5 UFC stars who divided the opinion of the fans

#2. Chael Sonnen – former UFC middleweight contender

Despite styling himself as 'the bad guy', plenty of fans adored Chael Sonnen

While fighters like Conor McGregor, Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal have tried their best, it’s arguable that no other UFC star has ever been able to maximize their ability on the microphone quite like Chael Sonnen.

Once considered a journeyman figure, ‘The American Gangster’ shifted his personality in 2010, becoming a trash-talker extraordinaire. In turn he quickly became one of the biggest superstars in the UFC.

While he failed in his quest to claim UFC gold on three different occasions, one thing that Sonnen definitely succeeded in was in dividing the fanbase of the promotion.

Modeling his trash-talking persona on pro-wrestling legends such as Billy Graham and Ric Flair, Sonnen’s mic work was clearly designed to turn him into the UFC’s biggest villain. However, he showed such charisma on the mic that it was hard not to be sucked in by his act, meaning that he regularly received just as many cheers as boos when he entered the octagon.

While his feud with then-UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva painted him firmly as an antagonist, his later rivalries with Jon Jones and Wanderlei Silva showed him in an entirely different light, particularly when his coaching abilities were revealed during two stints on The Ultimate Fighter.

Basically, despite labeling himself ‘the bad guy’ on numerous occasions, Sonnen was never a true villain. Like most of the UFC’s biggest stars, he straddled the line in between.

---

#1. Conor McGregor – former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion

Conor McGregor's dividing of the UFC fanbase has made him plenty of money

Perhaps no other fighter in UFC history has been able to divide the opinion of the promotion’s fanbase quite like Conor McGregor. Not only is ‘The Notorious’ the biggest superstar in UFC history, but there’s probably not a fan out there who doesn’t have a strong opinion on him.

To his legions of fans, particularly those in his native Ireland, McGregor can literally do no wrong. He’s the working class kid made good, he’s stayed with his childhood sweetheart and he’s helped to put Irish MMA firmly on the map.

Those fans are even willing to overlook McGregor’s multiple indiscretions; incidents which have involved numerous brushes with the law, as well as a number of tasteless insults on social media aimed at rivals such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.

Of course, any fighter willing to talk as much trash as McGregor, particularly in such an antagonistic manner, is always guaranteed to gain as many haters as fans. Those afore-mentioned indiscretions don’t help matters in that sense, either.

Therefore, ‘The Notorious’ has truly divided the UFC fanbase. For as many fans who want to see him win when he steps into the octagon, just as many are desperate to see him get his comeuppance.

The one major winner in all of this, of course, is McGregor himself. The Irishman is responsible for the UFC’s biggest-selling pay-per-views, ensuring that he brings in millions of dollars every time he steps into the octagon.

That’s why in a lot of respects, dividing the UFC’s fanbase is the quickest and most direct path to super-stardom, something that ‘The Notorious’ clearly understands greatly.