Media Fighters Known By Their Nickname and How They Got Them

[Y2Khaos]

There are quite a few fighters who have taken on being called only by their nickname. Some of them have even fought each other!


Here are the fighters I personally only call by their nicknames, and how most of them got their nicknames. Some of them might surprise you!




This was my source for most of the information.

Spoiler: How MMA Fighters Got Their Nicknames

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Matt "The Terror" Serra
Georges "Rush" St Pierre
Frank "Twinkle Toes" Trigg
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
Michael "The Count" Bisping
David "The Crow" Loiseau
Randy "The Natural" Couture
Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock
Andre "The Pit Bull" Arlovski
Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson
Junior "Cigano" dos Santos
Anderson "The Spider" Silva
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone
Frankie "The Answer" Edgar
Travis "Hapa" Browne
Cristiane "Cyborg" Justino
Karo "The Heat" Parisyan
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
Amanda "Lioness" Nunes
Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem
"Filthy" Tom Lawlor
Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero
Gegard "The Dreamcatcher" Mousasi
"Thug" Rose Namajunas
Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon
Duane "Bang" Ludwig
Cole "Magrinho" Miller

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
"Funky" Ben Askren
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
Phil "Mr.Wonderful" Davis
BJ "The Prodigy" Penn
Matt "The Immortal" Brown
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
Holly "The Preachers Daughter" Holm
Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson
Nick "The Goat" Thompson
"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey
"Suga" Rashad Evans
"The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine
Pat "Hype or Die" Barry
Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko
Melvin "No Mercy" Manhoef
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister
Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeida
Bas "El Guapo" Rutten
Gabriel "Napao" Gonzage
Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy
Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring
Wesley "Cabbage" Correira
Jason "Mayhem" Miller
Tito "The Huntington Beach Badboy" Ortiz
Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson
Ron "H2O" Waterman
Yoshohio "Sexyama" Akiyama
Marloes "Rumina" Coenen

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Jon "Bones" Jones
Phil "The New York Bad Ass" Baroni
Enson "Yamato Damashi" Inoue
David "Tank" Abbott
Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit
Mike "Platinum" Perry
Conor "Notorious" McGregor
Cody "No Love" Garbrandt
Murilo "Ninja" Rua
Carla "Cookie Monster" Esparza
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
Jeremy "Gumby" Horn
Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum
Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal
Dan "Hendo" Henderson
Roger "El Matador" Huerta
Henry "The Messenger" Cejudo
"12 Gauge" Paige VanZant
Marco "King Of The Streets" Ruas
Jessica "Evil" Eye
Nate "The Great" Marquardt
Thiago "Pitbull" Alves
"Big" John McCarthy (referee)
Josh "The Warmaster" Barnett
Din "Dinyero" Thomas
Seth "The Silverback" Petruzelli
Gray "The Bully" Maynard
Matt "The Hammer" Hamill
Josh "The Dentist" Neer
Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk
Hector "Showeather" Lombard

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Dan "The Beast" Severn
Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov
"The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung
Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson
Brian "T-City" Ortega
Chad "Money" Mendes
Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal
Tra "Trauma" Telligman
Kevin "Cub" Swanson
Stephen "The Fight Professor" Quadros
James "Colossus/Mega Punk" Thompson
Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Clay "The Carpenter" Guida
Mike "Quick" Swick
Tatsuya "Crusher" Kawajiri
Dennis "Superman" Hallman
Matt "The Law" Lindland
Jon "Warmachine" Koppenhaver
Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa
Jeff "The Snowman" Monson
Rich "No Love" Clementi
"Hansome" Matt Wiman
Paul "Semtex" Daley
James "The Sandman" Irvin
Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Vladimir "The Sanitor" Matyushenko
Anthony "Showtime" Pettis
Shayna "Queen of Spades" Bazzlor
Nick "Notorious" Newell

