Brock Lesnar, Chael Sonnen and the 20 Greatest Entertainers in MMA History

For many MMA fans, the 15-25 minutes spent watching two fighters compete is the destination of a long journey of pre-fight hype.

Hearing two fighters banter back and forth is sometimes more entertaining than the actual bout. It's amazing what a fighter will say when given the break from the solidarity of training. Some fighters are expert hype men, making us believe their every word on the way to their fight.

The strikes and grappling moves may keep our attention on the fight at hand, but there's no doubt these fighters grab our attention in the moments leading up to the climatic clash.

For better or worse, in the MMA world, these fighters are the most entertaining in the sport's history.

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber was the biggest star during the "dark" years of the WEC. There's been very few cases of a single fighter carrying the weight of an entire promotion, yet Faber did just that with his tenure in the WEC.

Possessing a typical laid-back California personality, Faber became a fighter a lot of fans could relate to as he truly seemed like "just another guy." However, the real entertainment from Faber begins as soon as the cage door closes.

Faber has one of the most exciting styles by blending his wrestling background with lightning-quick strikes. When Faber competed in the WEC, he looked like a 145-pound tornado while on top of the featherweight division.

Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy became everyone's favorite fighter when he became the No. 1 contender to Georges St-Pierre's welterweight crown. Hardy somehow tagged us along, like James Woods, and made us think he was really going to put leather on St-Pierre's face.

Hardy not only wasn't able to land anything of note, but he was dominated for the entire duration of the fight. That loss started a chain of bad luck that has seen the British bad boy lose four straight fights in the UFC.

Most fighters find themselves in the unemployment line after losing two or three fights at most, but Hardy's entertaining style both in and out of the Octagon have kept him under Zuffa contract.

Pat Barry

Pat Barry is nowhere near a title shot on anyone's ranking sheet, but that doesn't mean he isn't one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.

Barry became a huge hit with his thunderous kickboxing style, not to mention the story of him surviving on ketchup and rice prior to his big payday victory over Antoni Hardonk. Barry used his newfound popularity to launch a series of funny pictures through the Internet.

Photos like this, this and this have made Barry a hit with fans despite a mediocre MMA career.

Fedor Emelianenko

Hard to believe a man could entertain millions while speaking very little, but that's just what Fedor Emelianenko has done for years.

The emotionless stare put all MMA fans into a trance where we wondered what was going on behind the stone-cold gaze. Fortunately for us, we didn't have much time to think as Emelianenko quickly entertained MMA fans with his aggressive style.

Emelianenko took on the best in the world at the time and beat them at their own game. His legendary bouts with Mirko "Cro Cop" and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are still considered some of the best in MMA history.

Josh Koscheck

The Josh Koscheck fan club may be in the minority of fan groups in MMA, but Kos remains one of the most entertaining fighters in UFC history. Entering the sport as a pure wrestler, Koscheck has become one of the most heavy-handed hitters in the welterweight division.

Koscheck's first run at entertaining fans was during the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter as the villain everyone loved to hate. Fans would tune in each week that Chris Leben was on the show in an effort to see if the two men would finally come to blows.

Ultimately, Koscheck would move on to bigger and better things, but he certainly knew how to turn a crowd against him.

Frank Mir

Frank Mir began his UFC journey as a young cocky fighter that had serious submission skills. He used those submission skills to snap Tim Sylvia's forearm and win the UFC Heavyweight title.

His return from a motorcycle accident showed the former champion hadn't reached the commitment level needed to become a champion again. However, Mir always had something entertaining to say.

After being badly beaten by Brock Lesnar in their rematch, Mir found new levels of dedication that allowed his fighting talent to finally match his hype ability.

Mir brings not only an exciting array of jiu-jitsu skills to fight fans but also one of the most outspoken minds in the business.

Randy Couture

Not bad for an old man, eh?

Randy Couture has made a career out of defying the odds. Because he didn't start his MMA career until his 30s, fans could've never predicted the longevity of Couture's career. Each time a younger, faster, stronger opponent came his way, Couture shocked us all.

