MMA is one of the most physically demanding sports where your main goal is to either submit or remove another human being from consciousness within a cage. In the build-up to fights, most fighters are generally respectful and choose to leave their talking inside the cage come fight day. But there are a few fighters that specialize in talking trash to their opponents leading up to the fight. The trash-talking usually occurs because of either a general disdain for their opponent or to get inside their head, hoping to capitalize on emotional mistakes on fight day.
The best betting platforms you find over here are always keeping an eye on how the general public respond to fighters’ back-and-forth and, in some cases, it’s even changed the odds!
Top 10 Best MMA Trash Talkers of All Time
#10 – Quinton Jackson (38-14):
The former light heavyweight champion kicks off this list at number 10. If you look up his name on YouTube, you are sure to find many snippets and sound bites of the veteran going off on his adversaries. After defeating Keith Jardine (17-11) at UFC 96 and earning the number one contender status to the then light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (20-8), Jackson threatened Evans saying that he would be committing “black on black crime” when they finally faced off. Before a fight with Chuck Liddell (21-9) at UFC 71, he also stated that “I just hope he don’t die in that cage” to a reporter in reference to his opponent. Finally, one of the best quotes from him actually comes from his rivalry with Wanderlei Silva (35-14). The exact quote was that “when I [Jackson] beat Wanderlei Ima take his belt pull his pants down and spank him for being so ugly”. When Jackson was on the mic, you really never knew what was going to come out of his mouth.
#9 – Josh Koscheck (17-11):
At number nine we have the former UFC welterweight and former Ultimate Fighter coach Josh Koscheck. Although he was not particularly a fan favorite, he sure did leave fans with some hilarious trash talking prior to and during his fights. When it comes to Koscheck and trash talking, most remember his fight with Paul Daley (43-18) at UFC 113. During the fight, while Daley was being outwrestled, he told Koscheck to let him up and “fight like a man”. Koscheck being the villain he was, responded saying “Let you up, you p***y, get up”. Throughout the fight, Koscheck kept telling Daley to “get up” as he cruised to a decision. After the bell, Daley then tried to sucker punch Koscheck which resulted in him being fired from the UFC. Another good example of Koscheck’s antics were shown in the build up of his fight with Georges St – Pierre (26-2) during the Ultimate Fighter 12. During one of the episodes Koscheck stated that he “did not want to lose to anyone, especially a French guy” and constantly told him that he would be knocking him out. Koscheck did not end up beating GSP in the end.
#8 – Diaz Brothers (Nate Diaz (20-13) & Nick Diaz (26-10):
At number eight is a tie between the Stockton raised Diaz brothers. Nate is probably most well known for his back and forths with Conor McGregor in the build up to their fights. One of his most iconic quotes came from his post fight interview after submitting McGregor at UFC UFC 196 where Diaz said “I’m not surprised motherf*****r”. As of recent, Nate has been trash talking just about everyone through Twitter in the lightweight and welterweight division on social media. Nick on the other hand was famed for talking trash both before and during his fights as well. One of the best moments was seeing Nick repeatedly slapping Carlos Condit (32-14) while screaming “What!” at UFC 143. Diaz was also one of the very few people to get on the aforementioned GSP’s nerves. GSP is usually always calm and composed but during the UFC 158 conference call he was visibly annoyed and called Nick an “uneducated fool” which goes to show the proficiency of Nick’s trash talking abilities.
#7 – Kevin Holland (22-7):
Holland who was a Dana White’s Contender Series alumni is famous for being nicknamed “Big Mouth” by the UFC president Dana White. During his fight on the contender series, Holland was trash talking his opponent throughout the whole fight but he was not awarded a contract in the end. After a few months, Holland stepped in on short notice to face a terrifying Thiago Santos (22-10) at UFC 227. Even though Holland lost via Unanimous Decision, he was promised another chance in the UFC by Dana White. Holland actually became a fan favorite as he finished the likes of John Phillips (22-11-1NC), Anthony Hernandez (9-2), Joaquin Buckley (14-4), Charlie Ontiveros (11-8), Alex Oliveira (22-12-1-2NC), and Jacare Souza (26-10-1NC) all while trash talking them mid fight. Holland has recently dropped down a weight class to welterweight where he might excel even more.
#6 – Dominick Cruz (24-3):
Coming in at number six is the former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Cruz is extremely witty and intelligent and it is shown through his trash talking leading up to a fight. He never seems to fail at getting under an opponents skin while leaving them speechless in the process. This is evidently shown through his rivalry fight build ups with TJ Dillashaw (18-4) and Cody Garbrandt (12-5). During an interview with Dillashaw he leaves Dillashaw speechless by countering everything the challenger said and tells him that “you cant be done talking to me, you are right here facing me dummy, keep talking”. Also during the build up of his fight with an ill tempered Garbrandt he talks about his girlfriend wearing the pants in the relationship and challenges him to come fight him on the spot. Cruz will forever have some of the best trash talking clips of all time.
