5 times renowned trash talkers got owned during UFC press conferences

#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.