Crazy is like a box of crayons; there are so many different colors and varieties to choose from. This rings true when it comes to all the diverse personalities of modern day cage warriors.
Despite popular belief, the bulk of today’s MMA fighters are college educated and well mannered.
Champions such as Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva, represent the sport as true martial artists displaying honor and respect to their opponents.
The sport has come a long way from its “no holds barred” ages and the athletes are finally able to showcase their integrity to the world.
However, for every Machida, Georges St. Pierre, and Randy Couture, there’s always going to be a couple of fighters behind them that will appear to be cookoo for cocoa puffs.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the top ten craziest personalities in MMA today. Some will be harmless entertainers but others will be downright degrading to the sport. It is up for you to decide which is which on this countdown.
(Honourable mention: Viacheslav Datsik, Gilbert Yvel, Lee Murray)
10. Shonie Carter
Nicknamed “Mr. International”, Carter is a 12-year veteran of the sport and has won championships in various organizations. At one point in his career he was a top-10 ranked Welterweight and is mainly remembered for knocking out eventual UFC champ Matt Serra with a spinning back-fist at UFC 31.
While most fighters wear traditional fight shorts whilst competing, Carter prefers to wear tight spandex—otherwise known as “man panties”—when he’s fighting.
If the “man panties” aren’t disturbing enough, Carter stuffs his pants with an extra-large cup to give the illusion that he’s extra-large in the pants. His strategy may have worked if it didn’t look like he smuggled a banana and two pears into his tights.
Outside of the cage, Carter dresses like an old-school pimp that you thought only existed in gangster films.
If you’re ever in Chicago, Illionois and you see a middle-aged man strutting down the street with a cane, dressed in flamboyant attire then it’s probably “Mr. International” on his way to solve some “baby-momma drama.”
9. Chris Leben
Ah, who can ever forget the antics of the man formerly known as “The Cat Smasher” from the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter?
“The Crippler” has matured tremendously since appearing on the reality show in 2005 but it’s like the old saying goes, “you can take the man out of crazy, but you can’t take the crazy out of the man.”
On TUF Season one, Leben irritated his fellow housemates with his drunken frolics and uncivilized behavior. At one point in the show, a drunken Leben stole a pillow from team-mate Jason Thacker and urinated on it.
Later in the season, Leben went beserk at the house after being antagonized by Team Liddell members, Bobby Southworth and Josh Koscheck.
After the show, Leben has simmered down a bit. A move out to Hawaii has eased his mind and matured him as both a fighter and a human being, but as previously mentioned, you can never take the craziness out of Chris Leben.
8. Tom Lawlor
Crazy might not be the best phrase to describe “The Filthy Mauler.” Lawlor has gone far and beyond the definition of crazy, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing either.
At the weigh-ins for his bout against C.B Dollaway at the historic UFC 100, Lawlor painted himself with green and white face paint, signing “UFC” on his forehead and “JUST BLEED” on his chest. This was a parody of a fanatical fan from a classic UFC event that did the very same thing, and needless to say the fans fell in love with Lawlor after witnessing this hilarious display.
To make matters even more intriguing, during the face-off, while Dollaway is staring into Lawlor’s eyes with mean intentions, Lawlor positioned his hands as if he were ready to launch a kamehameha wave straight out of the popular martial arts cartoon, Dragonball Z at his opponent.
However, the event that transformed Lawlor from a comic relief into a legend in the span of one night was his epic entrance at UFC 100.
“Who let the dogs out” by the Baha Men hit the loudspeakers and Lawlor walked down the ramp with his close friend and training partner, Seth Petruzelli hooked up to a dog collar leash on all fours.
Lawlor has a long trail ahead of himself as far as becoming a UFC champion is concerned, but when it comes to the entertainment aspect, he’s already an emperor.
7. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Die-Hard MMA fans know Miller as “Mayhem” and a talented eight-year veteran of the sport. Everyone else recognizes him as “that Bully Beatdown guy from MTV”, either way mostly everyone has heard of him in some form and acknowledges the craziness behind this fighter.
When you get the tar kicked out of you by Georges St. Pierre for three rounds but still manage to crack a smile whilst blood is poring from your nose, you’re the true king of craziness.
Most mortal men would mentally break down after having GSP beat and batter them for 15 minutes, but Miller seemed to enjoy the butt-kicking, or so he made it appear judging by his blood-stained teeth in his smile.
When it comes to flashy ring entrances, “Mayhem” is a true master at entertaining the crowd. At DREAM 9, “Mayhem” came out to the song “Lava Lava” by Boys Noize and walked down a ramp surrounded by a bunch of Japanese women dressed like Catholic school-girls, all of which he has probably slept with before and after the fight.
As he made his way down the ramp, he, along with all of the Asian girls, began to perform this ridiculous dance that both Steve Urkel from Family Matters and Carlton Banks from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air combined would not be able to duplicate, even in their prime.
There’s a certain swagger surrounding “Mayhem” Miller and the fans love it. He’s an entertainer first and a fighter second.
6. Wes Sims
If you’ve been following The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights every week on Spike TV, you will know exactly why “The A-Whole Show” is mentioned on this list. To put it simply, the man is completely out of his mind but totally harmless at the same time.
From accusing Zak Jensen of “sniffing his shorts”, to sneaking up on Matt Mitrione in a Ninja Gi at the basketball court and spraying him with silly string while the former NFL player tries to sleep.
Sims loves to mess with people and he loves to entertain his fans.
Even before the TUF show, hardcore fans knew Sims was an exotic human being. We’re talking about a guy who stomped Frank Mir’s head in a disqualification loss at UFC 43. Obviously, the man is insane but believe it or not, he’s a friendly type of insane.
He lost to Mir twice in two of his three UFC contests and then went on TUF to announce to all of the new fans watching the show at home, “Wes Sims is the only man to have beaten Frank Mir on two separate occasions.”
Of course the charismatic Heavyweight followed that up with this line: “Wes Sims will never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
(For more proof of Sims' 'uniqueness' check out my thread of quotes from one of his interviews:
"I can only assume Baroni had unprotected gay sex for money" Wes Sims Interview )
