Nicknames are a treasured aspect of mixed martial arts. They can help lend some real character to the fighters and gives them a chance to attain cult status in the community. Some nicknames are so good, they become part of who a fighter is. Seriously, how many people even call Rumble by his real name? It’s Anthony Johnson, by the way.
All this is well and good when you have a nickname that everybody appreciates. But, what about the other side of the coin? When there are great nicknames, there have to be terrible nicknames to go along with them.
The worst part about bad nicknames is that not only do they makes fighters seem ridiculous, but they also want to stab our ears out every time we hear them come out of Bruce Buffer’s mouth. Ahh, I feel bad for poor ol’ Bruce when he’s forced to utter these cringeworthy names. Anyway, time to get to the good stuff.
So, without further ado, here are the top 5 worst MMA nicknames:
#5 Cody Garbrandt: No Love
Cody Garbrandt is undoubtedly a future star in the UFC. The brash young kid from Ohio danced absolute circles around the legend, Dominick Cruz, en route a spectacular victory to capture the UFC Bantamweight Title and continue his undefeated streak in MMA.
For all his success, though, he chose a pretty bad nickname as he elected to go with No Love. How someone this good inside the Octagon can be this bad with names is beyond me, honestly. Well, I might be being a little harsh on the guy as it was apparently his uncle who came up with the moniker.
Legend has it that as a young lad, Garbrandt would show no love to his opponents and sparring partners. Regardless of the rhymes and the reasons, it sucks pretty badly as a nickname.
On the brighter side, though, at least it’s better than his original nickname which was, wait till you hear this, CoGar. So, yes. No Love doesn’t sound too bad now. Well done, Cody’s uncle.
#4 Tyron Woodley: The Chosen One
Tyron Woodley is a bit of a strange cat. He seems to feel that no one is giving him any respect despite the fact that he’s the UFC Welterweight Champion and amongst the baddest men on the planet, he seems pretty insecure about getting the respect he deserves.
With this insecurity in mind, though, it’s absolutely no surprise that he decided to go ahead and pick the nickname The Chosen One. First off, Tyron, there’s only one Chosen One in the world, and that would be Harry Potter.
And, hell. For all of his glorious deeds, Potter didn’t even choose the nickname himself, it was given to him. Instead, Woodley has decided to shed any modicum of humility and pick a nickname forever entwined with one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen due to his insecurity. Shame on you, Chosen One. Shame on you.
#3 Yoel Romero: The Soldier of God
In case it wasn’t clear from the nickname, Yoel Romero is a bit of a zealot. For all his work as a monster inside the Octagon, it’s a bit strange that he would go ahead and adopt the mantle of The Soldier of God.
Regardless of that, Romero is a beastly fighter and Michael Bisping should be very worried when they two face off, especially after what Romero did to Chris Weidman. Sidebar, Bisping has one hell of a cool nickname: The Count.
Right, back to the guy who sounds like he should be participating in The Crusades from the Medieval ages, can we all just agree to put this sort of zealotry far away from MMA, please?
#2 Tito Ortiz: The Huntington Beach Bad Boy
Tito Ortiz is a well-documented numbskull. For the great MMA career that he’s had, you do wonder just how Ortiz managed to make it this far with what must be an IQ just over 50, at best.
I don’t mean to take so many shots at the guy, but he does make it easy to take the mickey out of him when he decides to adopt the nickname The Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Ortiz is very cleverly trying to convey the fact that he’s a bad boy who hails from Huntington Beach, California. Fabulous.
Wel, despite the fact that his idiocy can be overwhelming, points must be given to Ortiz for giving the nickname The People’s Champ up and removing his unholy taint from the legacy of The Rock. Thank you for granting us that mercy at least, Tito. Good on you.
#1 Corey Anderson: Beastin 25/8
No, I’m not making this up. There’s actually a fighter by the name of Corey Anderson who decided that his nickname was going to be Beastin 25/8. What do you even say to something like this?
With a nickname worse than what 13-year-olds use for their first e-mail ID, it is of little surprise that Corey Anderson’s Beastin 25/8 is the single worst nickname to have ever existed in the world of MMA.
Unfathomably, Beastin 25/8 is the ninth-ranked UFC Light Heavyweight in the world. I sincerely hope he gets put into a fight with Jon Jones, who batters him from pillar to post for inflicting this nickname upon the world.
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