10 Best Insults In The History Of MMA

Though victory in MMA may appear to be solely defined by 15 or 25 minutes worth of action inside the cage, outside of the physical combat, an extra front of psychological warfare often takes place between fighters hoping to gain any possible advantage available to them.

To some, mixed martial arts should take inspiration from the code of ethics contained in many traditional martial arts, instructing athletes to show respect to their opponents and conduct themself in a certain way.

Many fighters employ this strategy, choosing to let their fighting skills be their only instrument of combat.

However, it pays to remember that MMA is little more than an offshoot of prizefighting, and, as such, the name of the game is to earn as much money as possible while attempting to mitigate the amount of damage taken throughout the course of a career in the cage.

With that in mind, many fighters have taken to insulting their opponents as a way of building intrigue and anticipation ahead of an upcoming fight.

Some of these lines were so good that they have come to be viewed as iconic, and even sometimes as much a part of a fighter's legacy as their performances in competition.

When Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz faced off in 2017 you could hardly argue that the pair were in the prime of their careers.

Sonnen was making his return to the cage after a lengthy doping suspension had kept him out of action for over two years, while Ortiz was coming off a loss to submission specialist Liam McGeary with the Bellator Light Heavyweight title on the line.

Though the fight may not have had ramifications on the top 10 at 205lbs, the rivalry between Sonnen and Ortiz was as heated as it gets.

It turns out that Sonnen had defeated Ortiz on the latter's birthday nearly two decades prior in a collegiate wrestling match, and Ortiz was gunning for revenge.

While the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion would ultimately prevail when the two fought at Bellator 170, Sonnen undoubtedly decimated Ortiz in the pre-fight war of words.

During one of the press conferences to hype the event, Tito remarked that Chael's success in MMA was mainly down to his trash-talking rather than actually fighting prowess, prompting Sonnen to reply:

“Tito always says I'm using my mouth to get my opportunities. The only person that I know that made money using their mouth was his ex-wife.”

This was a reference to Tito's ex-girlfriend and mother to his twin boys, Jenna Jameson, who had previously worked as a pornographic actress.