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?