If you want the fans to know you, You need to know how to talk! This has been the common belief in the combat sports world, be it MMA, boxing or pro-wrestling.
Getting recognized in the world of combat sports isn’t child’s play, especially on a battlefield with men who are willing to fight for peanuts to get to the top. So, what’s the alternative? Talk a lot of trash!
From the Muhammad Ali era to the Conor McGregor Era, we have all seen the most notorious ones who knew how to promote the fight despite fans caring little about their opponents. But when talking about the young sport such as MMA, there appears to be a lot of verbal jabbers out there.
Toughness wasn’t the only attribute to get these men to the top game, but the gimmick they wore just made the viewers instant fans. Here are some of them who knew how to talk their way up in MMA:
#5 Nate Diaz
We obviously start with one of the Diaz brothers. The word ‘controversy’ wouldn’t exist if the Diaz brothers weren’t on the list. Nate is one of the most outspoken guys in the UFC, speaking his mind out completely backed by his emotions.
Being a veteran of the sport, Diaz has been involved in a lot of controversies with the latest being the ‘water bottle fight’ incident during the UFC 202 press conference that involved his foe, The Notorious one, Conor McGregor. To top it all, at the very same press conference, we all saw him walk away abruptly from the dais through the aisle amongst the audience, flipping off at McGregor on his way out. The commotion ended with both men hurling water bottles and Monster Energy drink cans at each other.
Prior to the start of the McGregor-Diaz rivalry, Nate used foul language while calling out Conor during the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, after his victory over Michael Johnson. The interview ended as Rogan stopped Diaz from using more inappropriate language, refraining him from doing snatching the mic.
#4 Michael Bisping
The face of the English MMA community, The Count is the face that runs the place. A true ‘Rocky’ story indeed, he struggled up the ladder for a much-deserved title shot, and finally, earned and 'killed it'. Michael became the UFC champion by knocking out Luke Rockhold.
But before we talk about his achievements, let's spare a thought to how he build up his image which is quite an interesting story.
Ever since he won The Ultimate Fighter tournament, he’s struggled to make it to the top title contender's rankings. Often failing to grab a victory in big fights, he managed to be recognized with his 'smart mouth' with a British accent.
The time had finally arrived as the Silva fight victory earned him a huge opportunity, making him the number one contender for the middleweight title. And the rest as they say is history as Bisping knocked the man out who was the first to submitted him during their fist outing.
#3 Nick Diaz
Oh, yeah! The Diaz brothers are dominating the list so far. Had there been more in the family, they would have probably filled all the spots on the list. Nick Diaz is a one of a kind fighter who has the heart of a warrior as well as the class of a champion.
Known for his infamous disrespectful taunting that got Georges St. Pierre’s blood boil, he made quite a name for himself and made a career out of it. Often agitated during press conferences, he did enough to hype up his rivalry with GSP. It turned out to be one of the top five heated rivalries in UFC.
It was only last year that Nick fought one of the greatest fighters of all time – Anderson Silva. It turned out to be a super fight, a super fight with enough taunting. Diaz worked on his mind games trying to deceive the Spider away from his game plan.
Despite his loss to the St-Pierre and Silva, he has shown some tremendous amount of respect after the fight.
#2 Conor McGregor
Controversy creates cash. This man does it all – talks, fights and get a lot of cash. The biggest superstar in MMA today, probably in all of combat sports, McGregor is one of the only fighters who can ‘talk the talk’ as well as ‘walk the walk’.
His charismatic personality, suited up appearance along with his hairstyle make him quite an outstanding figure amongst the stars.
The level of stardom this man has achieved is second to none. Many critics have compared the UFC Featherweight champion to The Greatest, Muhammad Ali. Well, there hasn't been anyone on the current UFC roster who could match up to the Conor McGregor's trash talking (well, there may be one who is next on the list).
The Irish fans followed Mystic Mac right from the beginning of his UFC journey, which was often the reason for the arenas being sold-out during their hero's fights. The world first realized the Notorious persona when Conor jumped off the cage running towards Jose Aldo, after his dominant victory over Dennis Siver.
Ever since that magical moment, the world has been following McGregor. Fame is something that is a part and parcel of his daily life, with celebrities wanting to catch a moment with The Notorious.
#1 Chael Sonnen
Yes, it's not Conor McGregor who tops the list, but The American Gangster, Chael Sonnen who is the King of trash talking. People often fail to realize the power of Sonnen's words. Despite not having won a single UFC title, Sonnen had the verbal skills to provoke any fighter to accept his challenge to a fight.
Joe Rogan once stated that Muhammad Ali began the era of trash talking but 'Chael Sonnen took it to a whole new level'. One couldn't help but not turn away his or her ears when The American Gangster opened his mouth.
His words had so much power that he talked his way into securing a title shot at Jon Jones' light heavyweight strap, immediately after losing a rematch with Silva for the middleweight title.
No one could out-talk Sonnen and he is often regarded as one of the best promoters of the sport. Had he been a UFC Champion winning big fights, McGregor would have had some tough competition.