Following the success of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Couture became a superstar along with Chuck Liddell, a man he just happened to be involved in a great rivalry with.

He never made any headlines with his personality, but Couture will go down as one of the biggest fan favorites and most entertaining fighters in MMA history.

Wanderlei Silva

Wanderlei Silva may not speak very much English, but he doesn't have to because his fighting style translates to excitement in any language.

Silva has been described as many things throughout his career, but one thing he hasn't been called is boring. For better or for worse, Silva gets into his opponent's face and swings as hard and as fast as he can.

"The Axe Murderer" made a name for himself in the Pride organization and became an even bigger star during his tenure with the UFC despite not having the best of records. Silva will always be one fighter that all fans can universally agree to like and tune in to see.

Tito Ortiz

While reigning atop the UFC's light heavyweight division, Tito Ortiz became a megastar in the fight business.

Ortiz made waves through the MMA world with his rivalry with the Lion's Den crew, which included such big MMA names like Guy Mezger and Ken Shamrock. Ortiz's rivalry with the later would become one of the biggest rivalries in MMA history.

His recent years in the UFC haven't been as fruitful for the former champion, but Ortiz's legacy should remain untainted. He was the perfect anti-hero when placed up against Chuck Liddell and in his rivalry with Dana White.

Quinton Jackson

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will go down in MMA history as one of the most exciting, most colorful characters in the sport. Jackson was famous for his strength and slams while competing in Pride.

Besides having superhuman strength, Jackson also had one of the most colorful personalities, entertaining us every time he was on TV. Jackson was featured twice on The Ultimate Fighter as a coach due to his popularity with the fans.

Perhaps the saddest part of Jackson's career recently is his lack of an ability to evolve his game, which has produced some tough times for "Rampage" and his fans.

Chuck Liddell

Not only one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, Chuck Liddell remains one of the most entertaining fighters as well.

His appearance alone would erupt in uproar from MMA fans. Liddell's signature right hand wasn't too bad either. Coaching on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter brought Liddell to the forefront of the UFC, and he carried the weight of the promotion in stride.

Liddell is one of the most dangerous KO artists in MMA history, which no doubt helped contribute to his popularity as fans love a KO. It's also one of the reasons it was so sad to watch one of the best champions in MMA history be consecutively knocked out in his last handful of fights.

Regardless of how his career ended, Liddell will go down as one of the most popular and entertaining fighters to ever step inside the Octagon.

BJ Penn

Fans love to crack jokes about BJ Penn's past few performances and lack of cardio, but there's no denying he's always entertaining.

It could've been so easy for Penn to drag his opponents to the mat and use his superior jiu-jitsu skills to defeat his opponents. Instead, Penn would become one of the best boxers in MMA and chose to trade shots instead of going for takedowns.

His personality often divided fans, which made you either love or hate the Hawaiian fighter. Regardless of his personality outside the cage, I think everyone can agree Penn embodies the fighting spirit.

Mauricio Rua

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua broke into the MMA scene in a big way during his tenure in Pride. The 2005 Grand Prix champion made a highlight reel moment nearly every time he stepped into the ring.

Rua's UFC career got off to a rocky start when he dropped a fight to Forrest Griffin, but the Brazilian rebounded and worked his way to a UFC title shot. In one of the most hotly contested bouts in UFC history, Lyoto Machida eked out a razor close decision victory.

An immediate rematch was given to Rua, and this time "Shogun" capitalized on his opportunity by winning the title. Rua was dominated by Jon Jones in his first title defense, but Rua's last two bouts have been nothing short of pure entertainment.

The first was his rebound win in Brazil, and the other was one of the best fights in MMA history.

Rua likely doesn't have another title run in him as long as Jones is the champion, but he will always be entertaining until his last fight.

Mirko 'Cro Cop'

One of the top things fans love about MMA is a knockout. Every fan that loves a KO undoubtedly loves Mirko "Cro Cop."

