Bad Blood: UFC’s Seven Best Trash Talk Battles

While the sport of mixed martial arts would simply be nothing without the fights themselves, much of the love for the sport comes from the entertainment factor, which includes the hype, the build-up and the trash talk surrounding fights. Obviously not all fighters are trash talkers and not all fights include bad blood and back-and-forth

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While the sport of mixed martial arts would simply be nothing without the fights themselves, much of the love for the sport comes from the entertainment factor, which includes the hype, the build-up and the trash talk surrounding fights. Obviously not all fighters are trash talkers and not all fights include bad blood and back-and-forth banter, but those that do are often quite memorable.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the UFC’s seven best trash talk battles:

Rampage Rashad

7) Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson

The UFC’s light heavyweight division appears to be rather scarce as of late, but it was once the sport’s premier weight class, and at one point, former champions “Suga” Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson were at the forefront of the 205 pounders.

When the two met at May 2010’s UFC 114, neither held the UFC light heavyweight title, but they remained in the headlining spot as the trash talk between the two leading up to the bout was memorable to say the least.

Coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 10 prior to the bout, the two had ample time to get under each other’s skin and they did just that. Both “Suga” and “Rampage” have always been outspoken individuals and they didn’t hold back, which resulted in one of the best trash talk battles we’ve ever seen.

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Cody Garbrandt: I Will Knock Out Dominick Cruz 10 Out Of 10 Times

No. 7-ranked UFC bantamweight prospect Cody “No Love” Garbrandt recently established himself as a legitimate threat with an emphatic knockout victory over the previously unbeaten Thomas Almeida in the main event of May 29’s UFC Fight Night 88 from Las Vegas, Nevada. Even after the tremendous victory, “No Love” may still be a win or

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No. 7-ranked UFC bantamweight prospect Cody “No Love” Garbrandt recently established himself as a legitimate threat with an emphatic knockout victory over the previously unbeaten Thomas Almeida in the main event of May 29’s UFC Fight Night 88 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Even after the tremendous victory, “No Love” may still be a win or two away from a title shot in the resurgent 135-pound division, and he called out No. 4-ranked Bryan Caraway for a bout at UFC 203 after his latest win.

Whatever may lied ahead, Garbrandt will be ready if and when he receives his shot at divisional supremacy.

In fact, “No Love” has been visualizing himself competing against bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz for quite some time now, and would be confident that he would put “The Dominator” away if the two were to meet:

“Like I said before, I’ve visualized myself knocking that dude out since I was 16 years old. When he was in the WEC, that’s a guy that I knew I was going to lock horns with one day, and now it’s surreal because it’s almost about to happen. So I have been getting ready for him mentally; putting in the physical camp in and getting the call. He’s a great fighter, but with my style I will knock him out 10 times out of 10.” Garbrandt said during a recent UFC 199 media scrum (Via MMAMania.com).

Garbrandt clearly has his eyes set on the gold, be he can’t get too far ahead of himself. The 24-year-old packs a powerful punch, but Cruz is a master of not getting hit, and “The Dominator” may simply be the best 135-pounder of all-time.

Cruz is coming off of a successful and definitive title defense over long-time rival Urijah Faber, who happens to be a teammate of Garbrandt’s, in the co-main event of last weekend’s (June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum.

What’s next for Cruz is currently unknown, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him and “No Love” meet down the line.

Does Garbrandt represent the stiffest test to Cruz’s throne?

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Four Fights For Dominick Cruz To Take Next

Last weekend (Sat., June 4, 2016) Dominick Cruz once again proved to the MMA community why he is widely considered to be the best bantamweight to have ever competed inside the Octagon. In the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, Cruz coasted to a decisive decision victory over longtime rival

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Last weekend (Sat., June 4, 2016) Dominick Cruz once again proved to the MMA community why he is widely considered to be the best bantamweight to have ever competed inside the Octagon.

In the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, Cruz coasted to a decisive decision victory over longtime rival Urijah Faber, ending the last chapter in their historic rivalry and defending his 135-pound strap in the process.

After battling a seemingly never-ending string of injuries that kept him out of action for almost four years, Cruz has clearly returned to form after re-capturing the title from ex-champion TJ Dillashaw in his return last January and once again toppling “The California Kid” last night.

Luckily for “The Dominator”, the once-barren bantamweight division is now booming with contenders, and he’ll have a few top-flight challenges waiting for him in the near future.

Let’s take a look at four possible fights for Cruz to take next.

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Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber Lives On After Trilogy Match

A decade of trash talk, and three fights later, and Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber still possess one of the deepest rivalries in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). Cruz attempted to close the door on the ageing bad blood in the co-main event of last night’s (June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The

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A decade of trash talk, and three fights later, and Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber still possess one of the deepest rivalries in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Cruz attempted to close the door on the ageing bad blood in the co-main event of last night’s (June 4, 2016) UFC 199 from The Forum, scoring a decisive decision victory over “The California Kid” in the rubber match, extending his lead in the series to 2-1.

