5 UFC fighters who have mastered the art of selling a fight

#4 Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal's 'Street Jesus' persona has helped him to sell his fights.

Jorge Masvidal has been around in the world of MMA for a long time. ‘Gamebred’ made his professional debut in 2003, almost two decades ago, and he’s even been in the UFC since 2013. However, while he largely went ignored for many of those years, right now there are few better in the UFC when it comes to selling a fight.

Masvidal was always somewhat of a mid-level trash-talker. But the former street fighter from Miami, Florida clearly changed things up in the sixteen months he had away from the octagon from 2017 to 2019.

When he returned to fight Darren Till, Masvidal had grown out his hair and beard and had begun to wear flashy suits, resembling a cross between a crazed preacher and a high-ranking member of a drug cartel, ala Scarface.

Labelling himself ‘Street Jesus’ and talking about “baptising” his opponents inside the octagon, ‘Gamebred’ immediately drew far more attention than he’d ever done before.

An angry backstage confrontation with Leon Edwards that resembled a clash in a back alley helped to sell his new persona. By the time Masvidal broke the UFC’s fastest knockout record by destroying Ben Askren in just five seconds, the fans were sold.

Masvidal was now a superstar – and since then he has parlayed that into beating Nate Diaz for essentially a personalised championship – the UFC BMF title – and has also talked his way into two UFC welterweight title shots.

Remember when I used to let you sleep on the couch? #hitemup you were crying cause those Brazilian girls punked you and I put you on. I fed you, clothed you and you sold out for 7 likes sad that’s all you got for a title fight. 13th disciple is a bitch #theresurrection

— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) December 12, 2019

While he lost both fights to Kamaru Usman, the fact that he managed to get UFC fans to clamour for the second meeting despite losing the first in one-sided fashion tells you that ‘Gamebred’ is a man who knows exactly how to sell a fight.

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#3 Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion

Israel Adesanya's natural charisma makes him a master of selling a fight.

Current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is a fascinating case when it comes to selling a fight. ‘The Last Stylebender’ definitely isn’t afraid to talk trash on his opponents, as he turned fights with Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori into bitter feuds, but he isn’t just a traditional antagonist.

Adesanya has also been able to build an image of a fighter who promises something special every time he steps into the octagon. And more often than not, the Nigerian-born New Zealand-based fighter delivers the goods.

In that sense, he’s similar to former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva – the man whose footsteps many fans believe Adesanya is currently following. However, Silva – with his poor grasp of English – was never as witty and articulate as ‘The Last Stylebender’.

Many of the barbs that Adesanya has thrown towards his opponents have helped him to sell a fight in the eyes of the fans. Robert Whittaker, for instance, freely admitted that Adesanya’s trash-talk got under his skin leading into their fight at UFC 243.

But like all great sellers of fights, Adesanya isn’t just a one-dimensional trash talker. ‘The Last Stylebender’ also knows when to keep things respectful. The fact that he was so respectful when building his fight with Silva – despite ‘The Spider’ being years past his prime – sold the Brazilian as a threat and meant people were far more excited to see the clash.

My voice changes depending on who I’m talking to, it’s called #codeswitching pic.twitter.com/ayFbxEfKka

— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) December 19, 2020

All of that adds up to ensure that Adesanya is one of the UFC’s best when it comes to knowing how to sell a fight perfectly.