Top 10 Worst MMA Nicknames

Professional fighters often have colorful nicknames and those who do battle in the octagon are no exception. Names like Quentin "Rampage" Jackson and Patrick "The Predator" Cote add to the excitement and anticipation that a great fight is at hand.

Some names are better than others and other names are worse still. Here's a list of mixed martial artists who somehow got stuck with terrible nicknames. In no particular order:

Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg

This isn't the kind of nickname you give a cage fighter - heck, this isn't the kind of nickname you give anyone over the age of five. It doesn't even have the virtue of being original.

Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko

Is he called "The Janitor" because he takes out the trash? And mops the floor with his opponents? Bad metaphor aside, "Janitor", while a perfectly good occupation, isn't a nickname to inspire much excitement.

Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock

A nickname should be short and to the point. By the time you say all that, the fight's over. More than that, it's a name you have to live up to or it's done. For example, if the California Kid gets knocked out, he's still the California Kid. If The World's Most Dangerous Man gets knocked out, where does that leave him?

Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz

TMID or "too much information, dude". Your nickname shouldn't also be your biography. And Bad Boy is about as generic as it gets.

Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk

What's wrong with Sean "The Shark" Sherk? Sure, it's a little corny but it works. When you add "Muscle" to the mix, it becomes a field growing in Kansas. Sharks are plenty fierce. They don't need a superfluous noun.

Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic

I had to Google "Cro-Cop" to find out it stood for 'Croatian Cop'. Perhaps it's meant to suggest that he's had special training as a cop, but I don't want to have to do another search. A nickname shouldn't be this much work to figure out.

Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian

The best thing about this nickname is that it isn't K-Flo. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine anyone using something this awkward as an actual nickname. It doesn't have much of ring.

Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm

Another example of a played-out nickname that's better suited to a child. It's time to put on your big boy pants and come up with a better name.

B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn

Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines "prodigy" as 'a highly talented child or youth'. Since Mr. Penn was born in 1978, it's safe to say he's an adult now. In addition, he was born Jay Dee Penn and, being the youngest of his brothers, was called "Baby Jay", so B.J. is the nickname of a nickname.

Ron "H-2-O" Waterman

Hooray for remedial chemistry lessons! However, the play on the name hardly sends a chill of terror down the spine. Maybe it'd be more appropriate if he was a water polo player.

Sources:

Sherdog.com

The Underground
Merriam-Webster