18 Best UFC Trash Talkers Of All Time Ranked (2023)

Are you wondering who the best UFC trash talkers of all time are?

In this article, we’ll look at the best UFC trash talkers, what makes them so good at it, and some of their best lines.

Best UFC Trash Talkers

One of the first things a martial artist is taught is honor and respect for an opponent. In the UFC however, trash-talking is an indispensable part of the UFC’s success and the success of each fighter.

It’s human nature and the fighting spirit that makes each fighter think they can win every fight; so trash-talking between two fighters puts their pride on the line, hypes up the fights, and gives fans an extra reason to invest their time and money into watching UFC events and related content.

It’s also used as psychological warfare to unnerve an opponent, get inside their head, and make them doubt themselves; but it can also be used as a mask for one’s lack of confidence.

It’s much easier to fight someone who you’ve had foul words with, rather than someone you’re polite and friendly to in the run-up to a fight.

Without further ado, here are the best UFC trash talkers ranked in order from the best.

1. Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is the pioneer of the trash-talking that became mainstream in the 2010s. Chael is the most creative in terms of insults and was also the best at slowly dismantling an opponent without cracking a smile – he was always deadly serious with his delivery which made it that much better.

Because of his quick-wittedness and intelligence, Chael rarely swore. He also never fumbled his words, was very charismatic, hilarious, and had incredible timing.

It’s well known that Sonnen talked his way into a title fight with Anderson Silva, and despite losing, his next fight was with Jon Jones.

Not only does he trash-talk fighters, but he also likes to rustle the feathers of interviewers and anyone else in his vicinity. Overall, Chael Sonnen is easily the most composed trash talker in the history of the UFC and can be described as a wordsmith.

What is Chael Sonnen’s best trash talk?
Some of Chael’s best trash talk includes a line he said to Tito Ortiz, “Tito always says I’m using my mouth to get my opportunities. The only person I know that made money using their mouth is his ex-wife.”

One of his funniest lines was when he said to Anderson Silva, “You can complain about your rib. I’m sure your rib did hurt. Your rib is inside of a coward, that’s the problem your ribs got. Got the same problem your hand and feet have, they’re attached to you, dummy.”

2. Conor McGregor

The second-best UFC trash-talker of all time is Conor McGregor. Evidence of this is how he became one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, coming from a sport where many people believe UFC fighters are underpaid.

His trash-talking was so elite that he even talked himself into a 9 figure boxing fight with arguably the best boxer of all time, Floyd Mayweather; without ever having had a professional boxing match before then.

Making his trash-talking so great was how he viewed it as simply telling the truth. McGregor has great delivery, is quick-witted, and has some of the best one-liners – he’s the most quotable UFC trash-talker in history.

He was one of the best at using his trash-talking as psychological warfare, where he’d do his homework on his opponent so he had plenty to say and could get inside their head and seriously irritate them.

While he’s excellent at insulting his opponents, his greatness comes from his ability to make the crowd laugh with his trash-talking and obviously sell a fight. He also tends to laugh at his own jokes, which makes them more hilarious than a joke usually was.

He was so good at annoying people that it even led the normally calm and grounded Khabib to start the infamous post-UFC 229 brawl.

What is Conor McGregor’s best trash talk?
Some of Conor McGregor’s best trash talk includes his line, “Who the fu** is that guy”, aimed at Jeremey Stephens after Jeremy had been talking about his knockout ability in a pre-fight press conference.

He also said to Floyd Mayweather, “Dress your fu**ing age! Carrying a school bag on stage, what you doing with a school bag on stage? You can’t even read!”

Another hilarious one was when asked about money, he said to Nate Diaz, “I’ll take over from here Nate, you can bounce. Take a coffee break, Nate. And by coffee break, I mean bring me my coffee.”

3. Michael Bisping

Trash-talking came extremely naturally to Michael Bisping, it was very much part of his personality. Bisping’s trash-talking strategy was being an asshole to his opponents in order to anger them before a fight and put them off their game.

