Khamzat Chimaev and 4 other UFC fighters who embraced heel personas
In the UFC, certain fighters make it their mission to generate as much interest in their bouts as they possibly can. Often-times, this manifests in behavior meant to enrage their colleagues and even fight fans.
They might verbally eviscerate the city that a UFC fight card is being hosted in. Others, like Colby Covington and Chael Sonnen, take it a step further by trash-talking an entire country.
Both men styled themselves as super-villains with the specific aim of drawing in as many eyeballs to their matchups as they could. However, there are fighters who became super-villains or 'heels' without ever intending to do so, but accepted their fate nonetheless.
Last Saturday, Khamzat Chimaev left UFC fans indignant after he missed weight for his scheduled bout against Nate Diaz. The Chechen phenom's attitude following the MMA media's coverage of the events has inspired this list.
Here we look at Chimaev and 4 other UFC fighters who embraced the super-villain role in the UFC.
#5. Greg Hardy
NFL export Greg Hardy is one of the most perplexing signings the UFC has ever made. With only three amateur bouts and three professional bouts prior to officially joining the promotion, Hardy was a highly inexperienced mixed martial artist.
Yet, the UFC signed him regardless of how poorly prepared he was for professional MMA bouts. This was primarily because of his notoriety in other sports.
'The Prince of War' also brought a controversial past marred by the domestic violence fiasco that has hounded him ever since.
Despite Hardy's best attempts at rehabilitating his image, fight fans never accepted him. His disqualification loss in his first-ever UFC fight after he landed an illegal knee to a downed opponent certainly didn't help matters.
His experience with the fans only worsened as he was often booed and heckled. While Hardy seemed initially intent on making a better impression on fight fans, he embraced their hatred for him by adopting a heel persona.
He criticized the athletic landscape of the heavyweight division and promised he would end his career as the greatest heavyweight in history. He also described himself as the most dangerous man on the planet and the greatest athlete in the world.
Lastly, Hardy branded fan-favorite Tai Tuivasa a "liar" and a "crybaby" who feared him so much that he wouldn't give him a rematch. However, Tuivasa knocked him out in the first round of their match, at UFC 264.
Despite his bold statements designed to incense fans, Hardy's final UFC bout also ended in disaster as he suffered another 1st round knockout loss, this time to Sergey Spivak.