Sherdog’s Top 10: Trash Talkers

Few combine charisma with in-cage skill better than Conor McGregor. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

2. Conor McGregor

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. 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. According to McGregor, all-time featherweight and pound-for-pound great Jose Aldo is little more than a decision machine. Dustin Poirier -- “when he wakes up with his nose plastered to the other side of his face, he’ll know I’m not all talk” -- and Dennis Siver, “a midget German steroid head” -- caught less of it but more than enough to goad both men into responding in kind. After knocking out the German in January, he ran out of the cage into the stands to get in Aldo’s face, a meme-worthy moment that encapsulated McGregor’s entire rise to stardom in a single image.

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.

Number 1 » He is the most historically important trash talker in the history of MMA, and he elevated the idea of trash talking to a force that could transform the career of a lifelong mid-carder. His detractors will rightfully note that much of his material was recycled from pro wrestlers like “Superstar” Billy Graham or “Rowdy” Roddy Piper or that it was written for him -- and that is true. Nevertheless, in terms of the sheer quantity and quality of material, nobody else comes close to his level.