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In the world of the UFC, it’s just as important to entertain the fans as it is to win fights. If a fighter wants to reach the top of the promotion and make big money, then they probably need to do both.
Right now, though, there are a number of highly successful fighters in the UFC who seemingly don’t care what the fans think about them – and for some of them, this seems to have increased their popularity.
Whether they’re playing a character, or genuinely not caring about their image is debatable, but they remain intriguing to say the least.
With this in mind, here are five UFC fighters who don’t seem to care what the fans think about them.
#5. Israel Adesanya – UFC middleweight champion
Given his penchant for elaborate entrances to the octagon, fun celebrations and, at times, flashy fighting style, observers would be forgiven for thinking that everything that current UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya does is designed to make him more popular with the fans.
However, in recent months, there’s been some evidence to suggest that isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, ‘The Last Stylebender’ is much more focused on his legacy inside the octagon than anything else.
Following his win over Jared Cannonier in July, which saw Adesanya booed by some fans for a performance that many considered to be dull, the New Zealand-based fighter hit out, stating that the fans who were booing “don’t know what real fighting is.”
Essentially, in Adesanya’s eyes, there was nothing wrong with his performance, which saw him pick apart a dangerous opponent without taking too much damage in return.
Given that ‘The Last Stylebender’ has also spoken out about fans who approach him when he’s with his family – labeling them “f*cking entitled” – it’s probably fair to say that he’s less focused on what they think about him than he may appear to be on the surface.
In other words, Adesanya is probably confident that his level of stardom will remain high as long as he continues to win inside the octagon. At this point, it’s hard to disagree with him.
#4. Curtis Blaydes – UFC heavyweight contender
While he’s one of the best heavyweights in the UFC right now – and may well be the most underrated fighter that the division has to offer – it’s probably safe to say that Curtis Blaydes hasn’t quite caught on as a star with the fans yet.
Why is this? Basically, despite ‘Razor’ scoring a number of violent finishes during his tenure in the octagon, his fighting style hasn’t always been that exciting to watch, which has caused him to earn a potentially undeserved reputation of being safety-first.
However, unlike past fighters who worked hard to change that reputation, Blaydes seemingly doesn’t care about how the fans view him, just as long as he keeps winning.
He’s said enough on more than one occasion, too. Following his win over Alexander Volkov in June 2020, which saw him earn criticism for a takedown-heavy approach, he outright stated that he was okay with the fact that the fans didn’t enjoy the fight, claiming that it “made him happy.”
And while the performance didn’t thrill Dana White either, with the UFC president claiming that ‘Razor’ looked “stupid” after talking trash and failing to live up to it, Blaydes later doubled down on his attitude.
February 2021 saw him state that he wouldn’t be influenced by the fans to change his style if it meant taking more risks and potentially losing fights, and his win bonus. Prior to his recent win over Tom Aspinall, which saw him enter hostile territory in the UK, he stated that the fans could call him a “w*nker,” but he wouldn’t care.
Whether Blaydes changes his tune in the future remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clear that he really doesn’t care what the fans think of him.
#3. Kamaru Usman – UFC welterweight champion
Right now, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is not only considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the promotion, but he’s quickly become one of their biggest stars too, thanks to his huge wins over opponents like Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.
However, if ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has indeed become a star in the eyes of the fans, it’s not something he’s worked hard to achieve.
If you go on what he’s said over the years, as well as the style of his performances in the octagon, it’s almost definitely fair to say that he’s always put his legacy and his potential to win fights above his reputation with observers.
Prior to his first meeting with Masvidal in the summer of 2020, Usman stated this quite bluntly. Labeling himself a “true martial artist,” ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ said that he didn’t care that fans didn’t consider him entertaining, stating that he wasn’t in the sport to become a “trash-talking genius.”
Before his 2021 title defense against Gilbert Burns, meanwhile, he also repeated the same suggestion, stating that he didn’t care if the fans respected him, and that he’d stopped worrying about that “years ago” because it was something out of his control.
Of course, it’s probably fair to say that based on his recent showings, the majority of UFC fans respect him hugely. But there’s also an argument that his ability to focus on nothing but the opponents ahead of him, shutting out any outside noise, is what has allowed him to be so successful in the first place.
#2. Aljamain Sterling – UFC bantamweight champion
It’s probably fair to suggest that even after defeating former titleholder Petr Yan in a pretty convincing performance earlier this year, current UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling still doesn’t get the respect he deserves from the fans.
Whether that’s because of the controversial way he won his title in the first place, claiming it when Yan was disqualified for hitting him with an illegal knee, or because of the serious neck injury that prevented him from meeting a number of the promotion’s planned dates for a rematch, is debatable.
However, according to ‘Funk Master’ himself, he’s got thick enough skin to simply deflect any criticism, like water off a duck’s back.
An interview with him in late 2021 prior to his rematch with Yan but after he’d undergone neck surgery seemed to confirm this. Sterling stated that people simply didn’t understand why he’d had to have the surgery, and appeared to suggest that he didn’t care about what his critics had to say, stating “I’m sorry if I think my health is more important."
In an appearance on The MMA Hour, meanwhile, Sterling also hit out at “malicious” fans who’d apparently hit him with racist abuse, stating that if he didn’t have such thick skin, he’d probably have broken.
Either way, it seems that ‘Funk Master’ would probably embrace popularity if it were to come his way – but if it doesn’t, he doesn’t seem too bothered anyway.
#1. Nick Diaz – UFC welterweight
It’s arguable that no other fighter in UFC history – save for his brother Nate – has managed to reach the levels of popularity that Nick Diaz has done while somehow showing no affection for the fans whatsoever.
Put simply, judging by his attitude inside and outside the octagon, Diaz just doesn’t care what people think of him, whether that’s the fans, the UFC’s brass, and his fellow fighters, too.
The majority of the fighters competing in the octagon would claim that they love to perform for the fans first and foremost. Even those who are clearly more focused on their legacy than being entertaining still clearly enjoy the spotlight to an extent.
Diaz, though, is very different. Not only did he famously try to play down his rivalry with Georges St-Pierre prior to their 2013 mega-fight, claiming the UFC were selling “wolf tickets” in order to falsely drum up fan interest, but a 2021 interview shed even more light on his unique attitude.
In an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Diaz claimed that he has “never enjoyed fighting,” and stated that he’d “tried to get away from it” on numerous occasions, but had always been unable to do so.
While he did praise his fans in the same interview, stating that he loved them, it was hard not to view the Stockton-based fighter as someone who had almost fallen into the sport of MMA by chance rather than choice.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Diaz has seemingly never cared about what the fans think of him, and even though he clearly appreciates their respect, he’s never truly chased after their adulation like some of his peers.
