Top 10 Heels in the UFC and Their WWE Doppelganger

Even though it's considered to be a cardinal sin amongst MMA fans, the UFC and WWE share a lot of similarities.

Both look to establish their combatants as credible characters and people in order to drive up PPV sales.

Although a "push" in the UFC generally results after putting together a string of good performances, in the WWE, turning "heel" is one of the most time tested ways of breaking free from the pack.

For those who are unaware, a "heel" is basically wrestling jargon for a bad guy. There's always been a likeable quality about the anti-hero in wrestling and that seems to have translated to the UFC as the heels always make us tune in.

I'm sure some of the fighters on this list have looked at professional wrestling and taken a couple of things away on how to promote themselves. You can actually make a pretty close connection with some of the top heels in WWE and stars in the UFC.

10. Jon Fitch

"Little Jimmy is goin' get got!"

R-Truth was nothing more than an middle of the road mid-carder as a good guy. When he turned heel, his stock skyrocketed (like a meteor does for Mike Goldberg).

Truth's idea that there's some great WWE conspiracy that's holding him back gets balanced out by his "Little Jimmy" routine where he finds the need to insult every John Cena supporter.

Although Jon Fitch isn't really a bad guy, Fitch would be the guy to believe in conspiracy theories.  That's the only explanation as to why he hasn't received a title shot right? (via Bleacherreport.com)

And that's what's up!

9. Chris Leben

Randy Orton hears voices and if you look at Chris Leben, the same could likely be said about him as well.

If you saw Leben "awaken" in between rounds against Yoshihiro Akiyama, it closely resembles when Orton  begins hearing the voices in his head that tell him to unleash pain upon his adversaries.

Even their fighting style resembles one another. Orton, being a major face, now tends to be beat up for the majority of the fight only to pull an RKO out of nowhere to make a miraculous comeback.

Leben is usually on the end of receiving some huge shots and can pull off a victory out of nowhere with one huge swing.

8. Melvin Guillard

From the moment Melvin Guillard stepped foot in The Ultimate Fighter house, he rubbed people the wrong way. He was loud and obnoxious and was always willing to let anyone who would listen know that he was the best thing since sliced bread.

As his career would progress, Guillard showed flashes of talent that showed he had the ability to be a top contender. Unfortunately for "The Young Assassin," he can't seem to put together all the pieces of the puzzle and make a run for a title.

Jeff Hardy was similar in that he, too, had all the talent in the world, and has since seen his career fail miserably since his days of teaming with his brother Matt.

Jeff did make a pretty decent run as a singles competitor in the WWE, but substance abuse issues have prevented him from being as good as he should be.

7. Jon Jones

To me, seeing Shawn Michaels put his former tag team partner through a barbershop window was the first heel turn witnessed. It was a classic turn as Michaels felt he was better than his partner and decided to move on.

It was a great career move because as it has become apparent by now, HBK would go on to become one of the great superstars and leaving behind the bond of friendship is how he got the ball rolling.

The same can be said of Jon Jones. He realized that his teammate, Rashad Evans was in his way of a title shot, and openly admitted that he would fight Evans after weeks of the two men claiming they'd never fight each other.

It seems to have worked out well for Jones, who's become a superstar overnight and looks unbeatable at 205 pounds.

6. Nick Diaz

When Stone Cold Steve Austin was at the height of his career, he was the ultimate anti-hero. Austin would beat up his boss, drink beer on the job and cause all kinds of mayhem on a weekly basis.

He went on TV and did what many fans wish they could do to their boss. For that, became an instant cult hero seemingly overnight.

The same can be said for Nick Diaz. Diaz isn't afraid to speak his mind and is always up for a good fight. He lives outside the rules of normal society and many people admire his ability to not conform.

5. Georges St-Pierre

Georges St-Pierre and John Cena have a lot in common. They're both the faces of their respective organizations and yet somehow receive more boo's than cheers from fans.

Cena has been criticized for his stale character and even staler move set. The little kids will always cheer for Cena because he's their hero, but anyone who's hit puberty knows Cena needs to shake up his character.

Like Cena, GSP suffers from the "stale" tag as well. Fans have been heavily critical of St-Pierre's tendency to play it extremely safe in his title defenses.

Maybe his bout against Nick Diaz will bring a new GSP into the Octagon, just as the feud with CM Punk made Cena show he can still wrestle and do more than the "Five Moves of Doom."

4. Tito Ortiz

"I am the Game, and I am that damn good!"

For HHH, his major heel days came during the Attitude Era, which came before the time of today's wrestling viewers.

Unfortunately for "The Game," his main days of wrestling came when the WWE was littered with talent so he wasn't always considered the best in the business no matter how much he would preach to us as fans every week.

Tito Ortiz is definitely the UFC version of Trips. His heyday was before the UFC went mainstream and both guys careers were defined by feuds against another superstar (HHH-The Rock and Ortiz-Chuck Liddell).

The fact both guys have catastrophic injuries after every big match also creates a strong connection between them.

3. Shane Carwin

Shane Carwin is the UFC's version of a heel Bret Hart.

When Hart was in the middle of his biggest feud of his career against Shawn Michaels, he would continuously go on TV and bash the WWE by saying it was full of degrading television and that it wasn't wrestling anymore.

To Hart, his enemy Michaels represented a living figure of the debauchery going on in the company. Many fans felt it was just good television, but as we all know Hart and Michaels really did not get along.

For Carwin, Brock Lesnar became his embodiment of what was wrong in the MMA world. Carwin's "holier than thou" personality has rubbed fans wrong ever since. His steroid scandal doesn't help.

Both men feel they're morally superior than the next guy, and aren't afraid to tell anyone who will give them the time of day.

I guess you could also say "Shane screwed Shane" since Carwin has to make up medical disorders instead of just saying "lack of cardio" when he loses.

2. Frank Mir

Mr. Perfect is widely considered one of the best wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots. Likewise, Frank Mir is widely considered one of the best submission artists of all time in the heavyweight division.

They both have a certain charisma about their characters that exudes "I'm better than you" which is why both men can get a fan to boo them quicker than a Lindsay Lohan probation hearing.

Besides their arrogant ways, both men attempted to reform themselves unsuccessfully in the middle of their careers. If anyone had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing Mr. Perfect/Curt Henning and the "Rap is Crap" angle, you know what I mean.

Mir attempted to revitalize his career by adding muscle mass. While it's so far seemed to work out for him, he's still adjusting to have a bigger frame.

1. Chael Sonnen

As the top heel in the UFC today, there are a number of options as to who Chael Sonnen would be if he were in the WWE.

Ultimately, I chose to go with Roddy Piper for a number of reasons. Both men can unleash some amazing promos while at the same time saying things that either incoherent or make no sense at all.

Both were able to both play the bad guy and win fans over at the same time. You either like them or you hate them. Neither has a grey area about them when it comes to fan's appreciation.

And just as Piper was the main bad guy when Hulkamania was running wild, Sonnen has become the anti-hero with Anderson Silva.

Bonus Round: Fedor Emelianenko

Because I'm a nice guy here's an extra bonus at no extra charge.

When Sting made his return to WCW, he resembled the character from the movie The Crow. He wore black and white facepaint, would appear in arena rafters and would stare his adversaries down.

There was a point where he didn't say a word on television for more than a year, but would instead point his signature weapon, a black baseball bat, at his enemy and dare them to stop him.

Sting never talked but his presence was so powerful that we didn't care to hear him say anything. We just wanted to see him finally get his revenge on "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and the NWO.

Like Sting, Fedor Emelianenko doesn't say much either. His stoic appearance before and after a fight has only increased the "legend of Fedor."

Emelianenko enters the cage, swings for a knockout and then proceeds to leave without so much as cracking a smile or showing any emotion. His lack of expression, like Sting's, has that cool feeling to it that made fans tune in because we knew a storm was brewing.