They’re the fighters we love to hate.
They’re the ones who don’t give a crap about the fans or what the fans think.
They are, to borrow a term from professional wrestling, the heels of mixed martial arts. And more often than not, they’re much bigger superstars than the guys who bow respectfully to their opponents and never speak out of turn.
Some of them, like Brock Lesnar, embrace the role. They play it to the hilt in an effort to gain more exposure, because more exposure means more money. Some, like Rashad Evans, don’t really want to be disliked, but the fans choose to boo them anyway.
Josh Koscheck, who faces Johny Hendricks on Saturday night at UFC on FOX in New Jersey, is one of the fighters who have embraced the role, and it’s turned him into one of the biggest and most enduring superstars in the UFC. And while Koscheck is, in fact, a great MMA heel, there are plenty of others.
Let’s take a look at the biggest heels in MMA history.