Rory MacDonald and the Most Unintentionally Funny Fighters in MMA History
There's a ton of room for unintentional comedy in MMA. One might even argue that identifying this comedy and harnessing it to help you perform daily tasks, like weeding your garden or dealing with the regular absurdity of MMA, is a true tentpole of healthy MMA fandom.
Among the emerging stars in this area is one Rory "Red King" MacDonald, who faces Robbie Lawler for the UFC welterweight title this Saturday at UFC 189.
That bout got us thinking. Who are the superstars who make it happen most? Who accidentally brings the hilarity? From the socially awkward to the emcee of the brodown, these are the most unintentionally funny fighters across the history of this sport.
More or less every fighter on this list happens to be (or has been) an elite fighter, which makes the accidental humor all the richer. There's a certain, shall we say, single-mindedness that goes along with that level, and it can often stunt development in other areas.
Got it? I'm pretty sure you get it. Here goes the list.
Honorable Mentions
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Listed in no particular order:
- Cody McKenzie
- Kimo Leopoldo
- Nate Diaz
- Aleksander Emelianenko
- Kazuyuki Fujita
- Tank Abbott
- Mariusz Pudzianowski
- Rolles Gracie
- Actually, all of the Gracies
8. Brock Lesnar
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Brock Lesnar might be the guy on this list who most puts the "unintentional" in unintentional humor.
It's not that the guy doesn't have a sense of humor. He does, and it's actually quite intentional. It's the stuff that comes at the expense of others, be it an opponent, a sponsor, his wife, MMA fans, an entire segment of the population, you know, stuff like that.
But that's just the backdrop for what really makes this talking landfill of library paste so funny. I mean, the guy has a sword tattooed on his chest—a large sword, the kind you swing with two hands. He can't correctly pronounce reasonably simple surnames like those of Frank Mir or Cain Velasquez. He gets disproportionately angry at things.
Oh, and he can't take a punch.
7. Tito Ortiz
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Tito Ortiz undoubtedly had a magnificent run in the UFC, winning fights and titles as one of MMA's "golden-age" champions in the early 2000s. But at this point, he's more Federline than Fedor.
In the MMA bubble, Ortiz is famous for being famous. The 40-year-old currently leads Bellator's novelty-fight charge—to pretty darn good ratings—by taking on the likes of Stephan Bonnar. (Yes, he has a light heavyweight title fight coming up with champ Liam McGeary. We'll see how that plays out.)
When he's not doing that, his personal life is literal tabloid fodder.
He also takes his masked man promos waaaay too seriously.
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6. Wanderlei Silva
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Oh, Wandy. You so crazy.
Wanderlei Silva has always lived life a little hot. Now that he's not fighting anymore, he's channeling that heat into his takes.
Maybe you "enjoyed" that little April Fool's Day prank that laid waste to an entire news cycle.
Maybe you enjoyed the visual of Silva literally running away from a drug tester, a stunt that got him banned for life in Nevada.
Maybe you've enjoyed some of his very strange YouTube ramblings against his various enemies, specified and otherwise.
There's no wrong answer here. As we've pointed out on this very site, he went from being the most feared fighter on the planet to a guy who's very difficult to take seriously.
5. Fedor Emelianenko
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If you're not familiar with the heavyweight GOAT's unintentional comedy, this picture is the best place to start.
When he's not being one of the great terminators in combat sports history, Fedor Emelianenko has a sort of disarming innocence about him. And frankly, it is rather hilarious.
Take, for example, the time he got lost in New York trying to find his way to an interview on The MMA Hour. Take any interview, for that matter: His answers tend to be Zen-like or childlike, depending on your mood.
Now add in the memes created over Fedor's love for ice cream and ugly sweaters, and you have yourself a clear star.
4. Rory MacDonald
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It's not as easy to describe Rory MacDonald's brand of unintentional humor as it is for some of these other guys.
