5 UFC fighters who are their own biggest fans

#2. Ajamain Sterling: The accidental UFC champion

The story of how Aljamain Sterling became a part of this list is truly dramatic. Sterling challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title at UFC 259. Yan dominated the fight until he landed an illegal knee and lost the belt via disqualification.

Petr Yan lands clean. UFC 259: Yan v Sterling

Sterling expressed his disappointment at winning the title in such a manner. However, he soon started to flaunt and celebrate with the belt on social media. His actions led to an immediate backlash from fans who've been demanding a rematch ever since. Sterling had to go under the knife, putting the rematch on hold indefinitely.

Now fully recovered, Sterling believes he will beat Petr Yan in their rematch, a prediction with which very few agree. With supreme confidence in his skillset, Sterling hasn't hesitated in insulting the fans either.

#UFC bantamweight champ @funkmastermma tells @arielhelwani why he "leaned into" being the heel:"If this is what people are going to give me sh*t for, I might as well have fun with it."WATCH #TheMMAHour: https://t.co/2GyRihHss5 pic.twitter.com/46RMxPchTm

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 1, 2021

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#1. Luke Rockhold: Highest of highs, lowest of lows

No other fighter in the UFC may be as big of a fan of his own abilities as Luke Rockhold. Once a middleweight champion, Rockhold has some significant wins over former champions like Lyoto Machida and Chris Weidman. He believed himself to be the best fighter in all of MMA.

Rockhold after losing his title. UFC 199: Rockhold v Bisping 2

Luke Rockhold's faith in himself would not be enough to support his claims. In his first title defense, Rockhold lost his belt to Michael Bisping at UFC 199. Having beaten Bisping previously, Rockhold brushed aside the challenge and paid for it dearly.

Blachowicz after knocking out Rockhold. UFC 239 Blachowicz v Rockhold

Rockhold would then lose to Yoel Romero before moving up a weight class to light heavyweight. He lost his debut fight at light heavyweight via knockout in the second round against current champ Jan Blachowicz. Rockhold will return to the octagon at UFC 268 after a long break. He has already explained how he'll beat current middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, even though he is unranked.

Watch the Submission Radio interview below: