So in researching the Jeremy Stephens debacle, I came across an article that described him as an A-hole. As a matter of fact it was part of the name of the article, but anyway, I digress.
It made me think who else might be considered to be "An irritating or contemptible person" that also happens to be a figther. So please (because I am bored and don't care about the Saints vs Chargers, other than fantasy football implications), contribute your stories of fighters you met that may have acted in a manner you were less than fond of. Or fighters you met that were cool above and beyond the norm
Alex Caceres: One of the coolest guys I've met. Trained with him a bit and he was always great. One day after training and we were closing, a group of guys came to check it out, they happened to be pretty arrogant, one of them proceeded to tell him about how they used to school his brother in wrestling (which they didn't know was his brother at the time, it just happened to come up in the convo we all had out front) He was still kind and cordial and didn't disclose the situation to me until after they left. It struck me as a pretty good way for him to conduct himself. (This was pre-UFC)
Thiago Alves: Was cool took a bunch of pictures with me and my friends. Awesome guy.
Alexis Vila: Watched him suplex the shit out of a dude when he was teaching a wrestling class. It was way over the top and didn't particularly sit well with me.
I have a few more, but I'll add them later.
I met Frank Trigg at UFC 140. He completely brushed me off. Fuck that guy.
To add a little positivity to this post, Sean Pierson is a great guy
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"If you don't like me that's fine, but you're wrong and I hate you."
"I smoke herbs bro. Mind control bullshit doesn't work on people who smoke herbs."
Deathsquad bitches.
Jonahan Goulet and Nate Diaz weren't the friendliest people Ive met however I hold nothing againts either as not everyone is always at their best when you catch them off gaurd. Cote, GSP, Blecher and Mike Brown are easily some of the nicest people Ive ever crossed paths with though going above and beyond just saying hello. Ive talked to Jeremy Stephens on facebook a few times and he's real down to earth and cool, as is Gabe Ruediger.
I could see trigg coming off as a jerk, as well as Diaz. Goulet surprises me a bit. That is a very good point though, that you never know if you crossed someone at a bad time.
Alessio Sakara was pretty cool and helped me on my jiu jitsu a bit. He was pretty friendly.
My buddy met Cain Velasquez at the fan expo, he said he wasn't very friendly, but nothing necessarily bad happened. He said Gilbert Melendez and Ben rothwell were pretty cool.
Werdum took pics w/ my friends (i was stuck in hotel room looking for my wallet) in NOLA last year. very cool dude. Bader, Delagrotti & Mike Goldberg took shots w/ me & my friends during Rogan's show the night before the weighins, but i will admit I went & listened to the show instead of hanging out w/ Bader like a couple of my friends did. Wanderlei Silva has been super-friendly both times I saw him.
I've heard Belcher is an asshole, but i never met him. He wasn't fan-friendly at the weigh ins, but i cant imagine many fighters feel well after a big weight cut, so i'll give him the benefit of the doubt. FWIW,
Joe Rogan spoke to me for about 4-5 minutes outside of his show & he was such a gentleman. answered a couple of my questions & was very personable.
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MMA Events Attended:
FFI Ultimate Chaos Lashley vs Sapp - Biloxi
FN22 Marquardt vs Palhares - Austin
FN25 Shields vs Ellenberger - New Orleans
Bellator 73- Tunica
Never Trust A Man Who Does Not Make All Of His Picks
About 4 months ago I met Jon Jones in a bar....he obviously had a few, I offered him a ride home, only with the stipulation that he ride in the back seat....he seemed a bit irritated by that, I said there is no room in the front seat, because of my championship belt riding shotgun...huh, go figure?
I ran into Anthony Pettis at a mall in Milwaukee. He was buying some hats with his buddies. I went up and talked to him, he was approachable and very nice. He offered to sign a few items I had when I told him I was a huge fan. Great guy overall, took a bunch of pictures with me and my wife. Before he left, he told me to stop by his bar/resturant for dinner on the house. It was awesome.
frank trigg doesnt seem to care about his fans much i met him and he just was rude
Frank Mir was great he stopped and talked for a good half hour had great insight
forrest was cool seemed chill he gets alot of hate latley but if you meet him he seems legit
and gonzaga was an alright guy too
but eddie bravo was by far the best guy to chat with cool cool guy not a huge fan but he made me at least appreciate him a little more
Most recently I ran into Daron Cruickshank while watching UFC 150: Henderson vs Edgar II.
I can't say anything bad at all. Seemed really cool, we chatted for 5-10 mins, took pics from his phone and forward them to me.
I've seen some others before just never talked to them.
You guys are lucky. You've met a lot of fighters.
Never met a fighter, but met a shit ton of celebs and sports stars that were cool or assholes.