In the UFC for 12 years, Michael Bisping spoke more trash than anyone else in the history of the sport of MMA, and everything just rolled off his tongue. He had hilarious feuds with Jorge Masvidal, GSP, Luke Rockhold, Anderson Silva, and many others.

One of his best moments was when Luke Rockhold was giving a motivational speech at the press conference and Bisping interrupted, “Sounds like the worst self-help book you’ve ever read. Conceive, believe, achieve… shut the fu** up!” This got a good laugh out of Dana White.

Off the cuff, Bisping was second to none, and it was no surprise to see him land a job in the commentary booth after his retirement.

4. Colby Covington

One of the most divisive UFC fighters of all time, Colby Covington is well known for trash-talking. On the brink of being released by the UFC for being a boring draw, Colby turned heel and let everyone know this was the case.

In his post-fight interview after beating Demian Maia, Colby screamed to the majority Brazilian crowd, “Brazil, you’re a dump. All of you filthy animals suck.” 

From this point onward, Colby was one of the most recognizable UFC fighters. He infamously said he wants people to hate him and that it’s his business model.

He became a no holds barred UFC trash talker who regularly crosses the line and even talks trash to the crowds at UFC events. Some examples include, “Jorge Masvidal is a piece of s**t father, he’s a piece of s**t fighter”, and, “the only life-altering damage he’s done is to his kids man! He’s a deadbeat!”

His most infamous feud is with Kamaru Usman, and one of his best lines was, “I feel so bad for Mrs. Usman, she’s got a cheating ass son, and she’s got a scammer ass husband, that must be shi**y in that household”.

Not only does he talk trash about his opponents, but about every possible UFC fighter in the promotion. He has seen how trash-talking is exceptionally effective for fighters in making a name for themselves, and he’s especially good at it because of his laid-back and couldn’t give a sh** attitude.

5. Dominick Cruz

Spoke of as the most intelligent UFC trash talker, Dominick Cruz’s expertise lies in making his opponent feel stupid. 

Cruz was an early adopter of mind games and mental warfare in MMA by playing on his opponent’s weaknesses and convincing them they were not good enough to beat him. Making it more impactful is how composed and analytical he is, and how he never has to yell or intimidate to get his point across.

He goes at his opponent with no emotion and sounds like the inner subconscious voice from the back of your mind. 

He also says everything seriously and speaks in a way that lures them into a battle of wits – where he comes out on top every time. If challenged, he has very quick responses and never fumbles on his words.

One of his best lines was to Cody Garbrandt, “I was able to buy a house with all the wins I got over your team”. His best trash-talking has been against Cody Garbrandt, Urijah Faber, and TJ Dillashaw.

6. Dana White

Dana White is easily one of the UFC’s best trash-talkers. Dana’s had numerous rants and is never afraid to speak his mind when upset or angry, no matter who it’s about.

One of his best rants was against illegal streamers. After White made it clear he was cracking down on illegal piracy, he was taunted online by a lot of stream hosts.

Dana White said, “I love how cool and tough these guys act on social media… we’ve caught a lot of people, they cry, they cry and they beg not to be prosecuted”.

He’s also had some notorious outbursts against referees, especially Steve Mazagatti. Dana famously went on a 9-minute rant against him, saying “he doesn’t know what the f*** he’s doing”, and labeling him as dangerous, a toolbox, and someone who will end up getting a fighter seriously hurt.

Not only this but he’s trash-talked many fighters over the years because that’s just the way he is and the way he operates the UFC. He calls fighters out for not signing contracts, not fighting others, having big egos, talking nonsense, and literally anything else he can think of – he lets nothing slide.

7. Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson

Quinton Jackson was one of the original UFC trash talkers. He was a jokester on the mic who would make fun of his opponent or anyone around him, but he would also turn deadly serious and insult and try to intimidate them once a fight was booked; he was Jekyll and Hyde (Rampage and Quinton).

