5 UFC stars whose ability on the microphone was more exciting than their fighting skills

#4. Josh Koscheck – former UFC welterweight contender

Josh Koscheck was happy to embrace a villainous persona on the mic to become a star

One of the greatest trash-talkers in UFC history, from his first appearance on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2005 through to his departure from the promotion in 2015, Josh Koscheck was always more than happy to embrace the role of a villain.

Koscheck established himself as a major antagonist during the tapings of TUF by provoking a drunk Chris Leben. He continued that kind of behaviour when he emerged into the promotion fully, as he talked trash on opponents such as Diego Sanchez and Paul Daley. He then embarked on a major feud with Georges St-Pierre that led to an unsuccessful shot at the welterweight title.

However, it’s probably safe to say that for the most part, Koscheck’s ability to build a fight up using his mic skills was largely more entertaining than his fighting style in the octagon.

‘Kos’ wasn’t always dull to watch. His knockouts of fighters like Yoshiyuki Yoshida and Frank Trigg were genuinely brutal. However, in a great number of his bouts, he would fall back on his stellar wrestling skills to get him by, causing the fans to become frustrated with what they perceived as a lay-and-pray approach.

If anything, though, the fact that so many fans accused him of being a boring fighter only added to his villainous persona. It paid off handsomely for Koscheck, who was largely used as a headline act by the promotion throughout his tenure there.

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#3. Ben Askren – former UFC welterweight contender

Ben Askren became a star thanks to his microphone work despite a perceived dull fighting style

While his time with the UFC didn’t last long at all, three fights, to be exact, two of which saw him lose in devastating fashion, the reason that there was such a clamor Ben Askren’s debut was largely down to his charisma.

A two-time NCAA Division I national champion in amateur wrestling, Askren made the move into MMA after failing to secure a medal at the 2008 Olympics and immediately established himself as a fighter to watch.

However, despite running through Bellator MMA’s welterweight roster, beating the likes of Karl Amoussou, Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov to claim the promotion’s title, ‘Funky’ often suffered criticism due to a perceived dull fighting style.

Like Josh Koscheck before him, though, Askren seemed more than happy to embrace his role as a villain. He talked plenty of trash prior to each bout and regularly claimed that he could beat the best 170lbers that the UFC had to offer despite not being part of the promotion.

His feud with Dana White garnered him even more publicity, as he would often taunt White in the media. He even produced an Adele-themed music video to poke fun at him.

Eventually, it was this charismatic style outside the octagon rather than his actual fighting skills that inspired White to sign him in 2018. While his time with the promotion didn’t go to plan, his fights there were at least exciting, something that couldn’t often be said for his previous ones.