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#2 Colby Covington
Colby Covington might be widely disliked by the majority of the UFC fanbase. But there’s no denying that the former interim UFC welterweight champion knows exactly how to sell a fight.
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It wasn’t always that way, as ‘Chaos’ would admit himself. Apparently, he was on the verge of being released in 2017 despite a lengthy win streak, largely due to a perceived dull fighting style inside the octagon.
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However, basing himself on an extreme version of former UFC favourite Chael Sonnen – who embraced trash-talking until it shot him to stardom – Covington unleashed a new persona onto the UFC after his victory over Demian Maia.
‘Chaos’ cut an inflammatory and xenophobic promo following the win, slating the entire country of Brazil and its people, labelling them “filthy animals”. It was one of the more controversial moments in UFC history and resulted in Covington effectively having to be smuggled out of the country.
Since then, Covington has been more than happy to embrace his role as a major villain. He has made countless numbers of tasteless remarks that have sometimes verged on outright racism, building himself up as the ultimate follower of Trumpism and the MAGA movement.
While plenty of UFC fans might find his character tiresome, there’s no denying that it has worked. Covington is probably the most widely disliked fighter on the UFC roster, but fans now want to see him beaten, something that’s proven to be rare.
Considering the same, it’s fair to say that ‘Chaos’ is a master when it comes to the art of selling a fight.
#1 Nate Diaz
While his activity levels over the last five years have been sporadic, to say the least, it’s arguable that nobody on the UFC roster can sell a fight quite like Nate Diaz.
Like his brother Nick, Nate Diaz’s devil-may-care attitude instantly endears him to the fans of the UFC. But he also has a unique way of building his fights up, which means he sells them as few others do.
Essentially, Diaz somehow manages to turn nearly every fight he’s involved in into a personal, bitter feud – meaning that the fans are always sucked in whether the fighter from Stockton ends up winning or losing.
This has even been the case when he has fought more mild-mannered, friendly opponents like Donald Cerrone. In that instance, Diaz knocked Cerrone’s cowboy hat off during a weigh-in staredown, transforming what sounded like an exciting fight into a clash that threatened to overshadow UFC 141’s main event of Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem.
The most bizarre thing about Nate Diaz? He doesn’t really try to sell his fights. He doesn’t play a character like Colby Covington, nor does he talk trash in the same way as Conor McGregor does. He simply channels so much anger and bitterness towards his opponents that it’s hard not to be interested.
Essentially, whenever Nate Diaz competes in the UFC, his fights are instantly must-watch affairs – proving that he is a genuine master of selling a fight.
