McGregor’s Gift of Gab Still Stands Out as the best in MMA History
Colby Covington showcased the prime example of what makes the best trash talker subjective last week. The American grappler built his star status by utilizing trash talk as a large part of his persona to engage in mental warfare with his opponents and sell fights. But Covington isn’t clever.
Usually, Covington’s insults are crude and childish. The nicknames he comes up with for his opponents aren’t particularly intelligent either. But there is an audience amongst fight fans that live for the trash talk. There have been plenty of MMA stars who have excelled with their clever quips and ability to put down their opponents.
Covington isn’t one of those fighters. Leading up to his UFC 296 loss to Leon Edwards for the UFC welterweight championship, Covington made personal attacks on Edwards’ father. Here’s a look at that situation and some of the best trash talkers in MMA, according to the best MMA news sites.
Covington Likely Went Too Far
There is a line, though it is admittedly thin, for what is good and bad trash talk. Covington saying that Edwards’ father is in hell capped off an ugly week for the UFC fight promotion. Covington has a history of coming up with less-than-flattering nicknames for his opponents, patterned after Donald Trump’s campaigning style. Trump was on hand to witness Covington’s loss.
The UFC also held a press conference featuring some of the fighters set to battle in and out for the first quarter of 2024. Middleweight champion Sean Strickland made fun of the bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley for his open marriage arrangement with his wife. O’Malley responded by accusing Strickland of being sexually assaulted by his dad.
Strickland then went after Du Plessis for having a sexual relationship with his coach. Du Plessis wasn’t able to allow that insult to slide by. The South African fighter responded by saying he was going to beat Strickland so badly that it would remind him of the childhood beatings he got from his dad.
The entire affair even spilled over into the UFC 296 event. When both men were shown on camera, it would lead to an exchange of words that led to Strickland leaping over a row of seats to attack Du Plessis. MMA breaking news showed the two men were quickly separated before any damage could be done.
Mystic Mac Backed Up His Brash Talk
Irish superstar Conor McGregor’s rise to the top of the UFC has been a quick ascent. McGregor would eventually become a double champion in the UFC and is one of the biggest box office draws in MMA history. A large part of that is McGregor’s ability to put on exciting fights.
But a bigger part of that is his ability to promote the event as well. One of McGregor’s most notable lines came in response to Jeremy Stephens, who had hurled an insult at McGregor during a press conference with all the fighters before an event. McGregor’s response: “Who the (expletive) is that guy?” drew major laughs and is an oft-repeated line.
The most intense McGregor’s trash talk got was leading up to his lightweight title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. McGregor had Nurmagomedov so mad that Nurmagomedov was overheard shouting, “Let’s talk now” at McGregor while he was punching him during a fight.
It wasn’t clear how deeply Nurmagomedov was impacted by the pre-fight build up until after the fight. Nurmagomedov would leap over the cage and attack Dillon Danis, who was McGregor’s grappling coach for the fight. Several members of Nurmagomedov’s team would jump into the cage to fight McGregor.
It was an ugly end to the biggest pay-per-view event in the company’s history.
The Bad Guy Was A Better Talk Than Fighter
Chael Sonnen had three opportunities to fight for championships in the UFC. It’s hard to say he deserved all of them. But Sonnen was a respectable fighter who took on a lot of challenges in several weight classes and promotions during his career.
Sonnen, who retired in 2019 with a 31-17 record, was excellent at cutting his opponents down to size with his words. Notably, Sonnen had a heated rivalry with Wanderlei Silva, where Sonnen routinely taunted Silva for his intelligence. Sonnen also attacked the Brazilian people.
Sonnen’s most important rivalry in the UFC was with another Brazilian, Anderson Silva. The trash talk leading up to the fight was intense. Sonnen claimed he was going to make Silva retire. He nearly backed up the bravado.
Sonnen was ahead on the scorecards in the fifth round when Silva caught Sonnen in a triangle and forced him to tap out. Sonnen’s trash talk leading up to that bout kept him in the title picture for years after.
Sonnen’s ability to trade barbs with others has led to other opportunities in the media for him since he retired from fighting.
Mr. Jackson Was Never Sorry
Quinton Jackson was never shy about speaking his mind. Jackson had many entertaining fights across the UFC, Pride, and Bellator before retiring in 2019. Before a fight with Chuck Liddell in Pride in 2003, Jackson was asked about Liddell’s prediction of knocking Jackson out in the first round.
Jackson responded that if Liddell planned on getting knocked out in the first round, that’s his business. Jackson would later go on to have heated exchanges with Wanderlei Silva, Rashad Evans, and even the UFC throughout his career.
Rousey Ushered in Smack Talk for Women
There is no doubt that Ronda Rousey had a lot of pressure on her plate. In addition to being the UFC’s first women’s champions, Rousey had to prove that her fights could make the promotion money. While there were many less-than-smooth moments, Rousey was able to lean into the trash-talking and intense fight buildups.
Rousey’s rivalry with Miesha Tate was one of the first intense rivalries in the sport. She would also have an extended feud with Cris Cyborg, but the duo would never meet up in the octagon, according to MMA news sites.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com
