10 MMA Fighters Who Can Get in Their Opponent's Heads

Fighters who get inside the heads of their opponents make the sport of MMA that much more entertaining.

I love the respect aspect of MMA as much as the next guy, but there's just something about a bitter rivalry that's fueled by a lot of trash talking. It gets the blood boiling.

But how does that feud turn bitter in the first place? It's largely due to one fighter's ability to get their opponent's emotions running high.

These are the best fighters in the world at doing that.

Rashad Evans

Rashad Evans has had one priceless feud after another.

He had some good ones with Tito Ortiz and Jon Jones, but his feud with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was legendary.

He had Jackson worked up like nobody before him, and that's including Wanderlei Silva. I'll never forget watching the prime-time episode featuring both Evans and Jackson, and watching Jackson hit the pads. Following a combination, he yelled, "He's dead!"

Evans is one of the smartest fighters in the UFC, and he uses his words brilliantly to not only hype the fight but get his opponents on edge.

BJ Penn

BJ Penn is a savage.

Penn has always preached his "just scrap" mentality, and any fighter who fights against him with a strategy isn't a true fighter. Or at least that's the way he makes it look.

Penn's verbal sparring with GSP leading up to their super fight at UFC 94 really puts that into perspective. "'Til the death. We're going to go 'til the death. I'm not going to stop. I'm willing to die," Penn said on UFC Primetime.

As Chael P. Sonnen would say, those are fighting words! Actually, those are beyond fighting words, those are "I'm a little crazy in the head and you better be too if you get inside the Octagon with me" words.

Besides everything Penn has said outside of the cage, the image of Penn licking blood off of his gloves after fights is enough to get inside any man's head.

Josh Koscheck

Josh Koscheck has made a living out of playing the villain.

Whether he's taking on one man or an entire country, Koscheck never pulls any punches in interviews. For hype or not, he had Georges St-Pierre ready to destroy him at UFC 124, and Kos' left side of his face may never be the same because of that fight.

The best moment Koscheck ever had in the Octagon had to be following his victory over Paul Daley at UFC 113—not the cheap shot from Daley that would ultimately cost him his UFC career, but it was Koscheck's interview that followed that was priceless.

As the Canadian fans booed Koscheck, he replied, "Don't worry, the Pittsburgh Penguins are gonna kick your a** next week baby, and then I'm going to beat St-Pierre. So you guys are going to lose twice!"

There's only one man I know that can upset 20,000 fans in an arena and get a guy so worked up that he flushes his UFC career away all in the same night.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones has a mystique about him.

Some fans love him, while most tend to hate him. And a lot of that has to do with this aura around him that makes him seem invincible.

The fans aren't the only ones to notice this aura either. Opposing fighters like Evans, Jackson and Brandon Vera took exception with the hype surrounding him, and that's when you got to see Jones' trash-talking game.

He doesn't really trash talk, but when he does fire back, he shows confidence in his skills. I'm sure Evans and Jackson tried to bring out a sense of insecurity in the young champion, and instead, they found out just how confident he was.

Nothing is scarier than seeing a fighter who's more talented than everyone else exhibit confidence and a strong mentality.

Nate Diaz

Going into a fight against one of the Diaz brothers, you know you're in for a war.

When it comes to Nate Diaz, he does most of his talking inside of the Octagon. He'll use his hands and words to open his opponent up, and then he'll rattle off a beautiful combination.

Diaz's most colorful handiwork came when he locked in a triangle choke on Kurt Pellegrino and was flexing and flipping the bird before Pellegrino even tapped.

Diaz also did a great job of getting in Donald Cerrone's head before their fight at UFC 141. There was trash talk before the fight, there was a confrontation at the press conference and there was a one-sided beatdown on fight night.

Cerrone didn't look to be himself on fight night, and a large part of me feels that Diaz's antics going into the fight had his emotions get the best of him.

Michael Bisping

All Michael Bisping has to do is look at a fighter the wrong way and he's under their skin.

Bisping has to be the most hated MMA fighter of all time, and that comes with a few perks. As most of you already know, fighting off of emotions is something that you try to avoid.

But sometimes you can't help yourself if there's true beef amongst two competitors. And more times than none, there's trash talking going into a Bisping fight.

Bisping's latest masterpiece came against Jason "Mayhem" Miller, as both coached the 14th season of the The Ultimate Fighter.

Whether it was the bright lights or Bisping's trash talking, Miller looked timid and never got into a rhythm. He was trampled because of it.

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal is a character.

Lawal's skills outside of fighting are almost as impressive as the ones he possesses inside the cage. Like his friend "Mayhem" Miller, Lawal's entrances are flashy and creative.

He's a confident man who tells it like it is, and when you have that type of a personality, you'll make enemies along the way.

One of Lawal's biggest enemies is a man that he has yet to face, but he could potentially face him in Bellator one day. That man is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Lawal got under Jackson's skin so bad that when MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani asked Jackson a question about him, Jackson's temper flared. This created heat between Helwani and Jackson, and it was quite comical.

Frank Mir

Frank Mir's honesty gets opposing fighters agitated.

Mir breaks down fights and opponents openly in interviews, and most of the time, his opponents don't like to hear what he has to say. Take for instance his fight with Cheick Kongo.

Mir criticized Kongo's overall game, and Kongo took it personally. At the weigh-ins, Kongo wouldn't even look Mir in the eyes. In fact, he turned his back to him, which is something that you should never do with Mir.

The fight was hyped up for the bad blood, and Mir put Kongo down on the canvas in about a minute. From there, Mir sunk in a guillotine choke to finish the fight.

Before Mir owned Kongo in the Octagon, he owned him psychologically outside of it.

Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz is basically the same as Nate.

Heck, he taught him pretty much everything he knows about fighting. Like his younger brother, Nick will taunt his opponent into exchanging blows with him and then he'll release a flurry of punches.

Perhaps my favorite Diaz moment came in his most recent fight with Carlos Condit.

Condit continued to circle away from Diaz, and Diaz started doing some sort of belly dance as he chased him down. It was absolutely nuts, but that wasn't the highlight of the fight.

The best moment of the fight came when Diaz reached out his hand and slapped the taste out of Condit's mouth. It was the ultimate sign of disrespect, and it made Condit look like Diaz's you-know-what. But then again, give credit to Condit for not falling into the trap of brawling with a Diaz.

Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is the king of the trash-talking realm.

Sonnen not only talks the talk, but he backs it up. I can only imagine the thought process that must run through a fighter's mind when they find out they'll be fighting Sonnen.

It must be something like, "So I'm going to be outwitted for the next couple of months and on fight night, I have to stop his double-leg?"

I happen to think that's what Anderson Silva's first thoughts were when the UFC was setting up the rematch.

If you've never heard Sonnen's glorious trash-talking skills, just sit back, play the video and turn the volume up.