For years "Cro Cop" was the most feared striker in the heavyweight division and perhaps in the entire sport of MMA. His patented "right leg, hospital, left leg, cemetery" line resonates throughout history as one of the most memorable quotes.

When "Cro Cop" came to the UFC, he just didn't seem like the same fighter, and it was a sad stretch of fights to watch a fan favorite like "Cro Cop" fall.

Jon Jones

What more can be said of Jon Jones' current run atop  the UFC ladder? He defeated a Ultimate Fighter winner and three former world champions in a single calendar year.

Other than being utterly dominant thus far in his career, Jones possesses some of the most unorthodox, exciting maneuvers in UFC history. He's also made plenty of enemies along the way.

MMA fans have made Jones a polarizing figure based on his "cocky" personality. You know it's bad when being labeled a "Jones fan" is considered a bad thing.

The negativity doesn't seem to bother Jones, who continues to win and continues to smile.

Roy Nelson

Roy Nelson annoys a lot of MMA purists, but to the majority of fans he's very popular and exciting. "Big Country" failed to impress many fans en route to winning The Ultimate Fighter until his KO of Brendan Schaub.

Since the Schaub victory, it's hard to deny Nelson receives one of the biggest "pops" on any UFC fight card. His lackluster physical appearance has endeared him to many fans but has kept him from realizing his full potential.

Nelson won't win any UFC titles in his career, but he will always be considered a champion of the people.

Anderson Silva

I know a lot of people will give me crap for Anderson Silva making it on to this list, and they would be right to point out his bouts against Thales Leites and Demian Maia. There's no question those two lackluster performances lost "The Spider" a lot of fans.

If you can move on from those two dreadful performances and look at his career overall, you have one of the most exciting fighters to step inside the Octagon. When Silva is on, it's scary. His fight against Forrest Griffin was an exhibition on the power of Silva's reflexes as he embarrassed Griffin.

His latest performance against Yushin Okami also showed another impressive trait of Silva—his fear factor. No, I'm not talking about Joe Rogan, but rather the idea that Silva can stand in front of his opponent, hands at his waist, and his opponents are still afraid to throw a punch.

When Silva's career is done, he will likely be remembered as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. He rightfully turned off a lot of fans for the Leites and Maia fights, but if fans can move on from that, they will see one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport.

Nick Diaz

Whether you love him or hate him, you always tune in to see Nick Diaz.

One of the most colorful personalities to step into the sport of MMA, Diaz is a walking sound byte. He's never afraid to say what he wants, which is exactly why fans love him or hate him.

His fighting style has also made Diaz popular as the term "punches in bunches" could've been coined to describe him. Diaz simply walks his opponents down and proceeds to unload as many punches as humanly possible. He also has a great jiu-jitsu game to go with his striking prowess.

Diaz recently "retired" from MMA, but the majority of MMA fans feel the Stockton product will return in due time.

Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen began his UFC career as another dominant wrestler that could potentially be a title challenger. Then he opened his mouth about current champion Anderson Silva.

Everything would change as Sonnen became the kryptonite to Silva, and many fans were begging for the two men to fight. Finally, at UFC 117, Silva and Sonnen squared off, with Sonnen coming within a few minutes of being crowned a UFC champion.

Since the loss, Sonnen hasn't stopped with badgering the Brazilian fighter and has quickly become one of the most polarizing figures in MMA today.

Brock Lesnar

Making his mark in the WWE, Brock Lesnar already knew how to dazzle a crowd with a microphone. Combining his mic skills with a potent wrestling game, Lesnar became one of the biggest "overnight" sensations in MMA history.

Winning the prestigious UFC Heavyweight title in only his fourth professional fight was just the beginning of Lesnar's legacy. His pre-fight trash talking battle with Frank Mir prior to UFC 100 was insignificant compared to his post-fight tirade that made headlines on a national scale.

His career was short by MMA standards, but there's no denying Lesnar left an impact on fans and fighters that will be felt for years to come.