Floyd Mayweather, Brock Lesnar and the Biggest Villains in Combat Sports Today

When Floyd Mayweather sucker-punched Victor Ortiz to earn a knockout victory earlier this month, the boxing world was sent into a tailspin.

It wasn’t that the undefeated (42-0) Mayweather wasn’t winning the fight, but it almost seemed as if he went out of his way to land the cheap shot. Worse yet, he was completely unapologetic about it after the fight.

Mayweather instantly became public enemy No. 1 in the boxing world, joining other fighters like the UFC’s Brock Lesnar, who have practically come right out and revealed themselves to be anti-heroes, even villains, in combat sports.

Being the “bad guy” isn’t always embraced by fans, but it’s something that has earned some of these fighters a lot of money. Perhaps even more money than they could have ever earned if they were more fan favorites.

Pro wrestling learned many years ago that while it is the “good guy” who the fans will rally behind, it is the “bad guy” who truly makes them their money by enticing fans to attend events, purchase pay-per-views and spend money on merchandise to support that “good guy.”

Certainly pro wrestling is different than real competition, but these concepts still remain true. Just ask yourself, “How many times have I cheered against someone more than I was really cheering for his opponent?” The answer may surprise you.

These fighters have not only accepted their role as “bad guys” in combat sports, which is why they have been named the 10 best villains in combat sports today.

10. Nate Diaz

The younger brother of Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz has also had his moments of craziness in MMA.

He was one of the more colorful personalities in TUF history and already seemed to have a bit of cockiness about him before he ever even stepped into the Octagon to become The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner.

Diaz was one of the main characters involved in the infamous “Nashville Brawl” on Strikeforce’s first CBS fight card when he and the other members of the “Skrap Pack” assaulted Jason “Mayhem” Miller after Jake Shields’ victory over Dan Henderson.

But perhaps the most memorable moment of his career so far this year came when he submitted Kurt Pellegrino in April 2008. His triangle was perfectly executed, but Diaz celebrated before his opponent had even tapped out, even flipping off the crowd in attendance.

9. Gilbert Yvel

Early in his career, Gilbert Yvel earned a reputation as one of the dirtiest and least sportsmanlike fighters in MMA history.

His actions have included things such as biting his opponent, intentionally poking his opponent’s eyes among other infractions.

But the worst came during a November 2004 fight against Atte Backman when he repeatedly disrespected a referee, even slapping his hands away from him when the two fighters were on the ropes.

After the referee attempted to restart the fight from the clinch on more than one occasion, Yvel retaliated by punching the referee in the head, dropping him to the ground where he then proceeded to kick him, ending the fight in a disqualification.

What a stand-up guy... 

8. Josh Koscheck

UFC 135 was one of the brightest moments of Josh Koscheck’s career when he defeated the legendary Matt Hughes by way of knockout in the final seconds of the first round.

But like so many fights in his past, even though he was widely considered the favorite in the bout, the fans stood strongly in the corner of his opponent.

It’s not just that Koscheck is cocky—there are a lot of fighters who are cocky—but Koscheck is downright obnoxious at times with the way he acts.

Outside the cage, he has openly played up his “bad boy” persona by taking jabs at the local city’s sports teams. But inside the cage is where he has earned quite a few haters.

Koscheck has been caught faking eye-pokes and knees to the head during his fights, which has absolutely infuriated fans who stand by the honor in mixed martial arts.

He may be one of the best on the planet, but Kos’ is just one of those fighters who everyone wants to see get smacked around.

7. Paul Daley

You’d think that a fighter would have earned some fans by attacking another fighter on this list, but Paul Daley somehow managed to become less popular after his disgusting post-fight punch on Josh Koscheck at UFC 113.

Daley not only angered fans, but he also lost his job when Dana White publicly fired him immediately following the event.

“He'll never come back, I don't care if he's the best 170-pounder in the world. He's never coming back here,” White told the media in the post-fight press conference. “There's no excuse for that. You never hit a guy like that after the bell.”

Daley has since apologized for his actions, but he still remains very cocky and brash.

6. Dana White

Yes, the UFC President makes the list despite not actually being a combatant himself.

White can be credited with much of the growth of the sport of mixed martial arts, particularly in America, but there are still quite a few fans who see him as a “bad guy” due to the way that the UFC has strong-armed the competition into submission.

Of course, as much as White delivers excellent fights in by far the best organization in the sport today, he also seems to enjoy playing the role of villain, especially on Twitter.

Unlike higher-ups in other sports organizations, White speaks directly with fans through Twitter, often using it as a place to berate his critics.

