By Trevor Fik (Staff Writer) – Email
Long a staple of competitive sports, trash talking has increasingly taken the stage at many UFC events, adding a touch of controversy or a dash of excitement to a previously uninteresting fight card. It is now impossible to get through a weigh-in or post fight interview without a fighter sliding in a snide comment, putting down another competitor’s training or stamina, or taunting an exhausted opponent for a loss.
As we saw with the recent fight between Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera at UFC 127, trash talking has the power to transform a questionable choice as a co-main event into a dynamic and complex battle, but at what cost? Does this kind of immature and petty behaviour take away from the sport, or is it a necessary evil in order to keep viewers interested?
And why are we so interested? Is it the satisfaction of seeing somebody who has been running their mouth get physically punished for doing so, or is it the human desire for drama enveloped in the octagon that makes these battles more entertaining then the rest.
With the co-main event at UFC 127 ending with one opponent spitting at the corner men of another, a proper analysis of the effect of trash talking on the UFC is in order.
The biggest reason that we love to see a fighter engage in verbal warfare before the fight is the drama that often accompanies both men in to the octagon.
The most memorable battles, the ones that stick out in a MMA fan’s mind, are the ones that have a thrilling and often tumultuous back story. Frank Mir’s promise that his battle with Brock Lesnar would result in the first death in the octagon; Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva’s 2010 fight of the year at UFC 117, and the epic trilogy between UFC legends Frank Shamrock and Tito Ortiz. All three were each sensational not only for what went on inside the octagon, but for the actions of each fighter prior to the first jabs being exchanged.
It is inevitable that in a sport where competitors will engage in physical violence with opponents that adrenaline will soar to unprecedented levels and both men will get caught up in the rush of pre-fight smack talk. Some individuals, like Rivera, may do it to psych themselves up for a match they know to be far out of their league. A select few, like Sonnen, may be cocky enough to take the venom they spew as gospel, entering the octagon with an unmitigated sense of optimism.
As was the case in the Bisping versus Rivera fight at UFC 127, Rivera faced off against a much more well-known Michael Bisping. In order to ensure the fight would not be relegated to the back benches of the under card, and actually live up to its co-main event status, Rivera sought to up his stock in the middleweight division by taunting Bisping weeks before the fight through a series of online videos.
In this instance, as with the case of the Sonnen versus Silva battle, trash talking served to backfire on those who used it. Rivera lost in a controversial second-round knockout, while Sonnen got caught in a submission in the final round of the middleweight championship fight.
Where trash talking seems to take away from the sport is in its ability to undermine a highly-touted match up, as was the case at UFC 114 when Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson met in the octagon. While the fighters spent the better part of the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter in each others faces, the action inside the octagon was, in the words of UFC President Dana White, a “snooze fest.”
Instances like the Evans versus Jackson fight are few and far between however, and many of the most exciting matches today have been the result not of striking or the fighters jiu-jitsu, but of a few fighters’ comments before meeting in the octagon. Something that has been traditionally more at home in the halls of a high school then in a cage relegated for fighting has made its way in to MMA. Gossip, threats, and trash talk have made their presence felt in the UFC, and they are here to stay.
