Famous last words: When trash talking goes wrong in MMA
241 days ago by Al Stover
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen exchanged trash talk before their fight at UFC 148
Trash Talking is one of the more entertaining aspects of sports. Many athletes will use it as a way of promoting an event, others will use it as a way to call out a rival and some will talk smack in order to gain a psychological advantage over their opponent.
The trash talking can range from someone mildly degrading the skills of the other team and the tactics of their coach, to blatantly insulting someone’s country and bringing up their criminal past.
While it may come off as disrespectful and insulting, trash talking can be something that can capture the attention of the audience and get them pumped up before a contest.
Some of MMA’s most famous moments have come from the smack talk and mind games fighters deal to each other at press conferences, post-fight interviews – or in the case of fighters like Nick Diaz and “El Guapo” Bas Rutten – during the fight.
Fighters like former middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, who critics say is the most exciting to watch during a fight, make up for it by throwing barbs and accusations at their adversaries before a fight.
Trash talk has also found its way on social networks where opponents can throw barbs at each other before the contest between them is officially set.
Although most fighters are known for backing up their trash talk, there have been several instances where a fighter will throw every cheap shot and offensive name they know at their opponent, only to lose the fight.
These are 10 instances where fighters talked trash, only to have it backfire on them.
Dave Herman
“He’s won 20 fights by submission – but we all know BJJ doesn’t work. It’s useless. Wrestling means you don’t need to worry about jiu-jitsu. I’ve never lost by submission and I am not worried about it at all.” – Dave Herman before his fight with Antonio Rodrgio “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 153.
Herman has been vocal about his perception of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and how it is an inferior fighting style. When it was announced that he would be fighting Minotauro Nogueira at UFC 153, Herman, who had never been submitted in his career, stood by his stance that BJJ was weaker than wrestling.
In the second round, Nogueira would catch Herman in an armbar. Herman rolled back, only for Nogueira to hold on to the submission, which resulted in Herman tapping out.
Chael Sonnen
“People can’t understand why I’m not getting caught up on the hype of Anderson Silva, but he can’t take the magazine covers and press stories into the Octagon with him. He’s just a man with two arms, two legs—and I’m going to beat him on July 7 because I want it more than he does…Everything I’ve done, everything I’ve worked for and sacrificed—everything I have in life—I would give it all away to be the UFC champion for just one night.” – Chael Sonnen during the UFC 148 pre-fight press conference.
While this speech is more subtle and less insulting than other things he has said regarding Silva, Sonnen threw any insult he could think of at the middleweight championduring their rivalry.
In both of his fights with Silva, he did everything from insulting the champion’s country to saying he was going to make Silva’s wife grill him a steak.
Although Sonnen was able to dominate Silva in the first round, Sonnen would fall victim to a vicious ground and pound by Silva in the second round after missing a spinning back fist, falling to the canvas, and receiving a knee to the chest by Silva.
After the fight, Silva invited Sonnen to his house for a barbecue.
Tim Sylvia
"Bring on Fedor." – Tim Sylvia before his fight with Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Banned.
After losing to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81, Sylvia signed with the new Afflicition promotion and would headline the organization’s first event against Emeilanenko, who was regarded as the best fight in the world at the time.
While this appeared to be a good fight on paper, the former Pride champion would only need 36 seconds to submit the former UFC champion with a rear naked choke.
Michael Bisping
"I haven’t been knocked out. No disrespect to 38 years of age, he’s got to be slowing down. There’s no two ways about it. I don’t think he’s going to catch me with it." – Michael Bisping before his fight with Dan Henderson at UFC 100.
Bisping and Henderson were coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter: Team United States vs. Team United Kingdom.” During the taping of the show, Bisping kept getting on Henderson’s nerves, trying to push him to the edge, which Bisping said is something "he feeds off of."
After a back and forth first round, Henderson would end up catching Bisping with an overhand right, then followed it up by delivering another punch to his opponent until the fight was stopped.
This would be the first time Bisping was knocked out in his career.
Nate Quarry
“He's got a weak chin, and I have heavy hands.” - Nate Quarry before his fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 56.
Quarry had only one loss on his record before stepping into the octagon with Franklin for the UFC Middleweight championship in 2005.
However the tables would turn as Franklin delivered a straight left that dropped Quarry to the canvas two-and-a-half minutes into the first round.
Brock Lesnar
"He says he is going to knock me out inside two rounds. That's his dream. The reality is that if I execute my gameplan, Alistair Overeem cannot win this fight." – Brock Lesnar before his fight with Overeem at UFC 141.
Although his time with the UFC was short, Lesnar, a former UFC Heavyweight champion and WWE superstar, was known for two things: his wrestling and his love for talking trash whether it was at his opponents, the fans or the sponsors.
After recovering from surgery Lesnar appeared to be back on the path towards the UFC heavyweight title.
When it was announced that Lesnar would be taking on Overeem, a K-1, Strikeforce and Dream champion, Lesnar said he it would be an honor to “get in the octagon and kick Overeem’s a**.”