I've met a bunch of fighters over the last few years prior to events, here are some (sorry in advance if this becomes a novel lol)
Cool/Awesome - no problems taking pictures or having a brief convo with
Pat Barry - met him at the fan expo and he is everything you expect him to be: happy, friendly and full of life
Miguel Torres - one of the funniest people I have ever met. I met him in front of my hotel prior to 113 and he walked with me and my buddies from the hotel to the Bell Centre (5 min walk or so). He started off talking about how he thought poutine was French-Canadian slang for poontang and it somehow transpired to having sex with goats lol. I don't remember the process of how it got there as I was pretty baked but it was a great time
Jeremy Stephens - lobby of hotel after the weigh ins at 113. Me and my buddies just came back from a big sesh and I went up for a picture. Afterwards hes like "Man you smell like chronic" I'm like, "yeah man, you wanna join us later?" He responds with "I wish man but you know I cant. I hear you got some good shit up here though." I wish him the best and we part ways. Really chill guy.
Dan Henderson - night before 129 he was signing autographs and taking pics at some sportsbar. He took the time to answer each and every question people asked him (which was generally 1 or 2 each) but he never seemed to rush any answers. It was there where I found out that part of the reason for him leaving the UFC was that he wasn't getting a rematch with Anderson (he thinks Silva didn't want to fight him again) and that his potential fight with Fedor was in the works.
Michael Guymon - after the weigh ins at the hotel at 113 he was standing around but not many people went up to him. So I went over to say hi, take a picture and talk for a bit. He was very genuine and thankful. I instantly became a fan after this.
Kimbo Slice - he truly loves his fans and took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with almost everyone after his morning weigh in at the hotel (I assume the cut most of the weight around this time and then finish off the last couple pounds at the official weigh in).
Krzysztof Soszynski - met him at the fan expo prior to 129. Surprisingly almost no one was in line to meet him so I talked to him for like 5 minutes, took a picture and got an autograph. I liked him before, became a big fan afterwards. Really cool guy
Josh Koscheck - believe it or not, off camera he is a pretty nice guy. Me and a couple buddies went to his afterparty after 113 and he was not a dick to anyone, even when some guys started talking shit.
Dan Hardy - awesome guy, loves everyone, grateful for every fan. I've met him a couple times and he always took time to sign something or take a pic or answer a few questions. Fan for life
Gilbert Melendez - really nice guy, very friendly, and let us hold his belt (yes I am a sucker like that). A father took his son to the expo and was infront of me in line. The kid didn't really know who he was (prob between 8-10 years old) but Gil took his time and goofed around with the him.
Wanderlei Silva - even though I waited an hour to meet him, it was worth it. Awesome guy, pretty funny too. My buddy wanted to have a staredown with him...needless to say my buddy almost shit his pants lol
EDIT: forgot Jim Miller - great guy, chatted with him for a couple minutes at the expo. Pretty honest and humble guy. He tried not to sound impatient but he did say he wanted a #1 contender fight...he later got it and lost to Bendo. Epic stache though
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The best cure for insomnia is a lot of sex. Even if it doesn't end up putting you to sleep, you don't mind so much
Men be careful, female sexual predators are using a date rape drug called a Blowjob to trap men into scams called relationships.
Posted by Bubbles
I've met a bunch of fighters over the last few years prior to events, here are some (sorry in advance if this becomes a novel lol)
Cool/Awesome - no problems taking pictures or having a brief convo with
Pat Barry - met him at the fan expo and he is everything you expect him to be: happy, friendly and full of life
Miguel Torres - one of the funniest people I have ever met. I met him in front of my hotel prior to 113 and he walked with me and my buddies from the hotel to the Bell Centre (5 min walk or so). He started off talking about how he thought poutine was French-Canadian slang for poontang and it somehow transpired to having sex with goats lol. I don't remember the process of how it got there as I was pretty baked but it was a great time
Jeremy Stephens - lobby of hotel after the weigh ins at 113. Me and my buddies just came back from a big sesh and I went up for a picture. Afterwards hes like "Man you smell like chronic" I'm like, "yeah man, you wanna join us later?" He responds with "I wish man but you know I cant. I hear you got some good shit up here though." I wish him the best and we part ways. Really chill guy.
Dan Henderson - night before 129 he was signing autographs and taking pics at some sportsbar. He took the time to answer each and every question people asked him (which was generally 1 or 2 each) but he never seemed to rush any answers. It was there where I found out that part of the reason for him leaving the UFC was that he wasn't getting a rematch with Anderson (he thinks Silva didn't want to fight him again) and that his potential fight with Fedor was in the works.
Michael Guymon - after the weigh ins at the hotel at 113 he was standing around but not many people went up to him. So I went over to say hi, take a picture and talk for a bit. He was very genuine and thankful. I instantly became a fan after this.
Kimbo Slice - he truly loves his fans and took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with almost everyone after his morning weigh in at the hotel (I assume the cut most of the weight around this time and then finish off the last couple pounds at the official weigh in).
Krzysztof Soszynski - met him at the fan expo prior to 129. Surprisingly almost no one was in line to meet him so I talked to him for like 5 minutes, took a picture and got an autograph. I liked him before, became a big fan afterwards. Really cool guy
Josh Koscheck - believe it or not, off camera he is a pretty nice guy. Me and a couple buddies went to his afterparty after 113 and he was not a dick to anyone, even when some guys started talking shit.
