touch on the subject of 'Bones' testing positive for picograms. Kostic, meanwhile, decided to practically own Jon Jones, the recently-stripped UFC light heavyweight champion. She asked Jones:

"How come this is the third time that we're actually taking the focus from the fighters and the fight and talking about what you have in your body, whether it's a picogram or a pictogram. Why have you tested now, positive?"

The direct questions rattled Jon Jones and left him speechless. Instead of answering the question or giving a valid explanation for why he tested positive, 'Bones' resorted to berating the journalist and said:

"Ah, next question, please. Thank you. . . Sit down. I want to take the mic from her. Better questions. Better journalism. Better journalism. You suck. Better journalism."

Kostic proved to be resilient and stayed in her element. Despite Jon Jones being visibly irate, the reporter didn't budge down and risked her future access to UFC events. Responding to Jones telling her to sit down, Kostic hit back and threw a straight fact at the UFC GOAT candidate and told him she was already seated.

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#4. Pink Suit Guy vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 264

UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3
UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3

Josh Cohen, popularly known as the 'Pink Suit Guy', has roasted a couple of UFC stars quite brutally from behind the mic. A recent example of this kind came when he owned Conor McGregor in the UFC 264 pre-fight media presser.

Cohen asked McGregor, who was coming off a TKO loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, why people should expect him to win the trilogy. The way the reporter posed the question to Conor McGregor reeked of mockery. It certainly rubbed the 'The Notorious' the wrong way, who burst into a fit of rage and started hurling insults and threats at Cohen.

Josh Cohen asked Conor McGregor:

"Conor [McGregor], question for you. you have won exactly one fight since Barack Obama was president... over a fighter [Donald Cerrone] who has zero wins over the last six fights. This man [Dustin Poirier] sent you to a place where time doesn't exist six months ago. Why should anyone expect anything different on Saturday?"

Watch the whole interaction between the UFC reporter and Conor McGregor below:

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#3. Josh Cohen vs. Colby Covington at UFC 268 press conference

UFC 268: Usman v Covington 2
UFC 268: Usman v Covington 2

Josh Cohen's most recent hot moment came when he roasted Colby Covington ahead of the latter's rematch with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268. The UFC reporter asked Covington whether he would let an independent medical team look at his X-ray reports to confirm if Usman had left him with a broken jaw following their UFC 245 fight.

The insinuation led to a whole verbal altercation between 'Chaos' and Cohen. Cohen asked Covington:

"...In two days, you [Colby Covington] get a chance to step inside that cage and they will the lock door and you will attempt to take that belt violently from that man [Kamaru Usman] by any means necessary. My question to you is, if you were to somehow lose this fight, will you allow an independent medical team to look at your X-rays from 2019 to determine once and for all, that man broke your face?"

As expected, Covington got all riled up and started insulting the 'Pink Suit Guy', making comments about his clothing and saying he looked like "a bottle of Pepto-Bismol."

Watch Cohen troll Colby Covington below:

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#2. Eddie Alvarez gets owned by Conor McGregor fan posing as a reporter ahead of UFC 205

UFC 205: Press Conference
UFC 205: Press Conference

Eddie Alvarez was trolled by a Conor McGregor fan posing as a UFC reporter ahead of UFC 205. Alvarez and the 'Notorious' were trading barbs and bringing Madison Square Garden to its feet. As usual, McGregor was trying his best to trash talk Eddie Alvarez but the best surprise came from the crowd.

A McGregor fan, posing as a reporter, got hold of the microphone for the final question of the presser. What started as a seemingly normal question quickly turned into an expletive-laden tirade towards Alvarez. The fan asked Alvarez:

"Eddie Alvarez, you’ve been mentioning that Conor McGregor isn’t a championship fighter. [That] he only has 2-3 rounds, yet in your professional career you’ve only went to the fifth round twice and lost one of ’em. What the f*** are you talking about, mother-f***er?!"

The crowd burst into cheers and so did Conor McGregor, who sat impressed with the audacity of his fan's stunt. Eddie Alvarez, on the other hand, was left speechless by the question.

Watch the whole fiasco below:

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#1. Josh Cohen wishes Conor McGregor 'Happy Sons Day'

UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3
UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3

Josh Cohen has decided that he's going to keep picking on Conor McGregor. The 'Pink Suit Guy', who is popular for making UFC fighters uncomfortable with his straight-forward questioning, recently uploaded a post about the Irishman and called him his son.

Wishing Conor McGregor a "happy Son-Day," the reporter wrote in a social media post:

"On this National Sons Day, I want to wish a very happy Son-Day to my son; @thenotoriousmma. Please have a positive, and constructive day. And please, don’t get arrested. Love you son"

Josh Cohen has been after Conor McGregor ever since the UFC 264 press conference. 'The Notorious' not answering his question and calling him a "rat" didn't sit well with the reporter.

Conor McGregor was having a live Q&A session on Twitter, inviting fans to ask him anything. Replying to the tweet, Josh Cohen once again owned the former UFC double-champ and wrote:

"I did #AskNotorious, remember? You didn't have an answer for me then. And you haven't been the same since, son."

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Edited by Josh Evanoff