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The gift of the gab is something that combat sports athletes covet. Fighters in the UFC are no exception. A gifted fighter is one who has what it takes to impress fans with his talent inside the octagon, as well as that outside of it.
The line that exists between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable when it comes to trash talk and quotes is razor-thin, bordering on translucent. Therefore, it is no surprise fighters who tread these lines often dip their toes into the wrong side.
Talk that precedes and follows a fight is often adjudged as an attempt to bolster the marketability of an upcoming matchup or gain publicity.
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The UFC is chock-full of fighters who have made their way into the hearts of the MMA faithful with the way they fight and the way they sell their appearances. However, only a handful of competitors can compete with the ones that are listed in this article, if any.
Be it in the heat of the moment or to rile their opponents up, fighters often indulge in what fans and pundits could consider inappropriate. Here's a list of five UFC fighters who let their mouths run rampant. While some instances may come across as entertaining, that is certainly not always the case.
#5. Derrick Lewis - UFC heavyweight
Derrick Lewis' most iconic octagon interview took place after his win against Alexander Volkov at UFC 229 back in October 2018. Joe Rogan was surprised to see Lewis standing in the middle of the octagon in his boxers, having rid himself of his shorts.
When asked about the reason behind this avant-garde fashion choice, a visibly exhausted Lewis declared, "My balls was hot."
Derrick Lewis is highly regarded as a knockout artist. Boasting a record of 25-8-0, the heavyweight has recorded 20 of those wins by way of KO/TKO.
In addition to the dynamite that he packs in his hands, Lewis managed to become a fan favorite on the back of his quirky and candid responses to questions in interviews.
#4. Sean Strickland - UFC middleweight
While most fighters in the UFC would attribute the power behind their strikes to the hours they dedicate to training inside a gym or on the pads, Sean Strickland is seemingly not one of them. Choosing to go another way, Strickland revealed that the strength in his left hand comes from his tendency to please himself regularly.
While in conversation with the media in the aftermath of his UFC Vegas 33 fight against Uriah Hall, Strickland offered his two cents on his affinity towards X-rated films and more.
"Like, I don’t know if you’re having sex on the regular, but you gotta jerk off once or twice a day, man. If you don’t use it, you lose it. So to me, my porn addiction and jerking off, it’s nothing I want. I’m just trying to stay f**king angry and stay sharp, you know? I’m also left-handed, so that’s why my jab’s so good.”
He further went on to reveal that he had no moral objections to killing an opponent inside the octagon. In fact, he declared that he would proudly own it if an opponent of his succumbed to the injuries that they sustained while fighting him.
Sean Strickland also fell out with Belal Muhammad after making insensitive comments about the country of Palestine on Instagram.
#3. Henry Cejudo - Former two-division UFC champion
The self-proclaimed 'King of Cringe' is perhaps one of the most successful fighters ever to grace the UFC octagon. However, he is not devoid of his own set of mistakes and transgressions.
While Henry Cejudo has entertained fans with his tongue-in-cheek antics during pre-fight festivities and post-fight media obligations, this one instance marks the time he crossed the line.
'Triple C' found himself on the receiving end of a significant amount of flak for making racially charged comments about UFC bantamweight contemporary Aljamain Sterling. His comments about Petr Yan's Russian roots also landed him in trouble.
The former UFC double champ came under fire for uploading the following post on social media. He was heavily criticized for referring to the pair of bantamweights as "Aljamima" and a "communist potato."
#2. Colby Covington - UFC welterweight
Colby Covington is widely considered to be the UFC's in-house heel figure. Fans and pundits acknowledge that a lot of what Covington has to say is a part of the role that he plays.
Colby Covington was nuked by a myriad of fighters and a legion of fans after his comments about Tyron Woodley and the Black Lives Matter movement. In the wake of his triumph at UFC Vegas 11 against Woodley, who had used his platform to talk about BLM, Covington made comments that were perceived to be racist by many.
"He’s standing up for lifelong criminals. The Black Lives Matter is a complete sham. It’s a joke. They’re taking these people that are complete terrorists. They’re taking these people that that are criminals.”
Covington also got into a verbal scuffle with Kamaru Usman after his UFC Vegas 11 win. It came after he made comments that suggested Kamaru Usman's "tribe" contact him with smoke signals.
Colby Covington had previously come under fire for making similarly insensitive comments about Brazil and its citizens after defeating Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 back in October 2017.
In fact, UFC Senior Vice President David Shaw subsequently revealed that his comments were being reviewed by the UFC's code of conduct committee.
#1. Conor McGregor - UFC lightweight
Conor McGregor is perhaps the most well known fighter to have come out of the UFC. From hardcore and casual fans to those who don't watch MMA, the name McGregor is one that everyone has heard.
Having established himself as one of the greatest trash talkers in the business, the Irishman has thoroughly entertained the fans. However, he has frequently crossed the line when it comes to trash-talk.
Conor McGregor was heavily criticized for dragging Dustin Poirier's family into their feud after his most recent loss against him at UC 264. McGregor was even seen issuing death threats to 'The Diamond' and his family.
McGregor was also chided for his frequent tweet-and-delete sprees. In one, he trained his aim at Khabib Nurmagomedov's late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. During his 2018 feud with 'The Eagle', McGregor frequently referenced Khabib's family, religion and country.