Love him or hate him, Dana White is who he is and he’s not going to change. Not for anyone or anything.

5. Brock Lesnar

A former professional wrestler himself, it makes sense that Brock Lesnar would know how to work a crowd both as a fan favorite as well as a villain.

Lesnar came into the UFC with quite a bit of fanfare and a large contract, which many traditionalist fans disliked. Even though he was instantly one of the biggest money-makers for the organization on the day he signed, critics still viewed his large contract and instant shot at a top-10 opponent as a disgrace to the sport.

The former NCAA Division-I national champion wrestler has since earned the respect of almost everyone over the years since his debut, but he still alienates quite a few people by the way that he acts outside the cage.

Whether it’s his trash-talk about opponents before fights, public insults of sponsors in post-fight interview or just his general cocky demeanor, Lesnar will likely continue to be one of the most polarizing figures in the sport until the day he retires.

4. Nick Diaz

For as talented as Nick Diaz is, it is somewhat surprising that he has failed to become one of the more popular fighters in the sport. But I suppose that’s what happens when you seemingly go out of your way to make yourself less accessible to the average fan while publicly stating that you hate (at least most of) the MMA media.

Diaz has always been one of the more controversial fighters, but things got even worse in recent weeks after he refused to attend numerous media appearances, forcing the UFC’s hand in replacing him for the main event at UFC 137 against Georges St-Pierre.

Though the former Strikeforce welterweight champion disagreed with the decision to remove him from the main event, he made things worse by releasing a video that basically made him look like a complete fool as he complained about not wanting to go to the “beauty pageants” that are the media appearances, but still wanting to fight in the main event.

Certainly Diaz deserves to fight for the title if you look at his accomplishments in the cage, but the UFC made a smart business decision by removing him from the title fight. After all, what organization wants to have a champion who refuses to help promote fights?

3. Michael Bisping

Some would argue that Michael Bisping could be as high as No. 1 on this list, but the fact that he is the most popular fighter in all of England makes it difficult to put him quite that high. Still, when it comes to fighting in the States, or anywhere else, there aren’t many fighters who are as universally disliked as much as Michael Bisping.

Bisping’s confidence in himself is often looked at as being overly cocky, but some of his actions in the cage have earned him some absolute hatred from fans.

The worst came at UFC 127 when Bisping fought Jorge Rivera. Rivera had talked quite a bit of trash, in a very joking manner, in pre-fight YouTube videos. The videos clearly threw Bisping off as he was noticeably more aggressive early in the fight, culminating in a flagrantly foul knee that landed to the head of a defenseless Rivera.

As if the knee wasn’t bad enough, Bisping’s actions afterwards made things many times worse. The English fighter put his hands above his head in a triumphant manner as the medics and referee tended to his opponent before literally spitting at members of Rivera’s corner.

The actions were some of the most disgusting in the history of the sport, and Bisping may never live them down. 

2. Floyd Mayweather

“Pretty Boy” Floyd knows how to play the game as well as anyone who is currently fighting today.

Even in a fight that just about everyone would agree ended in an extremely unsatisfactory way, Mayweather still finds a way to come out making the fans want more.

“Protect yourself at all times,” Mayweather triumphantly told the media in the post-fight press conference after knocking out Victor Ortiz. “Eventually he was going to get knocked out, down the line, anyway.”

Whether he actually believes that is irrelevant. He says it and it just enrages fans even more. This is the very definition of playing the role of a villain.

Add the fact that many people believe that Mayweather is ducking Manny Pacquiao and you have the recipe for one of the greatest “bad guys” ever in the history of boxing, and certainly the best one fighting today.

1. Chael Sonnen

Ohhhh Chael.

Love him or hate him, Chael Sonnen has made sure that everyone at least has an opinion on him. From a guy who has never held a major mixed martial arts title, that is truly a huge accomplishment... And he has done almost all of it with his mouth.

Sonnen has been ripping apart his opponents in interviews for years now, but his feud with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva caused his career to skyrocket to extraordinary levels.

Most fighters try to gain fans by being respectful, but Sonnen has taken the ball and run in the complete opposite direction.

The way that he has gone about humiliating Brazilian fighters and countless MMA legends in the media is a completely unique way for a fighter to make a name for himself, but it has unquestionably worked.

Somehow, even in defeat against an injured champion, Sonnen was successful in convincing many fans that he would actually defeat Anderson Silva in a rematch... And if he just wins one fight over Brian Stann in a couple weeks at UFC 135, he will have his chance.

If Sonnen does get the rematch, and is able to become the champion, the MMA world just may implode from the whirlwind of hatred that will surely be coming his way.