Opinion: ‘Big Sexy’ Knows Everybody Loves Bad Blood

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Known for his entertaining smack talk with opponents, both leading up to and during his three-fight UFC stint, Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle is getting into a war of words with upcoming foe Mike Hayes. Set to headline Champions Fighting Alliance 2 on July 23 in Miami, the two have traded shots in recent days.

In an interview at MMAfan.com, Hayes gave his assessment of McCorkle: “Well, since he can’t fight standing up to save his life, I think we all know that he’s going to try to get me to the ground; that is if he doesn’t gas out on the way to the cage. McCorkle has the gas tank of an electric car, so all I’ll have to do is survive the first two minutes, and then I’ll be able to do whatever I want.”

On a thread at The Underground forum that posted the interview, McCorkle fired back.

“He’s going to find out what a ‘real fighter’ is in two weeks and what a gap there is between a local bar room brawler like him and an athlete of my caliber,” he wrote. “Bad news for you, Mike: shaving your head, growing a goatee and getting tattoos doesn't make you tough. If it did, half the guys that ride Harley Davidsons would be in the UFC.”

As an ex-UFC fighter who built much of his buzz by posting on online forums and lobbying the organization for a slot, McCorkle’s path back to the UFC is spiced up a little with stuff like this. Time will tell if he can get back in the UFC, but it sure makes small-show cards on which he competes far more interesting. Everybody loves a bad-blood showdown.

Jason Probst can be reached at Jason@jasonprobst.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.