One of his biggest feuds was with Rashad Evans, whom he both mocked and intimidated during their time as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. He impersonated Rashad Evans getting knocked out by Lyoto Machida and claimed he’d done the stanky leg – becoming an instant classic TUF moment.

His trash-talking would go any direction because he was extremely comfortable in uncomfortable situations whilst his opponent most often wasn’t.

8. Sean Strickland

Sean Strickland has no filter at all when it comes to trash-talking, but he does it with a smile on his face and great composure. 

He’s also one of the only fighters to talk trash no matter where he is: before fights, after fights, and especially during fights where he literally shouts at the top of his voice and goads his opponent.

In his first pre-fight press conference at UFC 276, Sean stole the show by trash-talking the public and starting a feud with Israel Adesanya, who wasn’t even his opponent at the event.

He made fun of Adesanya’s gyno, how Alex Pereira beat him twice, and he also said, “no man that beats to cartoons is gonna beat me”, referring to Adesanya’s liking of anime.

To the crowd, Strickland exclaimed, “You guys are a bunch of viscous bast**ds, hearing you guys talk, I wanna go down there and punch all you fu**ers in the face!”. Overall, Sean Strickland is a hilarious trash-talker and is one for the future.

9. Jorge Masvidal

Jorge Masvidal delivers lines hilariously and authentically. He often takes things personally and therefore means everything he says. One of his most iconic trash-talking lines was, “I gave him the 3-piece with the soda”, when talking about his backstage bust-up with Leon Edwards.

He also publicly assaulted Colby Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami, chipping one of his teeth and damaging his $90,000 Rolex watch; due to the trash-talking both had participated in.

When asked about the blows he delivered to Ben Askren after knocking him out with the flying knee, Jorge replied, “It was super necessary”, which became another of Jorge’s hilariously blunt lines.

10. Paddy Pimblett

Paddy Pimblett is one of the most charismatic and cheeky fighters on the UFC roster and has had plenty to say against his opponents in his short UFC career.

Before his fight with Jordan Leavitt, he talked about how Jordan has only ever fought inside the UFC Apex, and how he was now fighting inside the O2 Arena in front of his (Paddy’s) home crowd, he said, “lad his head’s going to fall off, this might be the first ever time someone sh**s themselves in the octagon”.

When asked in his post-fight interview if he’d like to call out anyone in the division, Paddy said, “Mark Zuckerberg, lad I’m gonna punch your head in. I’m sick of you lad.”

Overall, Paddy’s trash-talking is hilarious and there will surely be many more great moments to come.

11. Georges St-Pierre

It wasn’t part of St-Pierre’s personality to be insulting or hateful towards an opponent, so he was mostly humorous and condescending and liked to question people’s intelligence. His trash-talking was made funnier by his French-Canadian accent and the way he delivered many of his lines.

Some of his most famous lines are, “Are you intoxicated? You look like it” to Bisping, where they had many memorable trash-talking moments ahead of their title fight.

To Matt Hughes after defending his belt against BJ Penn at UFC 63, GSP said, “I’m very glad you won that fight, Matt, but I’m not impressed by your performance, and I look forward to fighting you in the near future.”

Before his fight with Nick Diaz he said, “You think I’m afraid of you, are you crazy in your head man? You’ll see Saturday if I’m scared of you”. He also later called him an uneducated fool. 

Overall, GSP used his intelligence and fighting abilities to trash-talk his opponents where he was unintentionally funny.

12. Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz was the original UFC trash talker. He was a high-pitched, cocky, and annoying personality who had various feuds throughout his career where talking trash to his opponents was part and parcel.

He was never a wordsmith but was great with his main aim of getting inside an opponent’s head by winding them up so that they lost their composure.

His best feud was with his rival, Ken Shamrock, with who he wound up better than anyone else ever could. His best line against Shamrock was, “I am Rick James and you are my bitch.”

He also had hilarious moments where Ken would give the most serious and intimidating lines, and Tito would just laugh in his face hysterically.

