5 current day UFC fighters who have the most likable personas

#2 Roxanne Modafferi – Former UFC flyweight title contender

Roxanne Modafferi is highly likable, partially because she's a self-confessed geek

It stands to reason that any fighter with a nickname like ‘The Happy Warrior’ is probably going to be likable – unless the nickname is filled with sarcasm, of course. Thankfully, in the case of UFC flyweight contender Roxanne Modafferi, it’s entirely sincere.

A veteran of over 40 fights, 10 of them in the UFC, Modafferi has been around the sport of MMA forever and has fought a who’s who at both bantamweight and flyweight. And incredibly, it seems like no other fighter has a bad word to say about her.

Take her stint on the 18th season of The Ultimate Fighter, for instance. While there was plenty of tension during the season, largely due to the coaching rivalry between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, it felt like both teams of fighters adored Modafferi, and for good reason.

Haha! I’m not super sexy, or super scary, but I’m super geeky and proud of it!! #nerd #ufc #mma #geek #anime #otaku #HappyWarrior @ufc pic.twitter.com/OvpspkqR9H

— Roxanne Modafferi (@Roxyfighter) September 14, 2018

Essentially, ‘The Happy Warrior’ is a self-confessed geek who is into Japanese culture, anime, Star Wars and Dragon Ball Z. She doesn’t see MMA as any kind of war and simply views it as a form of competition. This means she never needs to build up any dislike of her opponents in order to prepare herself for a fight.

In turn, this humble, happy-go-lucky persona means that it’s impossible for any fan to dislike her. In fact, most fans love her despite her struggles to compete with the flyweight division’s best fighters.

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#1 Brandon Moreno – UFC flyweight champion

Brandon Moreno's childlike enthusiasm for MMA means he's a highly likable character among fans

When Brandon Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo to win the UFC flyweight title at UFC 263, many observers were surprised with the positive reaction he received from the fans.

After all, ‘The Assassin Baby’ has never received a huge push from the UFC as a potential star. In fact, his first stint with the promotion saw him cut from his contract after a pair of back-to-back losses to Sergio Pettis and Alexandre Pantoja.

However, Moreno simply has a likable charisma that ensures fans gravitate towards him. Most of his likability factor comes from his sheer enthusiasm.

In 2018 Brandon Moreno was cut from the UFC.Three years on he became flyweight champion at #UFC263.And he couldn't keep his eyes off his new belt 😍 pic.twitter.com/WPOnsWEycq

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) June 13, 2021

The Mexican approaches every fight with the same straight-ahead style, never backing down from any opponent, and it’s hard for fans not to respect that.

In a lot of respects, it appears that Moreno has an almost childlike enthusiasm for fighting inside the octagon. This is a huge contrast when compared to some of his peers, who clearly treat every fight like a matter of life and death.

Add in the fact that ‘The Assassin Baby’ is a humble fighter who appreciates the opportunities he’s been given, and it’s very easy to see why he’s got one of the most loveable personas in the UFC today.