UFC’s Most Hated Fighter

Boxing has Floyd Mayweather. Baseball has Barry Bonds. The NFL has Terrell Owens. The NBA has Kobe Bryant. But who do we all love to hate in the UFC?

With all of the big egos in the fight game, it is guaranteed that the list of fighters that people love to hate is a long one. I have scoured hundreds of articles and forums on this topic until my eyes hurt, and there seems to be a few fighters that almost always make it to the top of the list.

Allow me to share with you some of the most hated fighters in recent UFC history:
Frank Shamrock
Josh Koscheck
Michael Bisping
Matt Serra
Tito Ortiz
Chris Leben
Matt Hughes
Diego Sanchez
Tim Sylvia

A poll that I read on mmanews.com had Tim Sylvia picked by majority vote. But we can’t judge the most hated solely by what the fans say.

If we judged the most hated simply by the most boos that they receive in the Octagon, we might pick Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, or Tim Sylvia. But there has to be more to it than that.

What if we picked a fighter that other fighters hate? Fighters might hate other fighters that cheat and test positive for steroid use, for having an unfair advantage and for dirtying up the sport. Add Sean Shirk, Stephan Bonnar and countless others to the list. And while we’re at it, how about Tim Sylvia (there’s that name again).

And not to stray off topic too much, but how much do people love Dana White, the UFC’s President? Unfortunately he’s not a fighter in the UFC so we can’t count him.

But we do have a clear winner. Fans hate him for his big ego. Other fighters hate him for his big mouth. Even Dana White himself gets limp when he’s around this guy. Our man is none other than the Huntington Beach Bad Boy himself, Tito Ortiz. Tito is a man that not only knows that he is hated, but revels in it. Tito has been quoted as saying, "Someone has to be the goat. Sacrifice me, that's fine. I really don't have any problems with it." (per the Calgary Sun).

Personally, I don’t hate Tito Ortiz; I admire him as a fighter, however, I feel a little sorry for him. How many other people would hook up with an ex-porn star for the negative attention that he gets from it? Could Tito be the UFC’s version of Madonna?

by JP Berube aka MMA Commentator