13. Nate Diaz

What makes Nate Diaz effective with trash-talking is his authenticity. He’s unintentionally funny, unrehearsed, and unfiltered. He also has a don’t give a sh** attitude and genuinely doesn’t care what’s said in a press conference, so you rarely see him angry or flustered.

His best trash-talking moments came against Conor McGregor, and one of his most hilarious lines was, “You were playing touch butt with that dork in the park”, referring to McGregor and his trainer. He also said, “You seem to have it all figured out when you’re fighting midgets… knocked out 3 midgets and you’re pumped up.”

Over the years, Nate has had many great trash-talking lines, but a lot of them go unnoticed because of his monotone delivery.

Nate also trash-talks and mocks his opponents in the octagon, which is more suited to his personality than the showmanship required during a press conference.

14. Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy’s trash-talking style was about disrespecting an opponent with a smile on his face to up the ante before a fight, sell tickets, and get inside their head. Dan was always composed on the mic and his trash-talking was often hilarious – offering typical English insults such as neckbeard and wan**r.

Throughout his UFC career, Dan Hardy always talked trash about his opponents, such as GSP, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, and Carlos Condit. He said of Josh Koscheck, “If you like Josh Koscheck, then you’ve not met the guy”.

However, following losses to GSP and a KO loss to Carlos Condit, Hardy toned down his trash-talking as he was continually made to eat his words.

Overall, his trash-talking worked as he landed a spot on the UFC commentary team, being known as one of the best analysts on the job. However, his trash-talking caught up to him and he was released by the UFC in 2021 after an argument with Herb Dean and an unnamed employee behind the scenes.

15. Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock was one of the earliest trash talkers and his style was all about intimidation – he delivered his lines extremely seriously as if he meant every word. His feuds with Tito Ortiz literally saved the UFC because their arguing and war of words got many fans invested in UFC 40.

In the pre-fight presser with Tito Ortiz, Ken said intimidatingly, “If I was you, I hope to God you come ready, because if you don’t, I’m gonna beat you into the living death”. Against many other opponents, this line may have worked, but Tito Ortiz laughed in his face which prompted Ken to kick up a chair.

Another great line to Tito Ortiz was, “I’m gonna knock your hair black”, and he also had a great comeback against James Toney after Toney called him gay, where Ken returned with, “You better hope I’m not, because if I am, there wouldn’t be a damn thing you could do about it.”

Overall, Ken Shamrock put on the front as a hard man but also didn’t care about what he said, making his lines funnier because they were unscripted and oftentimes stupid in order to sell a fight.

16. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Known as the Boogeywoman, Joanna’s trash-talking was always calm, collected, evil, and intimidating where she’d look to unnerve her opponents at every chance she could; especially during face-offs.

Before her fight with Claudio Gadelha, she called her a “little who**” in Portuguese. She said to Rose Namajunas, “Believe me, I’m taking your soul with me”.

And to Carla Esparza, “I’m gonna take this smile out on Saturday, you gonna see it.” She more or less took the belt away from Carla Esparza before they even stepped into the octagon as it’s well-known that she made Carla uncomfortable.

Her trash talk was always about intimidation and it worked perfectly during her strawweight reign. She’s easily the best female UFC trash-talker of all time.

17. Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland makes the list as one of the best UFC trash talkers inside the octagon. Not one to talk much nonsense in press conferences, Kevin Holland ramps it up on fight night when he continually talks to and taunts his opponent during a fight.

Perhaps his most hilarious was when he was on his back in full guard and said to Jacare, “That was nice Jac. That was nice too! Swear I had a dream about this.” Clearly mocking Jacare before knocking him out with a right hook from his back.

18. Frank Mir

As a trash talker, Frank Mir was confident, cocky, and arrogant.

Frank Mir was his most ruthless before his fight with Brock Lesnar. He said, “I hate who he is as a person, I want to break his neck in the ring, I want him to be the first person who dies due to octagon-related injuries.”

Frank absolutely crossed the line here but was clearly attempting to sell the fight against who he described as the marketing powerhouse.