Dan Hardy - awesome guy, loves everyone, grateful for every fan. I've met him a couple times and he always took time to sign something or take a pic or answer a few questions. Fan for life
Gilbert Melendez - really nice guy, very friendly, and let us hold his belt (yes I am a sucker like that). A father took his son to the expo and was infront of me in line. The kid didn't really know who he was (prob between 8-10 years old) but Gil took his time and goofed around with the him.
Wanderlei Silva - even though I waited an hour to meet him, it was worth it. Awesome guy, pretty funny too. My buddy wanted to have a staredown with him...needless to say my buddy almost shit his pants lol
That stare down idea is pretty cool lol. I've thought about asking to take a picture squaring off like the weigh in photos but never have. Better than the traditional tool pose of holding a fist up while taking a pic with the fighter. Which, if you check my profile, is exactly what I am doing in my picture with Chuck. lol wish I had thought of something like that at the time
dicks/not friendly
Frank Trigg - by far the biggest dick I have met, fighter wise. He was at the same sportsbar Hendo was at but he was more off to the side but still able to meet with. My buddies and I went over and tried to talk with him and get some pictures, but he was very dismissive as if he didn't want to be there...and he would only take one picture with us as a group, not individual shots.
Sam Stout - really surprised with this one. I met him at the hotel before 113 and I was like "Hey Sam! I'm a big fan from Hamilton!" (maybe 90 min drive to London where he lives/trains). He actually was one of my favourite fighters but he almost seemed distracted and not very approachable. I guess he wanted to go to his room and gameplan or w/e but almost every other fighter was out shaking hands, taking pics and whatnot.
Cain Velasquez - didn't seem all that interested in being at the fan expo. Either that or was tired from being there for long hours 2 days in a row
Frank Mir - I'll give him a bit of a pass as he literally just finished signing autographs and pictures for 3 hours. Shook his hand though...the guy is huge, looked bigger than Carwin
Shane Carwin - mumbled more than talked to us, not overly friendly. Basically the way he describes a fight on TUF in a monotone voice, that was him at the expo
Fighters/Personalities that fall in between
Shogun and Machida - I'll lump both together as they kept getting mobbed and swarmed by everyone
Marcus Davis - I think he was on his way somewhere but stopped to take a picture with me before taking off
Frankie Edgar - didn't seem like the outgoing type, or not used to all of the attention just yet (he recently kicked Penn's ass and took the title). Still took time to take pictures...sadly his belt wasn't with him
Ninja Rua - spoke maybe 5 words of English but took pictures with me and my buddies. As we first met him, we're like "Hey Ninja! Can we get a picture?" He's like "I Ninja...Shogun my brother"...as if we didn't say that lol
Jonathan Goulet - don't really remember him but I am in a group picture with him
James Wilks - decent guy, didn't stick around much though
Arianny and Chandella - Arianny = smokin hot, Chandella looked pretty decent in person
Kendra Perez - smokin hot and not an airhead. I may have been one of the few who knew she hosted the "Best of PRIDE" series as she was a little surprised, and thankful, when I mentioned it. In hindsight, I probably should have made a move
Mario Yamasaki - I kinda stole him away from whoever he was talking to just to get a picture
Papa Machida - he missed the elevator with Lyoto and his brother and some other people so he took the elevator up with me and a couple buddies. Spoke next to no English but he understood that I was cheering for his son
Mike Goldberg - too stoned to remember much of this meeting but he definitely has a normal voice and a commentator voice
Burt Watson - no idea who he was (still don't to an extent) but my buddy did so we got a picture with him
Anthony Pettis, Carlos Condit, Eddie Wineland, Brendan Schaub, Dustin Poirier, Big Nog, Donald Cerrone - lumping them all into one as it's basically the same: good guys but couldn't stay past a picture as there was a shitload of people in line behind me. Although Schaub did confirm that the Jones/Evans beef was real
Seth Petruzelli - was walking in the lobby the Sunday after the fights and my friend saw him and called him over. We may have been the only people that morning to know who he was as his initial reaction was like "holy shit someone recognizes me." Decent guy to chat with
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The best cure for insomnia is a lot of sex. Even if it doesn't end up putting you to sleep, you don't mind so much
Men be careful, female sexual predators are using a date rape drug called a Blowjob to trap men into scams called relationships.
Posted by NE-1
That stare down idea is pretty cool lol. I've thought about asking to take a picture squaring off like the weigh in photos but never have. Better than the traditional tool pose of holding a fist up while taking a pic with the fighter. Which, if you check my profile, is exactly what I am doing in my picture with Chuck. lol wish I had thought of something like that at the time
I try not to do the fist pose but I only do it when the fighter does it first. I either am in a fight pose, like at a weigh in, or have my arm behind them as if we are friends.
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The best cure for insomnia is a lot of sex. Even if it doesn't end up putting you to sleep, you don't mind so much
Men be careful, female sexual predators are using a date rape drug called a Blowjob to trap men into scams called relationships.