THE NEWER GENERATION of mixed martial arts fans might find it hard to believe, but there’s an even bigger trash talker in the sport than Ireland’s Conor McGregor.
That’s according to leading MMA media outlet Sherdog, who have ranked their Top 10 Trash Talkers in MMA, with McGregor having to settle for second place on the list.
McGregor, who fights defending champion Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title on 11 July, is kept off top spot by former middleweight and light-heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, who’s currently serving a two-year suspension for failing a drug test.
“In a little more than two years, Ireland’s McGregor has vaulted himself from the undercard of an international UFC Fight Night offering to the main event of what promises to be one of the year’s biggest pay-per-view cards at UFC 189,” writes Sherdog’s Patrick Wyman, who compiled the list.
“Endless wells of braggadocio and a limitless stream of trash talk have been the vehicles behind McGregor’s rise, and like Michael Bisping, fans tune in to cheer for him or to see him lose. Either way, however, they tune in, and that is what really matters.
“McGregor’s mouth has received so much attention that it has blinded many fans to the actual level of his skill. The best part about the Irishman’s motor-mouthed stream of chatter is that it is essentially his regular personality turned up a few notches.
“Ask people who knew him back when he was fighting in Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, and they will tell you that he was essentially the same guy even back then, before anybody knew who he was. McGregor was born to be a combat sports star, and the UFC has repeatedly given him the platforms necessary to make that a reality.”
Chael Sonnen might have edged McGregor off the top of the rankings, but the 26-year-old Dubliner is placed ahead of other charismatic fighters such as Tito Ortiz, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Nick Diaz.
– First published at 07.00.
