5 times renowned trash talkers got owned during UFC press conferences

UFC pre-fight press conferences are media events designed to give fighters an opportunity to promote their bouts and generate interest in their careers. Often-times, trash talkers steal the show at pre-fight press conferences, embarrassing their rivals for the enjoyment of the fans.

More often than not, renowned trash talkers get the best of their foes in these verbal jousts, often driving their targets to the point of uncharacteristic outbursts. On occasion, however, fighters known for being incessant trash talkers either meet their match or are stunned by well-timed responses they did not anticipate from their targets.

It is a situation of exceeding rarity, but when it does happen, it catches the attention of spectators around the world. This list compiles the five times that renowned trash talkers were stunned at press conferences.

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#5. Luke Rockhold at the UFC 199 pre-fight press conference

While Luke Rockhold isn't a particularly witty or clever trash talker, he is effortlessly disrespectful towards his opponents. He constantly denigrates their skills while exaggerating his own, often coming across as condescending in his dismissal of his foes.

The extent of Rockhold's attitude is such that even after brutal losses, he never wavers. It's not so much that he comes up with excuses for his losses—it's that he barely acknowledges his losses ever even took place as he continues his verbal assault.

So, when he was scheduled to face former foe Michael Bisping in his first title defense at UFC 199, Rockhold's usual confidence was riding high. After all, he'd already defeated Bisping in the past.

At the pre-fight press conference, Rockhold described Bisping as "an average bloke," for which the Brit mockingly praised Rockhold due to his use of English terminology. Typically, Rockhold's opponents merely sit next to him, growing increasingly irritated as the former middleweight champion casually dismisses their skills.

Bisping, however, fired back, culminating in a now well-known exchange after Rockhold claimed that by conceiving and believing, he can achieve things such as defeating Bisping. In response, 'The Count' mocked his foe's words as being similar to quotes found in poor self-help books before snapping at him to shut up. This earned the laughter of Dana White in what became an embarrassing moment for Rockhold, especially given the loss he suffered to Bisping in the actual bout.

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#4. Ben Askren at the UFC 235 pre-fight press conference

After years of campaigning for the UFC to sign him, Ben Askren finally joined the promotion. The signing took place after the first official trade between two MMA organizations when ONE Championship signed former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson and released Ben Askren to sign with the UFC.

There was significant interest in Askren's transition to the UFC. At the time, 'Funky' was an undefeated wrestler who had captured championship gold in both Bellator and ONE Championship. While not everyone found his fighting style entertaining, his trash-talking certainly was.

Askren's casual and clever trash-talking style easily bothered his targets as he mocked their deficiencies as mixed martial artists. The wrestler also tore apart the personas that fighters embraced, such as Jorge Masvidal's hyper-masculine Scarface gimmick or Colby Covington's approach to generating controversy.

At the UFC 235 pre-fight conference, however, Askren encountered an unlikely foe who put him in his place. After subtly mocking Kamaru Usman with the 'Marty' nickname that 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was given during his time wrestling in Nebraska, Askren was caught off-guard by Usman's response.

The future welterweight champion poked fun at how long Askren had spent fighting for supposedly lesser MMA promotions by congratulating him for finally making it into the UFC and sitting at the press conference with his favorite fighters. Usman then offered to sign something for 'Funky' as evidence that he had, in fact, been in the presence of fighters who are signed to MMA's top promotion.

It was a moment that even renowned trash-talking great, Chael Sonnen, praised.

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#3. Conor McGregor at the UFC 196 pre-fight press conference

Prior to making UFC history by becoming the promotion's first simultaneous two-divisional champion, Conor McGregor was scheduled to face then-reigning lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. After fracturing his foot in training, dos Anjos was forced to withdraw from the bout.

With little time left, the UFC scrambled to find a late-notice replacement for Conor McGregor's upcoming fight at UFC 196. The UFC selected Nate Diaz, who previously cut an infamous promo calling out McGregor in his post-fight interview after defeating Michael Johnson.

In the pre-fight press conference for the bout, expectations were high due to Diaz's known reputation as an unapologetic trash talker.

It was the first time the Irishman had ever been scheduled to face an opponent with just as strong a history of mocking and insulting his foes. The press conference did not disappoint, with both fighters coming up with gems in their attempts at undermining each other. However, Diaz had a particular line that seemed to catch McGregor off-guard.

The Stockton legend expressed how little he cared for the Irishman's championship. McGregor quickly claimed that he didn't care either, only for Diaz to then question why, if 'The Notorious' didn't care about his championship, he paraded the title wherever he went. It left the Irishman speechless and was especially stinging given that his original matchup at the event would have seen McGregor attempt to capture the lightweight championship.

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#2. Conor McGregor at the UFC 264 pre-fight press conference

Dustin Poirier is no trash talker. Prior to the UFC 264 pre-fight press conference, hardly anyone would have been able to highlight any line in particular that the Louisiana native used to great effect in past promotional events.

Conor McGregor, by contrast, is the sport's most well-known trash talker. The Irishman is often credited with using trash talk to cause former featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo to uncharacteristically lunge at him, leading to his thirteen-second knockout win over the Brazilian legend.

By the time the trilogy bout with Poirier was booked, fans had not seen McGregor's patented trash talk since his lopsided loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. With a litany of controversies and legal issues threatening to taint his image, 'The Notorious' had no choice but to present a tamer public image when he made his return in the aftermath of his bout with Nurmagomedov.

When he faced Donald Cerrone, the Irishman was uncharacteristically respectful, as was the case in his first rematch with Poirier. By the time of his third bout with Poirier, however, McGregor was intent on getting revenge for 'The Diamond' publicly criticizing McGregor's failure to honor his promise to donate to Poirier's charity.

At the pre-fight press conference, McGregor was a pale immitation of his former self—much of his trash talk fell short of its past brilliance. When the Irishman was asked why he'd adopted a disrespectful approach for the trilogy bout, Poirier interjected, exclaiming that it was due to his foe suffering a knockout loss in their previous bout.

McGregor, uncharacteristically, had no answer. Poirier was quick to follow-up on his line and mock his foe's cardio program, McGregor FAST, by calling it 'McGregor Sleep'—a reference to 'The Diamond's victory over the Irishman.

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#1. Israel Adesanya at the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference

The UFC 276 pre-fight press conference quickly became the Sean Strickland show. While the more hardcore portion of the MMA fanbase was well-acquainted with Strickland's outlandish persona and callous trash-talking style, the casual MMA fans didn't have a single idea about 'Tarzan'.

At the pre-fight press conference, however, they were quickly introduced to Strickland, and he was well received. Israel Adesanya is known as the middleweight division's current leading trash talker. While the reigning champion isn't particularly witty or clever with his trash-talking, he's incessant, often belittling his opponents and talking over them due to perceived slights he regards as unacceptable on their part.

Check out Strickland's antics below:

Sean Strickland wasted little time before taking aim at 'The Last Stylebender' during the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference. The middleweight contender disparaged Adesanya's preference for sexually explicit anime, mocked his fashion choices, and taunted the reigning middleweight champion's loss to Alex Pereira.

Strickland asked the Nigerian what he shouldn't do, before suggesting taking a nap in the octagon as a reference to Adesanya's knockout loss to the Brazilian kickboxing great.