I say ‘attempted’, however, because although he settled the score, the rivalry proved to live on at the post-fight press conference, as the two got caught up in yet another verbal battle.

This time, it seemed to stir up after Faber mentioned rising talent Cody Garbrandt, a teammate of his and a potential future title challenger.

When “No Love” was brought up, “The Dominator” claimed to be unsure as to who he was, taking the opportunity to blast Faber for collecting a percentage off of his teammates as Cruz has accused him of:

“I mean, I’ve heard that name before,” Cruz said. “But, I think that’s somebody that Faber manages and collects a percentage off of when he fights. So, I think that would make sense for him to mention him. But, I saw him and just thought he was one of the new kids on the block. I don’t know who he is.”

Faber was quick to point out that Cruz and Garbrandt had previously engaged in a twitter war, and warned the champion that “No Love” was on the rise.

In the end, the two were asked if the rivalry would ever end, and although “The California Kid” said that ‘Dom is ok’, he admitted that the bad blood could live on forever:

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Faber said. “It’s been an interesting relationship throughout the years. We’ve been locked in PR arrangements where we’ve had to work as a team. We’ve had to share the disappointments of injuries and missed opportunities. There’s been a lot of getting to know each other. I feel like he’s grown up a lot since the original days of me thinking he was just a punk. I think he’s grown up a lot and has gotten better as a fighter, as well. The truth is, though, our team is full of killers. So, there’s always going to be that rivalry there. I feel like we’ve made up at points for, like, a day, and then it just goes right back to some negativity. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future. But Dom is ok.”

Have you enjoyed the long lasting feud between two of California’s finest?

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Five Keys To Victory For Urijah Faber At UFC 199

This Saturday night (June 4, 2016), a rivalry dating back nearly a decade will finally be settled in the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, when bitter rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will face off in a trilogy match for Cruz’s bantamweight title. On March 24, 2007, “The California

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This Saturday night (June 4, 2016), a rivalry dating back nearly a decade will finally be settled in the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California, when bitter rivals Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will face off in a trilogy match for Cruz’s bantamweight title.

On March 24, 2007, “The California Kid” choked out “The Dominator” in the first round of their co-main event bout at WEC 26, defending his featherweight title in the process. Four years later, Cruz would get his revenge on Faber, scoring a unanimous decision win in the rematch at UFC 132 in July 2011, successfully defending his bantamweight strap.

The two were scheduled to meet for a third time in 2012, but a long list of injuries to Cruz would push the fight back until 2016, and now we will finally get our answer.

Let’s take a look at five crucial keys to victory for Urijah Faber in this highly-anticipated rubber match.

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Urijah Faber Won’t Stop Defending His Multiple Title Shots

Long-time mixed martial arts veteran Urijah Faber will step into the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California in hopes of closing the door on a rivalry nearly ten years in the making. “The California Kid” will face off with bitter rival Dominick Cruz for a third time

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Long-time mixed martial arts veteran Urijah Faber will step into the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 199 from The Forum in Inglewood, California in hopes of closing the door on a rivalry nearly ten years in the making.

“The California Kid” will face off with bitter rival Dominick Cruz for a third time tomorrow night (June 4, 2016) with Cruz’s bantamweight title hanging in the balance.

This will be Faber’s fourth attempt at capturing UFC gold, although he’s come up short each time out – something that has garnered Faber his fair share of criticism.

In response to the question regarding why he’s received so many title shots, however, Faber offered a clear and simple answer:

“The title shot thing, I’m a title fighter. That’s it,” Faber told FOX Sports.

“Have I had a lot of title shots? Sure. Two of those title shots were again (Renan) Barao because Dominick got injured both times,” Faber explained. “One of those times it was supposed to be me and Dominick and Barao had to step in and it was a lackluster performance on my part. Barao did enough to win.

“The second one, Cruz got injured with two and a half weeks to go until the fight, I injured myself three days into that training camp and I still (expletive) fought.”

While Faber is obviously focused on the 135-pound title, he also added that fans simply want to see him in big fights which is another factor that has contributed to the level of fights he’s been booked in:

“People want to see me fight TJ (Dillashaw). People want to see me fight Conor (McGregor). People want to see me fight Frankie Edgar. People don’t want to see me fight guys that aren’t top level,” Faber said. “I’ll do that because we’re in the fight game and you fight whoever they put in front of you, but my goal is to always fight the best.

“That’s the mentality. That’s what’s got me here.”

Do you see Faber finally securing the title tomorrow night?

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