Unfortunately for Lesnar, Overeem would finish the fight in the first round by TKO. In a post-fight interview, Lesnar announced his retirement.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
"He's good...he won’t survive three rounds with me." – Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic before his fight with Brendan Schaub at UFC 128.
Although Cro Cop is known as one of the most dangerous strikers in mixed martial arts, his tenure was not as successful as some of the other Pride fighters who made the transition to the octagon.
In his second to last UFC bout, he faced Schaub, who was riding a three-fight winning streak.
While Filipovic said he was going to show Schaub that he “was still a rookie,” he was unable to last the entire fight as Schaub would knockout Cro Cop in the third round.
Ken Shamrock
“I’m going to teach him a lesson in humility.” – Ken Shamrock during his rivalry with Tito Ortiz.
Before the Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva feud, Shamrock and Ortiz had the biggest rivalry in mixed martial arts. The two fighters who despised one another would eventually face each other at UFC 40 in a fight that was dubbed “the biggest fight in UFC history.” Ortiz would win the fight Shamrock’s corner threw in the towel.
The rivalry between Ortiz and Shamrock was not over and they would face each other two more times, with Ortiz finishing Shamrock in the first round of both fights.
Tito Ortiz
"He says it felt like three gorillas were on him when I was on top of him. Well, I'm healthy. I'm stronger. Now it's going to feel like 10 gorillas are on you, buddy." – Tito Ortiz before his fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 133
Ortiz had just come off of a huge win over Ryan Bader at UFC 132. When Evans’s opponent Phil Davis backed out of the fight due to injury, Ortiz stepped in on short notice. Evans and Ortiz had previously faced off in 2007 that resulted in a draw.
Although Ortiz came close to finishing the fight in round two, Evans gained control of the top and finished Ortiz after delivering a knee to the chest and shots to the body.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
"When I beat Wanderlei, I'm a take his belt, pull his pants down and spank him for bein so ugly."- Quinton “Rampage” Jackson before his fight with the “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva at Pride 28.
One of the biggest rivalries in Pride was between Rampage and Silva.
The Axe Murderer defeated Jackson in the finals of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix by TKO. Rampage was able to climb up the ranks by defeating Ricardo Arona and Ikuhisa Minowa to face Silva in in a rematch in 2004 for the Pride Middleweight championship.
Jackson was able to survive the first round with Silva, even catching the champion with a shot that put him on his back. In the second round, Silva was able to catch Rampage in the clinch, delivering several knees before Jackson fell unconscious into the ropes.
Rampage would avenge those two losses by knocking out Silva at UFC 92.
Have a favorite trash talking moment? Comment in the box below or send a tweet to @alstover with the hashtag #RantMMA
Exclusive: Roy Nelson talks TUF, potential fight with Dana White
245 days ago by Dave Hilts
With an eccentric sense of humor and self, Roy Nelson has made a name for himself outside the Octagon with his over-the-top antics and statements. Often branded as an individual lacking intelligence, Nelson has left fans of the sport speechless on countless occasions. Inside the Octagon, however, Nelson has made a name for himself [...]
WWE Star Dave Bautista Wins First MMA Fight
253 days ago by Caleb McAllister
Former professional wrestler Dave Bautista competed in his first mixed martial arts fight this weekend at age 43 at CES MMA in Providence, R.I. He took a beating in the first round, but won by stoppage in the second round after his opponent gassed. Bautista – or “Batista,” as he is more commonly known to [...]
MMA Picks: My favorite entrances
289 days ago by Al Stover
As a mixed martial arts fan, I have seen a countless number of entrances over the years. A fighter’s entrance can sometimes tell us what mindset they are in before the fight stars. Some fighters have picked music that they relate to, whether it is because it’s a song that they worked out to in [...]
UFC News: Daniel Cormier will Face Frank Mir: Tim Sylvia is Shocked
300 days ago by Colin Barton
It was announced a few weeks ago that the Strikeforce heavyweight grand-prix winner Daniel Cormier will be facing UFC heavyweight and former champion Frank Mir. This will definitely be an interesting match-up for both fighters. Cormier has excellent striking and Mir has excellent submissions, but who will control the fight? This is old news but [...]
Video: Jon Jones in UFC FOX commercial
512 days ago by rayang
UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones appeared in ads during the NFL playoffs this weekend to promote the next UFC event on Fox. Bones uses his length/kicking for a different purpose: Kinda funny how the Fox event features Rashad Evans vs Phil Davis for a shot at Bones’ title and Bones is appearing in these [...]
Georges St. Pierre gets called out by comedian
531 days ago by rayang
UFC welterweight king Georges St. Pierre has to worry about getting back into fighting condition and facing either Nick Diaz or Carlos Condit. Now he’s got something else to worry about: comedian Chris Gethard appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s show and called GSP out. Gethard also uploaded a clip to Youtube to explain his actions:
2011 Highlight of the Year: Rousimar Palhares’ premature celebration
542 days ago by rayang
Rousimar Palhares is no stranger to the highlight reels, both good and bad. He made his UFC main card debut in a match against Dan Henderson, and he’s beaten guys like Jeremy Horn. Paul Harris has developed a reputation as a super strong submission artist. However, he has also held submissions too long (leading to [...]
