There have been some classic, legendary and character-defining post-fight interviews. It’s always said, don’t look beyond the fight itself, however, we know that some fighters have their post-fight speeches in the back of their mind. There is no doubt that the post-fight interview is absolutely vital for some fighters to either call out a champion or call for a big fight, create a brand or make a soundbite that will make them a megastar.
We rank some of the best, most impactful post-fight interviews in UFC history. We include the good, the strange and the hot balls (spoiler).
Best Post-Fight Interviews Ranked
10. Brock Lesnar UFC 100
Coming in at #10 is UFC megastar, Brock Lesnar after he clashed with Frank Mir for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. Mir had ruined Lesnar’s UFC debut by submitting him in just a minute and a half. On the night, Lesnar was able to get the victory via TKO and limited Mir to just four total strikes across almost seven minutes.
Speaking to Joe Rogan and getting heavily booed by the crowd, Lesnar told the crowd to “Keep going” with their boos. He then took aim at Mir, implying that he pulled a “Horseshoe out of his ass” and then beat him over the head with it. Rogan then asked him about his future and future title challengers. Lesnar replied with “I’m going to go home tonight, I’m going to drink a Coors Light. That’s a Coors Light because Bud Light won’t pay me nothin'”.
This was so iconic as the UFC’s primary sponsor was Bud light and their biggest star at the time actively went against them. It’s iconic and was certainly made bigger as it took place at UFC 100, the biggest UFC card ever at the time.
9. Paddy Pimblett UFC London
Whatever you think of Paddy Pimblett, his skill level, his gimmick and his push, his message after his win at UFC London in July 2022 was extremely powerful. After defeating Jordan Leavitt in the second round, Pimblett took to the mic and delivered an important message to everyone.
“I woke up on Friday morning at 4 a.m. to a message that one of my friends back home had killed himself. This was five hours before my weigh-in. So Ricky, lad, that’s for you.” He then went on to say, “There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk. Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got weight on your shoulders, and you think the only way you can solve it is by killing yourself, please speak to someone. Speak to anyone. People would rather – I know I would rather – my mate cry on my shoulder rather than go to his funeral next week. So please, let’s get rid of this stigma. And men, start talking”.
An extremely important message was delivered by a big star on a big stage and Pimblett used his moment not to promote himself, but to get across a big, important message. A really humbling moment.
8. Al Iaquinta at UFC Fairfax
‘Raging’ has never been a more appropriate name for a fighter than it was for Al Iaquinta at UFC Fairfax back in 2015. Clashing with the future megastar, Jorge Masvidal, Iaquinta narrowly outpointed Gamebread to a split decision. The crowd didn’t take well to Iaquinta getting his hand raised and booed him heavily.
Speaking to Jon Anik, Iaquinta said “Are you guys booing me? You better not boo me. I f**king fought my ass off! F**k you! I fought my ass off tonight”. He then stated “I’m good, I’m good” before walking out of the cage and refusing to answer any more of Anik’s questions.
An iconic post-fight interview for all the wrong reasons.
7. Chael Sonnen UFC 136
Let’s set the scene for this one. Chael Sonnen was coming off a loss to Anderson Silva in a fight that almost saw Silva lose his belt after a long reign. He was dominated throughout the fight at UFC 117 but was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the final round when he locked up a triangle choke to submit the American.
At UFC 136 Sonnen returned against Brian Stann and dominated the fight throughout, locking up an arm-triangle in the second round and finishing things. He then took to the mic in typical Sonnen fashion and looked to set up another fight with Silva.
After Joe Rogan asked him a question about the fight, Sonnen ignored it completely and instead went on to insult the middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.
“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck. The biggest rematch in the history of the business. I’m calling you out Silva we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I will leave the UFC forever”.
Legendary. And in turn, it worked. Sonnen had to get through Michael Bisping first, however, he then rematched Silva at UFC 148. It didn’t go his way on the night, nor did he leave the UFC forever. He returned three times after his second Silva loss, going 1-2 before making his way over to Bellator.
6. Georges St Pierre UFC 56
After knocking out Sean Sherk, Georges St Pierre took to the mic and rocked it in a somewhat out-of-character moment. Having already clashed with Matt Hughes for the welterweight belt back in 2004 in a losing effort, GSP dropped to his knees and begged the UFC for another shot.
“Please, give me a title shot. I want it so bad, and I’m not gonna make a mistake this time. Thank you very much.”
Although it wasn’t what was next for GSP, he went 15-1 including becoming a two-weight world champion and dominating almost everyone he faced. Some would say his being tactic worked.