The overarching modus operandi, I suppose, is the painstakingly buttoned-up demeanor with which he approaches his entire professional life. His default, both in the cage and in front of the media, is one of dour, almost awkward defensiveness. A feint here, a jab there. One fight at a time, ma'am. I'm just trying to be the best fighter I can be, sir.
As he sits there, peering out from inside his blue suit—oh, he's quite the clothes horse—he gives off the feel of someone just a bit overprogrammed. And that goes perfectly with his background as the kid who started training in MMA at the age of 14 and quickly became a prodigy at the vaunted Tristar Gym in Montreal.
The flip side is that he feels like someone who could really, truly snap at any moment. Hence his nickname, "The Canadian Psycho," a nickname he seems to hate. Having changed his nickname three times already, he seems really preoccupied with it. The same goes for his truly odd and ever-changing walkout song choices, although those were apparently selected by an impostor for a while. So who really knows.
What was I talking about? Ah, the snapping. So it seems like he might snap. Sometimes (though not always) he gets violent with opponents. Saturday, he'll have a chance to do that again.
He has personally described himself as "emotionless." But he gives away just enough of his own humanity that believing that is doggone laughable.
3. Ken Shamrock
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Ken Shamrock is the anti-Rory. I shouldn't have to explain this at all.
Shamrock is a tad intense the way Donald Trump is a touch flamboyant. The guy is 51 years old and still fighting. His recent sideshow with Kimbo Slice was the icing on the cake, but he's been competing in various countries and at various levels of legitimacy (bare-knuckle boxing, anyone?) for years now.
During his heyday, Shamrock was a notoriously rough competitor in his own Lion's Den gym and unnaturally white-knuckled at all moments. It culminated in some epic soundbites, like his promise to beat archrival Tito Ortiz "into the living death," a comment that drew immediate stage guffawing from the No. 7 man on this list.
It's a blessing for unintentional comedy fans that Shamrock is now apparently back in our lives. The wealthy Shamrock took to a trailer, Randy The Ram-style, Bible and gun at the bedside, to prepare for his bout with Slice, still sporting those 1996 sideburns all the while. How can you not enjoy this guy?
No question, Shamrock should be respected for the major contributions he's made to the sport. But come on. He's pretty funny.
2. Diego Sanchez
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YES!
Did you honestly think we'd have an unintentionally funny fighters list without Diego Sanchez?
NO!
Once known as a potential lightweight contender but now known more as the UFC's answer to The Human Cannonball, Sanchez perpetrates violence in the cage and a lot of strange, strange stuff outside of it.
How about the time Sanchez, fresh off an extended weight cut, thought that eating steak tartare—WITH raw eggs!—would be a positive dinner option?
That was pretty recent. But there's a tapestry's worth of history here.
A devotee of motivational speaker Tony Robbins, Sanchez makes his way to the cage screaming "YES!" in some kind of affirmation exercise. Spittle and Dracula-style crucifix provided at no extra charge.
He's also a fan of some unusual health methodologies, including stevia and apparently something called "Earthing." I don't know.
There's more, much of which any MMA or Sanchez fan would already be aware of. Am I concerned about this slide becoming TL;DR?
YES!
1. Nick Diaz
9 of 9Not Safe For Work! Not Safe For Work!
Do not watch this video if you are at work and/or offended by profane language. This is a content warning. Do not view!
I hope they're gone now. That would allow us to freely discuss The Most Unintentionally Hilarious Fighter In The History of Mixed Martial Arts. We need to break out the caps button here.
The Life And Times Of Nick Diaz have been well chronicled and documented. Most recently, who will ever forget his extended tauntfest on notorious taunter Anderson Silva, a fight he lost by decision but complained bitterly that he had won, then called for a rematch (but only in a ring!), then failed (another) drug test for pot?
If you're not a Nick Diaz fan, you are not, as the teens say, doing it right. All hail the king.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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