UFC 136 Fight Card: Leonard Garcia and the 10 Most Fan-Friendly Fighters in MMA

The sport of mixed martial arts is a lot like the cutthroat restaurant business. Both involve their fair share of yelling, beefy guys in shorts, lots of blood, lots of curses and nicknames flying around. And the girls!  Don't forget about the girls.

Maybe the closest similarity, though, is the importance of presentation. You can serve the thickest, juiciest steak in town, but who's going to want it if you serve it on a garbage can lid?

Same holds true for MMA, a sport trying desperately to carve out its own niche in the crowded mainstream sports market. The cup runs over in terms of athleticism, competition and personality. But if, at the end of the day, it's just a bunch of brick-headed jerks lying on top of each other, that's not going to make your business overly attractive to certain very large segments of the general population.

That's why these 10 guys are worth their weight in gold. They're the most fan-friendly fighters in MMA today. These are the guys who will stop at nothing to put on a show to be remembered by the ticket-buying public.

Near the head of the pack is Leonard Garcia, who at UFC 136 this Saturday faces off with Nam Phan.

This list covers active fighters only. In the name of doing something different, I'm going to try and tabulate fighters who are fan friendly both inside and outside the cage. As you'll see, it's very interesting how often the two sync up.

There are plenty of guys who just missed the cut. Anyone you'd like to see on the list who didn't make it?

10. Marlon Sandro

Had to represent Bellator, one of the sport's most fan-friendly promotions, on this list.

They have several exciting figures on their roster, but perhaps none more so than Sandro, a heavy-handed Brazilian who is what I'll call a jiu-jitsu activist inside the cage.

9. Georges St-Pierre

He may not be the world's most exciting fighter (although I believe the GSP-is-boring argument is a tad shrill, especially when measured against the underlying evidence). 

What you can't argue is his marketability, and his stated and very deliberate desire to give back both to the sport that made him rich, and the fans who made him famous. 

8. Leonard Garcia

Garcia is a laidback, approachable guy outside the ring. But inside, his willingness to go for broke in the name of entertainment (which has won him three Fight of the Night bonuses in his career) makes him an ever-dangerous opponent.

7. Shane Carwin

An engineer by day and an MMA warrior by night, Carwin is the quintessential gentle giant. He is known almost as much for his regular blogging and propensity to drop into online discussion boards as he is for his club-fisted knockouts in the cage.

6. B.J. Penn

Penn is out for blood in the cage. He may not always be the world's nicest or humblest guy, but he's got just enough of that friendly Hawaiian vibe to counteract that persona.

And I have to say, there are very few, if any, fighters today who have the sort of unspoken bond with fans that B.J. Penn enjoys.


(Photo credit: The Honolulu Advertiser)

5. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Who got a louder ovation at UFC Rio than Minotauro Nogueira?  Even Anderson Silva didn't seem to get the same reaction Big Nog received after his stirring knockout of Brendan Schaub.

And he deserves it. The mellow Brazilian is an animal when the bell rings. To be more specific, a lion. Or maybe a boa constrictor.

In any case, Big Nog won plenty of fans with his coaching turn on The Ultimate Fighter. He has proven a worthy role model for fighters from Silva to Junior dos Santos, an extremely fan-friendly fighter in his own right.

He wears all his fights on that leathery mug of his, but somehow that just endears him to fans even more. 

4. Jon Jones

There is argument over whether Jones is truly as humble as he seemingly likes people to think he is. Having never met him myself, I can't be 100 percent sure. 

Either way, Jones certainly makes an effort with fans and the media, which is more than you can say for many. And hey, the guy foiled some muggers from robbing an old lady. How much friendlier can you get?

And inside the cage, well, I think the proper term is "forget about it."

3. Clay Guida

A whirling dervish when it's business time, off the clock Guida is a laidback dude who welcomes any and all comers to his RV of respite.

No question about it: Clay Guida abides.

2. Kazushi Sakuraba

The wise-cracking, cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking, pro-wrestling, tights-rocking Japanese giant killer may be the most fan-friendly fighter, all in all, in the history of MMA.

(Photo credit: Gracie Mag)

1. Wanderlei Silva

The Axe Murderer is an enemy to all who cross him in the ring. No one has more of a kill-or-be-killed mentality.

Just as importantly for these purposes, though, is Silva's quote that "I have no fans, only friends." That pretty much tells you all you need to know.