Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE The definition of showboating is when a person will do something flashy before actually achieving his or her goal.
In MMA, fighters showboat in their entrances with Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Phil Baroni as perfect examples.
You also see it in the cage with taunting and doing Muhammad Ali-like movements with guys like an Anderson Silva and Nick and Nate Diaz.
Some of the best at this are MMA pioneers, current world champions.
Now let's look through the list of the 10 biggest showboaters in MMA history.
10. Genki Sudo
Great way to start at No. 10 and wanted to start old school. You cannot get more old school than Genki Sudo.
Sudo
fought three times in the UFC from 2002 to 2004 where he went 2-1 in
the organization. The Japanese native fought mainly in Japan for
promotions like Pancrase, Hero's and K-1.
What puts Sudo on this list are entrances to the cage and backwards fighting style.
In
his 2005 bout with Kid Yamamoto at K-1 Dynamite, Sudo comes down in a
scooter—wearing a mask—and joins some ladies dancing in kimonos.
9. Phil Baroni
People might be wondering how the man known as "The New York
Badass" would make this list. Baroni has a career record of 15-15, with a
3-7 UFC record.
Baroni, a UFC and Pride veteran, is better known for trash-talking and showboating than for fighting skills.
You
look at the feud he had with Frank Shamrock, where they got into a war
of words with each other after Shamrock defeated Renzo Gracie.
Then
you look at the entrances where Baroni came out with big, bombastic
sunglasses with the Ric Flair-like robe and strut to the ring.
Then
to top it all off, after defeating Dave Menne at UFC 39, Baroni jumped
onto the top of the cage, flexed like he was Hulk Hogan and
then—Muhammad Ali style—said he was the best ever.
8. Frank Shamrock
When you think showboaters, Frank Shamrock wouldn't be a person
that would come to mind. The former UFC and Strkeforce champion had a
storied career, as he fought from 1994-2009 and is now a commentator on
Showtime.
For you MMA hardcores, you will remember Shamrock's
legendary feud with Bas Rutten in the Pancrase promotion with Rutten
winning two of the three fights. But the third fight is what people
remember the most due to Shamrock making faces and mocking Rutten as
they were battling for leglocks. Shamrock was trying to get Rutten to
punch him, but punches in Pancrase were illegal.
After repeatedly
getting mocked, Rutten finally couldn't take it anymore and punched
Shamrock in the head and received a red card. Shamrock might have won
the mental battle, but Rutten won the war.
For the new fans out
there, you have a better chance of remembering the feud Shamrock had
with Phil Baroni. Shamrock and Baroni got into heated words after
Shamrock defeated Cesar Gracie at a Strikeforce event in 2006.
The
two then had choice words for each other with a YouTube video war,
which culminated in their fight for the inaugural Strikeforce
middleweight championship in June of 2007.
Shamrock won the fight
in the second round via submission due to rear naked choke. Shamrock
was criticized for pushing an unconscious Phil Baroni off him using his
leg rather than allowing the referee to pull Phil off Frank. In a
post-fight interview question regarding the incident, Shamrock stated
that "[Phil] was heavy on top of me...he was squishing the life out of
me...he was laying on my leg and on my chest...that's it. And I thought
it looked better on camera."
7. Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Jason "Mayhem" Miller is more known for his personality than his fighting prowess. Miller hosted the show
Bully Beatdown on MTV, which showed the world on his dynamic personality on bigger stage.
But
for the fight fan, Miller is known for wearing his fancy pants and
elaborate ring entrances, where he would walk down to the cage doing a
gimmick and then dance down to the cage with women to the side of him.
6. Nick Diaz
You see the name Nick Diaz in the title. That's all you need to know.
The
Stockton, California native always feels he has that chip on his
shoulder in and out of the cage—whether it's taunting his opponent to
engage in a slugfest or giving them the Stockton slap.
The name
of the game for Diaz is using his boxing to push the pace, his
relentless cardio and trying to break you down mentally with that pace
or even giving you the middle finger.
5. Nate Diaz
You can't have one Diaz brother and not include the other.
The
younger Diaz brother and you can make the case as the better fighter
takes showboating to a different level than his big brother.
He
does the middle finger like Nick, but what makes Nate unique is that he
taunts fighters when he has them in submissions—it's the ultimate slap
to the face of the opponent.
4. Tito Ortiz
When you talk about showboating in MMA, a lot of people say it started with Tito Ortiz.
The UFC Hall of Famer and the longest reigning UFC Light Heavyweight exuded confidence unheard of at that time in MMA.
He's
known for skipping to the cage with a Mexican-American flag, finishing a
fight and doing the gravedigger in the cage, and giving fighters like
Ken Shamrock and Chuck Liddell the middle finger.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is showboating. That is Tito Ortiz.
3. Shinya Aoki
Here in the United States, people say Shinya Aoki is overrated
due to his 1-2 record, but everywhere else in the world, he is a rock
star.
Aoki is formerly of Dream and Shooto. He's a submission ace
who has won an astounding 20 times via submission out of 31 victories.
But
Aoki has a very distinct personality. Yes, he wears horrific spandex
shorts when he fights, but also has that killer instinct you wouldn't
expect.
In 2009 at a Dream event where he defeated SRC champion
Mizuto Hirata, Aoki locked in a hammerlock to submit Hirata. You think
"OK, Aoki wins." To add fuel to the fire, Aoki gets up, yells at Hirata
and gives him the middle finger to tell Hirata he is No. 1.
1. Anderson Silva
continued...
Wed Feb 15, 2023 6:42 pm by 
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