5 times it backfired badly when UFC fighters disrespected their opponents
Trash talking in mixed martial arts is an extremely risky game, because one second you could find yourself on top of the world and the next you could be staring up at the lights. It's a dramatic fall for a lot of top level fighters and that's why a lot of them keep their opinions to themselves in the build up to a big bout. Unfortunately, not everyone takes that idea on board.
Over the years there have been so many instances of a fighter getting cocky, talking some trash and then winding up with a big fat "L" in the stats column. However, every so often, you get a case where the fighter has been so disrespectful one way or another that you go into the fight expecting them to pick up the win just because of how confident they were.
So, when they don’t follow through on that, it can be quite rewarding and satisfying for the viewing audience. Naturally, the person who knocked them off their perch enjoys celebrating the win a bit more than usual, but as fans, it draws comparisons back to the old school days of professional wrestling when a good guy would triumph over the evil bad guy, more often than not.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five fighters who disrespected their opponents only for it to backfire.
#1 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
When Conor McGregor stepped up to the plate and went to Welterweight for a fight with Nate Diaz, the response was mixed. Some felt that it was a ridiculous move while others believed that the Irishman knew exactly what he was doing.
Either way, it was set to be an intriguing fight and Conor decided to ramp up the excitement by constantly talking down to his opponent Nate who he was facing on short notice.
But oh, what a mistake that was. The Irishman showed Diaz an unbelievable amount of disrespect and in turn, Diaz proved what a tough fighter he was by taking endless amounts of punishment during their first contest at UFC 196.
McGregor began to get quite tired during the second round, with Diaz choking him out and proving that stepping up in weight classes wasn't as easy as McGregor originally anticipated.
Moving on to one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history.