Six UFC bad boys

In its drive for mass acceptance, UFC – the peak organisation of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) – has embraced good guys with broad appeal. Georges St Pierre is a gentleman. Forrest Griffin is self-deprecating and funny. Randy Couture was a cleanskin with movie star looks. Matt Hughes is the middle-American family man personified.

All of which is good for accessing the sporting mainstream, but not a lot of fun. Here is a list of six UFC fighters who play the villain role for all its worth.

1. Michael Bisping

Why do people take an immediate dislike to Bisping? It saves time. The big-mouthed Brit is the biggest heel in the sport at the moment, an identity boosted by his lowlife antics on the current series of The Ultimate Fighter. His abrasive personality makes him a bad loser and a worse winner. Arguably his poorest moment was when he fought Jorge Rivera. He smashed the downed American with an illegal knee to the head in the first round, spat at Rivera's corner after the fight, then told Rivera he was a "loser" who should "go home". The ever-quotable 'Mayhem' Miller said recently, "Now that Osama [Bin Laden] is dead, Bisping is the most hated man in America."

2. Nick Diaz

Complex, volatile, with a scowl that would scare a Green Beret, Diaz will brawl with anyone – including UFC management. Diaz is a trash-talk specialist, going to the trouble of emailing abuse to Diego Sanchez before they fought. He also slung a lot of heated words in Joe Riggs' direction. After they fought (and Riggs won) they were both taken to hospital for observation, where Diaz resumed the fight until police arrived. Diaz was part of post-fight ring brawls in Hawaii and Nashville, and had his licence suspended for marijuana use. This year he was scheduled to fight St Pierre but failed to fulfil his media obligations, tangled with UFC head honcho Dana White, and was stood down. After smashing BJ Penn at UFC 137 he yelled abuse at St Pierre, succeeding in riling the Canadian to the point where he begged White to let him meet Diaz in the octagon.

3. Chris Leben

'The Crippler' has been the ultimate black hat-wearer since the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter. During the show he went on a drunken bender, talked smack to anyone who would listen, broke a window with his fist in a weeping rage, and urinated in a housemate's bed. There is something bruised, even broken, in Leben's demeanour. This translates in part into fearlessness – he has taken on opponents as dangerous as Mark Muñoz, Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva. His chin is amazingly resilient and he is a tough competitor. However he keeps getting into strife. He has been jailed in Oregon and arrested in Honolulu. He has admitted to ongoing problems with alcohol, was suspended for drug use in 2008 and again in November 2011 (a 12-month ban).

4. Chael Sonnen

Sonnen is a different breed of bad boy. Suave, supercilious, cocky, proudly right-wing, and university educated, he has constructed a persona all his own. He ran his mouth continually before his title fight against Anderson Silva, saying he was going to retire the Brazilian champ, then after the bout he tested positive to a banned substance. At the start of 2011 he pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in connection with a mortgage fraud. The Huffington Post called Sonnen's work on Twitter "racist and xenophobic", but it is unlikely he cares. They may have been thinking of Sonnen's taunt to Silva's manager to, "pray to whatever Demon effigy you prance and dance in front of with your piglet tribe of savages that I decide not to crucify you." He is also a real estate agent - reason enough to dislike him. He planned to run for the Republicans to get a seat in Oregon's House of Representatives before his legal issues intervened. Call Chael smart or call him smarmy – he doesn't care.

5. Brock Lesnar

A refugee from the vaudeville fakery of pro wrestling who dared come to the octagon and win, it's small wonder Lesnar is loathed. Fans hated the way he was gifted a shot at the heavyweight title as a newbie, and hated it even more when he triumphed. He is the highest-paid man in MMA despite not being the best or most active fighter, which upsets some colleagues. He can also trade trash-talk with the best of them.

6. Tim Sylvia

We thought about Tito Ortiz or Phil Baroni for the final spot, but we'll go with another heavyweight titlist, the monstrous Tim Sylvia. Even though he won his first 16 straight fights, even though he won the UFC Heavyweight strap in 2003, lost it, then regained it in 2006, even though he kept paying his dues with the Miletich camp – no-one liked him. Perhaps it was his ugly look – bad tattoos on a 203cm frame with a sloppy gut – or perhaps it was his awkward style, but he was booed to the ring and booed while he fought and booed when he won. And, of course, being stripped of the heavyweight title for steroid use didn't help his popularity, either.

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