5 UFC stars whose ability on the microphone was more exciting than their fighting skills

To succeed in the UFC, naturally, a fighter must have stellar abilities inside the octagon. However, to become a genuine megastar, a fighter needs to have skills on the microphone, too.

Over the years, we’ve seen a number of excellent microphone workers in the UFC. Surprisingly, there have been a handful of them whose bark was often more menacing than their bite.

Any fighter who makes it to the world’s biggest promotion has to be great, of course. However, it’s safe to say that sometimes, it’s possible to produce more fireworks on the microphone than inside the octagon.

With that in mind, here are five UFC fighters whose skills on the microphone were more exciting than their fights.

#5. Sean Strickland – current UFC middleweight contender

While current UFC middleweight title contender Sean Strickland has been around the promotion for a long time now, dating back to his 2014 debut, it’s safe to say that ‘Tarzan’ has only really come to the forefront recently.

Strickland has worked his way towards the top of the middleweight division by consistently winning his fights, as he’s now 5-0 since moving to 185 pounds in 2020. However, he’s also garnered plenty of recent headlines due to his unique abilities on the microphone.

Nobody would really claim Strickland is a fountain of charisma, but he’s certainly an outspoken and confident fighter. Recently, he’s come out with more outlandish statements than ever before.

2021 saw him admit to a previous existence as a Neo-Nazi, as well as claim that his ultimate goal was to kill someone inside the octagon. Meanwhile, he’s also become renowned for talking plenty of trash during his fights.

This odd nature has caused the likes of former middleweight champion Michael Bisping to label ‘Tarzan’ a “psychopath.” In fact, he doesn’t fight like a crazy man at all. If anything, he’s more cerebral and his most recent bouts have seen him utilize almost a point-fighting style.

All of this adds up to the suspicion that Strickland is simply using his outlandish personality to draw the fans in, as based on his most recent bouts, he isn’t likely to gain any awards for being an exciting fighter any time soon.