5 UFC fighters who copied others

The UFC is home to an array of diverse personalities and fighters. None of them are the same, as they each come from their own backgrounds and have their own unique tales to tell.

Even fighters with superficial similarities tend to be different. Both Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov, for example, are wrestlers.

Additionally, they both trained at the American Kickboxing Academy. However, they could not be more different in terms of their wrestling styles and personalities. Similarly, Colby Covington and Chael Sonnen are trash-talking former All-American wrestlers, yet their fighting styles and personas are different. Thus, it is curious whenever UFC fighters make the decision to copy other fighters.

Whether it was another fighter's mannerisms, post-fight interviews, or lingo, these fighters consciously copied others in one way or another to stand out.

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#5. Kevin Lee copies Conor McGregor

To many fans, Kevin Lee remains a 'What if?' story in MMA. At one point in time, 'The Motown Phenom' was a surging lightweight contender that the great Georges St-Pierre himself proclaimed as a future world champion. Unfortunately, the Tristar standout never lived up to his supposed potential.

Among the many things Kevin Lee tried to do to ascend through the UFC lightweight rankings was drum up fan interest in his bouts and himself. One of the ways he tried to do so was by copying Conor McGregor.

Early in his career, the Irishman took part in the UFC Fight Night 26 post-fight press conference.

There, 'The Notorious' spoke about his own wardrobe before humorously claiming that three people died making his gold pocket watch. Years later, at a UFC 211 media scrum, 'The Motown Phenom' echoed a similar statement by claiming that two buffalos had to die to make his glasses.

Lee went on to adopt much of McGregor's lingo by referring to people as 'bums' while swearing that a fight with him would change their lives.

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#4. Khamzat Chimaev copies Darren Till

Months ago, Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till struck up a friendship that captured the attention of the MMA internet community. The two men fight at similar weight classes. Darren Till's initial run was in the welterweight division before he transitioned to middleweight.

Meanwhile, 'Borz' goes back and forth between 170 lbs and 185 lbs. The two men have trained together and have become the subject of countless memes. At UFC 279, the undefeated Chechen phenom was originally scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout.

Unfortunately, he missed the 170 lbs mark by seven and a half pounds. Thus, the promotion was forced to reshuffle their fights, forcing Khamzat Chimaev to face Kevin Holland in the co-main event. After submitting 'Big Mouth' in two minutes, 'Borz' parroted part of Darren Till's post-fight interview from UFC Fight Night 130.

With Joe Rogan's microphone in front of him, 'Borz' echoed his teammate's "Say what now!?" with his own "So what now!?" It was part of a similar profanity-laden tirade down to Chimaev having the same inflection.

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#3. Kamaru Usman copies Conor McGregor

Former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has copied Conor McGregor numerous times. While the two couldn't be more different in terms of their fighting styles and personalities, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' has repeatedly copied the Irishman's words in the past.

While some believe it was merely an elaborate troll job by the Nigerian, it's difficult to determine whether that's true.

At the UFC 258 post-fight press conference, he echoed what 'The Notorious' had said at the UFC 205 post-fight press conference.

Like McGregor, he claimed that he wanted to see activity from his divisional rivals and that they can't simply hope that he'd pick them. He even used the Irishman's inflection when he said "activity." Furthermore, in an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, he claimed that it was "Green Panty Night" when fighters faced him.

This was a copy of Conor McGregor's infamous "Red Panty Night" line. Additionally, the Irishman once described Dustin Poirier as a great fighter before asserting that being great was still several levels below him. The Nigerian said the same about Jorge Masvidal.

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#2. Julianna Peña copies Nate Diaz

One of the greatest upsets in MMA history took place at UFC 269. Not only did Julianna Peña defeat Amanda Nunes, but she finished her with a rear-naked choke with no hooks in. It was a shocking result that left the MMA world stunned. Prior to the bout, no one would have picked 'The Venezuelan Vixen' to win.

However, her toughness paired well with her decision to interrupt her opponent's jab by landing her own jab at the same time. Eventually, 'The Lioness' grew tired and, by the second round, had nothing left in the tank. Julianna Peña emerged victorious and was crowned the new women’s bantamweight champion.

As Joe Rogan approached with his microphone for the post-fight interview, 'The Venezuelan Vixen' copied what Nate Diaz had said in his UFC 196 post-fight interview. Word for word, she exclaimed the exact same statement that Stockton's finest did.

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#1. Diego Sanchez copies Jorge Masvidal

Diego Sanchez is one of the most bizarre personalities to have ever competed in the UFC. He is the original TUF winner and holds the record for the most Fight of the Night honors by any MMA fighter. He was one of MMA's greatest action fighters and once challenged B.J. Penn for the lightweight title.

However, by 2020, 'The Nightmare' had overstayed his welcome. In his last UFC bout, he faced Jake Matthews in a preliminary bout. At the start of the third round, the former TUF winner stood against the fence with his arms folded behind his back. Once his foe advanced, 'The Nightmare' burst forward with a flying knee.

Unfortunately, he missed. It was a direct imitation of what Jorge Masvidal did against Ben Askren at UFC 239. 'Gamebred' had both arms folded behind his back before sprinting forward with a flying knee. The only difference, however, was that the 'BMF' champion's flying knee did land.