#5 – Ronda Rousey (12-2):
Ronda Rousey, who was one of the main pioneers in bringing women’s MMA into the mainstream comes in at number five. During her rise to stardom, Rousey not only walked the walk, but also talked the talk in her fight build ups. In the build up to her fight with Miesha Tate (19-8) at UFC 168, Rousey stated that “she [Tate] could never look her[Rousey] in the eye” since she had “everything that [Tate] wants in life”. Prior to the Holly Holm (14-6) fight at UFC 193, Rousey called Holm’s general demeanor a “fake sweet act”. Ultimately, Rousey ate her words and lost her title via a headkick knockout. Rousey will still forever be women’s MMA and trash-talking great in the minds of fans.
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#4 – Colby Covington (17-3):
Covington is one of the more current fighters that have made the list. Covington is famous for his insane cardio that seems to melt his opponents in fights, but he is more so known for his ruthless trash talking inside and outside of the cage. One of his most famous sound bites came after defeating Raphael dos Anjos (31-13) at UFC 225 when he addressed the Brazillian crowd and said “Hey, you guys are all a bunch of filthy animals, Brazil you’re a dump”. Ever since then, Covington has really made trash talking apart of his career. If you look up Covington trash talking anywhere, you will be able to find hundreds of quotes mostly coming from his rivalries with Kamaru Usman (20-1), Tyron Woodley (19-7-1), and Jorge Masvidal (35-16). Most recently, Covington has had a few spats with Dustin Poirier (28-7-1NC) which may end up being his next fight. If so, that promo video will most likely feature some very harsh words between the two fighters.
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#3 – Michael Bisping (30-9):
The fighter from England is probably one of the most iconic trash talkers in UFC history. His “conceive, believe, achieve, shut the f**k up” during the press conference prior to his title bout against Luke Rockhold (16-5) at UFC 199 is a difficult one for fans to forget. There are also tons of trash talking that happened prior to and after the fight with Rockhold that made that rivalry as heated as it was. Bisping has also had some great bits throughout his career especially against the likes of GSP, Alan Belcher (18-8), Jorge Rivera (20-9), Dan Henderson (32-15), and many more.
Michael Bisping explains why trash talk was crucial to defeating Anderson Silva – https://t.co/exFCv6nV8j https://t.co/80lTD4WXle pic.twitter.com/XL6O46TMLg
— UFC Universe (@UFC_unvrz) February 27, 2020
#2 – Conor McGregor (22-6):
Conor McGregor, one of the UFC’s most well known stars comes in at the number two spot. McGregor came to fame during his meteoric rise from 2013 – 2015. Where the “Mystic Mac” would predict how fights would end and end up executing his predictions. During that time his trash talking against Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver (23-11), and Chad Mendes (18-5) on his way to gold made for some unforgettable quotes. McGregor’s fame really climbed to the next level during the build up to the José Aldo (31-7) title fight at UFC 194. McGregor stated that he “owned Rio De Janeiro” and that he would have “invaded his favela on horseback and killed everyone who was not fit to walk””. McGregor used his words to get into Aldo’s head and ultimately was able to knockout the former champion within the first round. Who knows what would have happened if McGregor kept quiet and did not get into the former champions head. McGregor has had some legendary rivalries and quotes in the build up to his fights with Dustin Poirier, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0), and Nate Diaz that are worth the watch as well.
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#1 – Chael Sonnen (31-17):
At the number one spot of the top 10 best MMA trash talkers list we have Chael Sonnen. Sonnen is widely regarded to be one of the, if not the best trash talker in the sport’s history. There is literally a 15-minute long highlight of Chael Sonnnen trash talking his opponents while most MMA fighters don’t even have fighting highlights that are that long. After defeating Shogun Rua (27-12-1) at UFC Fight Night 26, Sonnen calls out Wanderlei Silva in his famous post fight interview saying that “before I met you [Silva], I did not know that they could stack crap that high”. The pair would then go on to coach the Ultimate Fighter 3: Brazil that had some legendary quotes as well. One of Sonnen’s most ruthless lines came in the build up to the Tito Ortiz (19-12-1) fight at Bellator 170. Tito had claimed that Sonnen only gets opportunties with his mouth and trash talking. Sonnen then replies saying that “the only person I know that makes money using their mouth is his ex wife”. Sonnen is one of the most creative trash talkers in the sports history and if you look up his name online you will be sure to find some quotes that will make your jaw drop.
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