8 Reasons Why MMA Fans Shouldn't Make Fun Of Wrestling

3. Trash Talk Came From Ali...But He Learned It From Gorgeous George.

"Trash Talk" (noun - informal) insulting or boastful speech intended to demoralize, intimidate, or humiliate someone, especially an opponent in an athletic contest. "Trash Talk" can also be defined as the art of being able to talk fans into paying their hard earned money to see you perform, and one name will always be synonymous with this skill: Muhammad Ali. The man known simply as "The Greatest" was an absolute master of smart one liners, colorful insults, and charismatic threats at his opponent's expense, and fans would snap up tickets in the hopes of seeing Ali finally get shut up. But while he was a pioneer of the promo in boxing, even 'The GOAT' borrowed from elsewhere. During an interview with a Philadelphia newspaper in 1992, Muhammad Ali shared: "Soon after I turned pro, I discovered that even though I won the Olympic title, I wasn't making any money. I was the only champion that didn't have no jack jangling in his jeans. So I studied Gorgeous George and began doing his act better than he did it. One night, I was watching Gorgeous George on TV. He was jumping around making a lot of noise and threatening his opponents and I said to myself, 'this guy's on to something.' I think I'll put some of that in my act." He also told reporters he probably owed Gorgeous George a lot of money: "Wasn't for him, nobody would have heard of me," Ali insisted."I didn't use no perfume or high heels, but I became real boisterous and the fans began paying attention to me. They hated my poetry and came to see if I would knock out my opponents in the round I'd predict. Fans would spend their money and rush to my fights, hoping to see me get my head whupped." The MMA world realized this too. When loud mouthed, arrogant fighters like Fans Tito Ortiz or Michael Bisping would talk smack during the build up, the interest levels would rise. Fans were willing to hand over money to see the big mouths get silenced, and buy rates went up. Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen literally talked themselves into main events and big fight purses. Big mouths will always lead to big box office, and wrestling's Gorgeous George started it all.