Nov19.2005@GeorgesStPierre earns his 2nd TKO Victory inside the Octagon,
when he finishes Sean Sherk at UFC 56 pic.twitter.com/uxmghClTLd
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) November 19, 2014
5. Leon Edwards UFC 278
One of the most iconic lines in UFC history was delivered by Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards following his legendary win in Utah. Defeating the P4P king, Kamaru Usman via brutal head kick in the final round of a fight he was losing, Edwards delivered an emotionally charged post-fight interview which was an instant hit.
Joe Rogan asked the new welterweight champion to describe what it feels like to hold the belt and Edwards replied:
“I can’t put it into words Joe. It’s been a long long four years.” Staring deep into the camera, the new champion began to shout, “YOU ALL DOUBTED ME, SAID I COULDN’T DO IT. YOU ALL SAID I COULDN’T DO IT. LOOK AT ME NOW” before his dropped the iconic line:
“POUND FOR POUND, HEADSHOT DEAD”. Emotionally charged, legendary, iconic.
4. Nate Diaz UFC 196
Coming in at number four is the first of two Nate Diaz post-fight speeches. This one is from his phenomenal come-from-behind victory against Conor McGregor via second-round submission at UFC 196. Taking the fight on relatively short notice, Diaz became the first man to defeat McGregor in the UFC and stunted the megastar’s progress.
He entered the fight a huge underdog and despite being dropped multiple times, being cut, bloodied and on the back foot, his will and determination took over, forcing McGregor into a lazy shot, countering and consequently locking up the rear-naked choke.
Talking to Rogan post-fight, he delivered one of the most iconic lines in UFC history. Rogan stood with Diaz and stated:
“Nate Diaz, you just shook up the world, hows that feel?”
Grabbing the mic from Rogan, Diaz replied,
“Eh, I’m not surprised motherf**kers”
Simple, effective and instantly iconic.
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Nate Diaz speaks with Joe Rogan after defeating Conor McGregor of Ireland in their welterweight bout during the UFC 196 event inside MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
3. Conor McGregor UFC 205
How could we have a list of iconic post-fight speeches without including one of the best talkers that we’ve ever witnessed in the UFC? There are a whole host of different options that we could have chosen for McGregor. The legendary ‘We’re not here to take part’ line, the ‘You can call me mystic mac’ line or his UFC 189 post-fight interview with Rogan after he defeated Chad Mendes.
We decided to go for the famous UFC 205 post-fight interview, however. Taking place in New York City, Madison Square Garden for the first time in UFC history, McGregor headlined the inaugural event on a quest to become a two-weight simultaneous world champion. Taking on Eddie Alvarez, McGregor put on a clinic and was his best performance to date without a doubt. Alvarez never had a sniff in the fight and McGregor took to the mic and surprised a lot of people. He was trending towards a heartfelt turn, appreciating the fans, the business and becoming a ‘baby face’.
After brief discussions back and forth with Rogan, he grabbed the mic and said:
“Listen, I’ve spent a lot of time Joe slating everybody in the company. Backstage I’m starting fights with everybody. I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster and I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologise…to absolutely nobody. The double champ does what the f**k he wants!”
Legendary from a lyrical legend.
2. Nate Diaz UFC on Fox 17
Here comes Diaz’s second listing on our rankings. Nate Diaz had just defeated Michael Johnson in a dominant fashion after a year away from the sport. His boxing looked slick, he looked lean and he looked like he was ready to go all in. Then came the post-fight speech. He took his moment and in turn, it paid off massively. Speaking to Rogan, Diaz called out McGregor before the two men even considered a bout.
“F**k that, Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I worked for motherf**ker, imma fight your f**king ass, you know what’s the fight, what’s the real money fight, it’s me, not these clowns you’ve already punked at the press conference, don’t nobody want to see that, you know you beat them already, that’s the easy fight. You want that real sh*t right here”
What made this so amazing is that it actually worked. Diaz was a huge star before this, but his two fights with McGregor shot him into superstardom. Prior to the McGregor fights, he hadn’t headlined a PPV, since, he headlined four. He went from a ‘hardcore fans’ favourite to a household name and all because he rocked the mic in an amazing fashion after a dominant win.
1. Derrick Lewis UFC 229
After being dominated for almost three rounds, Derrick Lewis scored a huge come-from-behind knockout over Alexander Volkov to snatch victory from near defeat. He then proceeded to take his fight shorts off ahead of his interview with Rogan. Naturally, Rogan quizzed him on this asking, “Why’d you take your pants off?” to which Lewis replied with a legendary line which went down in history as an instant classic.
“Cause my balls was hot”
Rogan then replied with “I understand” making it one of the most simple but hilarious exchanges in UFC history.
