5 times UFC fighters paid dearly for trying to play mind games with their opponents
UFC fighters are known and applauded for their show of respect and admiration toward their opponents. Usually, fighters will square up without any ill feelings towards one another.
There are those times, too, when fighters "take the gloves off" and turn the mind games up a notch. This is also because the barrage of insults and trash-talking is known to affect fighters' performance in the octagon.
Today, however, we are going to look at the times when fighters paid dearly for playing mind games with their opponents.
# 5. Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3
In 2019, then-featherweight champion Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway was slated to fight top contender Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski. However, after two years as champ with three title defenses, Holloway lost his belt to Volkanovski at UFC 245.
‘Blessed’ displayed the spirit of sportsmanship and gracefully accepted his loss, earning his shot at the title with a rematch against Volkanovski at UFC 251. Despite Volkanovski’s proven skills as a fighter, Holloway was the people’s favorite.
However, come fight night, Volkanovski stood victorious over Holloway owing to a split decision win. Holloway and a large portion of the fans didn’t take too kindly to the judge’s controversial decision and expressed their frustration on social media.
Two years later, the two were headed to their third fight at UFC 276.
At the pre-fight press conference, the crowd helped Holloway by unanimously booing Volkanovski. Holloway rallied support from them by dubbing Las Vegas the "ninth island" of Hawaii and asking the crowd to dish out their dislike for the Australian. The people chanted and screamed wildly to drown out Volkanovski’s response. As they waited backstage during the ceremonial weigh-ins, the Australian even told the Hawaiian that his mind games had backfired and proved it in the fight.
Despite being booed on his walk to the octagon, Volkanovski secured a brutal win over Holloway. Not only did he beat Holloway by miles but even left him with a horrible cut above the left eye.
# 4. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2
Anderson Silva was at the peak of his dominance as the middleweight king when Chael Sonnen lost to 'The Spider' at UFC 117. Sonnen was given a shot at redemption during UFC 148.
Silva embodied the epitome of respect and skill, while Sonnen was the trash-talking brawler. From the very beginning, Sonnen had unleashed a barrage of verbal assaults on ‘The Spider’.
From cutting WWE-style promos to giving loads of interviews, Sonnen left no stone unturned. Sonnen took digs at Silva’s lack of endorsements, nationality, personality, and just about everything he could.
Fans were riding on the previous fight's expectations, where Sonnen clearly dominated Silva for four rounds, only for Silva to win via submission in the final round. During the fight, Sonnen took down Silva in the first round, but come the second round, 'The Spider' entered the matrix.
He avoided Sonnen's punches while presenting his face, which is when Sonnen missed a strike and fell to the canvas. Silva went in for the kill and decimated his opponent with a TKO victory.
# 3. Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor 3
Conor McGregor first faced Dustin Poirier at UFC 178, winning the fight via TKO and also bagging the Performance of the Night bonus. From there on, both fighters charted out storied UFC careers, though McGregor would head up to the league of champions much sooner.
Seven years later, ‘Notorious’ again faced off against his former opponent at UFC 257. McGregor was surprisingly non-confrontational and largely respectful to Poirier in the lead-up.
Once the fight kicked off, ‘The Diamond’ displayed his well-rounded skillset to edge past the Irishman. And in the second round, Poirier rained down a shower of punches on a wounded McGregor, whose leg was beaten from calf kicks, landing himself a TKO victory.
But seven months later, in the lead-up to their third rematch, McGregor was in no mood for niceties. In the pre-fight press conference, McGregor insulted Poirier’s wife and completely tore into him, even shouting and calling Poirier “Jolie’s wife.”
Unfortunately, in the fight, McGregor was getting tagged by Poirier despite having some good moments. At the end of the first round, 'Notorious' suffered one of the most horrific leg injuries in UFC history.
# 2. Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa
‘The Last Stylebender’ is perhaps one of the greatest middleweight fighters of all time. He holds a stellar record as a champion, is unique in his style, and is skilled to the extent of pure excellence.
So when Paulo Costa told interviewers that he didn’t know who Adesanya was, it sparked a fiery feud between them. From there on, both began to launch attacks at each other over podcasts and interviews. Costa even took to social media and began calling Adesanya a “skinny clown.” Things escalated further after Adesanya’s victory over Romero when Costa tried to jump the barriers and enter the octagon.
During the UFC 253 weigh-in face-off, Paulo Costa did his best to humiliate Adesanya. He threw a white belt at 'Izzy' to mock the Kiwi's jiu-jitsu skills and establish his own superiority.
However, after all the mind games, Israel Adesanya completely demolished Paulo Costa and successfully defended his middleweight title. 'The Last Stylebender' secured a TKO finish over Costa after just two rounds into the fight and added insult to injury with his post-fight celebration.
# 1. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
When McGregor moved up and beat Eddie Alvarez to claim the lightweight throne, is when ‘The Eagle’ called him out and said he deserved a title shot against him.
Between 2016 and 2018, a back and forth raged between the two fighters, eventually reaching a precipice involving McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov. Lobov made some comments about Nurmagomedov, which weren't received well, to say the least. 'The Eagle' confronted Lobov and issued a stern warning.
This was followed by McGregor and his teammates attacking the bus Khabib was riding backstage at UFC 223. Unsurprisingly, McGregor was deemed to be Nurmagomedov's first title defense opponent. At the pre-fight press conference, McGregor crossed all lines of civil conversation as he mocked the Dagestani's religion, country, and family.
The fight was nearly a one-way onslaught. Khabib Nurmagomedov controlled the fight all through, despite Conor McGregor's best attempts. In the fourth round, ‘The Eagle’ took the Irishman's back and defeated him via a neck-crank submission.