5 times good guys tried to play the 'heel' in MMA
As of late, the pro wrestling term 'heel' has been thrown around a lot in MMA and combat sports. The word, in pro wrestling lexicon, generally means 'the bad guy'. It's that one character who is not afraid of being booed or jeered by the crowd. Popular MMA fighters like Conor McGregor, Chael Sonnen and, more recently, Colby Covington have been labeled as such over the years.
.@DonaldJTrumpJr couldn’t have picked a better title for his new book! All I had to do was crack this bad boy open at my press conference and it melted every snowflake in NYC! Let’s “Trigger” every lib on the planet and make this a NYT best seller! amazon.com/Triggered-Left… #MAGA https://t.co/O5ZSC97l3E
Whether it's to sell a fight, stay relevant or simply be themselves, the heels have always drawn a lot of attention from fans. With the advent of social media today, drawing attention and stirring the pot has never been easier.
Our list discusses fighters who seemingly took the 'heel' route either to increase the hype behind their fight, express disdain for their opponents or manipulate the storyline going into a bout. Despite their obvious fighting pedigree, they fully embraced the role of a heel and garnered a lot of recognition and notoriety in doing so. That being said, let's get on with the list.
#5. Brock Lesnar, pro wrestling heel turned MMA heel
There's no better way to start this list than with someone who was an actual pro wrestling heel in the WWE. Brock Lesnar, with his size, physique, and scowling facial expression, can effectively intimidate anyone with just his presence.
His frightening aura, brutish style, and feats of incredible strength allowed him to have an excellent run as a heel in pro wrestling. Outside of his heel character however, people have noted that Lesnar is a really cool guy in real life. Just check out these videos from ESPN, where the former WWE champion pranked a couple of ESPN employees:
Lesnar left pro wrestling in 2004 to venture out into other sports like football and ultimately MMA. In his UFC debut, the NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion was pitted against former UFC champion Frank Mir at UFC 81. Despite early success, Lesnar was caught in a kneebar by Mir, forcing him to tap.
The second fight between the heavyweight duo was as one-sided as any bout can get. Lesnar exacted his revenge in devastating fashion at UFC 100 as he clobbered the Brazilian jiu jitsu ace to earn a TKO victory and deliver an iconic post-fight celebration and interview.
It was at this point where we saw heel Lesnar on full display. He egged the crowd on to boo louder as he berated his fallen foe. Seriously, it was like pro wrestling all over again. Only that Lesnar's heel persona in MMA seemed more rooted in real animosity. Here's a clip by Youtube user Kurtz Prometheus that shows Lesnar's heel work in its magnificent glory: