Sherdog’s Top 10: Trash Talkers

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6. Ben Askren

Twitter is the medium of choice for fighters to express themselves, and nobody has done as much with it as NCAA wrestling great and former Olympian Askren. He is a fixture during fight nights and any major goings-on and is always ready to lay the trash-talking foundation for a future fight with a few pointed comments. Despite the fact that he and Johny Hendricks have not competed against each other since high school, Askren has hounded him relentlessly over the last few years and hyped a fight that is not even possible under current circumstances.

That is next-level trash talking, and it is only one example of Askren’s prowess. Following his last fight with Luis Santos, which was halted due to an inadvertent eye poke, Askren immediately called him out and claimed the Brazilian was simply looking for a way out of a matchup he was bound to lose.

Askren’s mouth helps to make him a marketable fighter, even for fans who are not necessarily enamored with his grinding, wrestling-based style. He makes no excuses about the game he is playing and understands the art of promotion on a bone-deep level. Viewers want to be entertained, and a little -- or a lot -- of trash talking goes a long way toward driving interest in Askren’s product.

Number 5 » His propensity for talking trash is the main reason why multiple promotions still seek the veteran’s services in 2015, many years past his prime and his relevance as an elite light heavyweight. The man knows how to sell a fight and play on his well-earned name value, and that is an invaluable commodity in a sport where fan familiarity is precious and rare.