When it comes to fighters’ nicknames, it’s truly a case of the good, the bad and the ugly.
So, with no big fights on the horizon and no big news since Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk and Hermes Franca tested positive for steroids, here’s a light-hearted look at mixed-martial arts monikers and how they came to be:
“I had a trainer who was amazed how I showed absolutely no emotion before fights. No fear, no hesitation, no anything. He said I was cold so he called me the Iceman.”
“I got the nickname Rush because early in my career many of my fights wouldn’t make it past the first round. A TKO promoter at the time told me I was like a rush of adrenaline.”
“Joe Gold called me that after I beat Vitor Belfort the first time because I kind of adapted to his style and beat him standing up, which nobody expected. He said I naturally adapted to his style. He asked me if it was okay to call me the natural and I said ‘I’ve been called a lot worse.’” Couture also goes by the nickname Captain America which he got from UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
Through an interpreter, Silva explained that as a young boy, Spiderman was his favourite superhero.
“One of my trainers was breeding pit bulls and had two of his own. They are the best fight dogs! So they call me pit bull.”
“I took the name because ever since I was young, and later in college, I was always good at sports.
“L’oiseau in French means a bird and because I am black, kids at school used to call me Crow. A black bird.”
“Mike Van Arsdale gave it to me. We were training and the way I was moving and sparring one day he was like ‘Man, you know you kind of like look, like Sugar Ray Robinson. And he just kept saying it, and kept saying it and it was kind of like – it kind of stuck”
Referee "Big" John McCarthy:
'Big John' came about because of his stature. He stands 6'4" and weighs 260 lbs making him larger than many of the athletes he monitors in the cage. The nickname was given to him by one of the old UFC co-founders.
Fighters in Brazil gave the pasty-white Monson his nickname in 1999. At Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Grappling Tournament he beat 4 Brazilians in a row to win the title. They said he was like a snowball gaining momentum with each fight
His nickname comes from a brand of bubblegum that he used to chew as a kid.
Cro-Cop is short for Croatian cop. When he’s not swinging his tree trunk legs at opponent’s heads, the former Pride champ works as a member of Croatia’s anti-terror squad.
The former middleweight contender, who recently dropped down to the 170 lbs. class, got his nickname after disposing of his opponents early. He scored first-round victories in his first four UFC fights. In those fights he fought a combined five minutes and 10 seconds.
Now, let it be noted that there is no shortage of really bad nicknames.
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