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Roy "Big Country" Nelson
Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens
Junie "Lunatik" Browning
Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen
Israel "Style Bender" Adesanya
Anthony "Lionheart" Smith
Miesha "Cupcake" Tate
Bryan "Kid Lightning" Caraway
Michael "The Voice" Schiavello (commentator)
Ilir "The Sledge Hammer" Latifi
Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres
Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez
Manny "The Anvil" Gamburyan
Jacob "Stitch" Duran (cutman)
Paul "The Irish Dragon" Felder
Darren "Gorilla" Till
Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove
Rick "The Horror" Story
Darren "The Damage" Elkins
Michael "The Menace" Johnson
Houston "The Assassin" Alexander
Diego "Ceara" Brandao
Benson "Smooth" Henderson
Denis "Super Korean" Kang
Felice "Lil Bulldog" Herrig

How MMA Fighters Got Their Nicknames - Volume 6

Spoiler: Fighters In This Video

Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Rich "Ace" Franklin
Spencer "The King" Fisher
Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett
Allessio "Legionarius" Sakara
Pete "Drago" Sell
Urijah "The California Kid" Faber
Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons
Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz
Mauro "The Bipolar Rock n Roller" Ranallo (commentator)
Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout
Brandon "The Truth" Vera
Mark "The Super Samoan" Hunt
Genki "Neo Samurai" Sudo
Tonya "Triple Threat" Evinger
Renan "Barao" do Nascimento Mota Pegado
Chris "Lights Out" Lytle
Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez
Alan "The Talent" Belcher
Hong "Techno Goliath" Man Choi
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante
John "The Magician" Dodson
Jessica "Bate Estaca" Andrade
Joe "Diesel" Riggs
Kron "Ice Cream Kron" Gracie

​

 

[Y2Khaos]

Kevin Swanson
aka
Cub Swanson

Kevin Swanson on how he got the nickname "Cub"

"Cub isn't my first name but all my family knows me by that name. My real name is Kevin Luke Swanson. I don't have a fight nickname. I was very close to having the announcer announce me as 'Killer Cub,' but never got around to talking to him about it. Members in Greg Jackson camp gave that nickname (killer cub) to me. Cub was givin to me by my older brother when I was an infant."

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[Y2Khaos]

Anthony Johnson
aka
Rumble

Anthony Johnson on how he got the nickname “Rumble”

“I was in Big Bear training for a four man tournament. I was riding down the mountain after my training camp and I was like, I’ve got to figure out a nickname for me, one that sticks out. I was like, they’ve got a Shogun, they’ve got a Wanderlei, they’ve got a Rampage, a Cabbage, you know? I wanted to start calling myself the Southern Rambo because I’m originally from Georgia. But I was like, that sounds kind of corny. When I was little I used to always say, ‘Let’s get ready to rumble,’ before a football game and stuff. The name ‘Rumble’ has sort of been stuck with me. I liked it; (it) was something different. So I stuck with it.”

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[Y2Khaos]

Chan Sung Jung
aka
The Korean Zombie

Chan Sung Jung was given his nickname “The Korean Zombie” by his training partners at Korean Top Team because of his move-forward-at-all-costs philosophy.

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[Y2Khaos]

Renan Mota do Nascimento Pegado
aka
Renan Barao

His nickname "Barao (baron)" was given to him by his grandfather. It's based after a Brazilian character from the Brazilian TV show Sinha Moca.

​

 

[Y2Khaos]

Kevin Ferguson
aka
Kimbo Slice

Origin of the nickname "Kimbo Slice"

“In his first taped fight against a man named Big D, Ferguson left a large cut on his opponent's right eye which led Internet fans to call him Slice, becoming the last name to his already popular childhood nickname, Kimbo.”

Kimbo Slice vs Big D

Kimbo Slice vs Tank Abbott

Kimbo Slice vs Dada 5000

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[Y2Khaos]

Dhafir Harris
aka
Dada 5000

​

 

[Y2Khaos]

Mauricio Rua
aka
Shogun

Mauricio Rua on how he got the nickname “Shogun”

“My friends gave it to me. They started calling me that 6 years ago and it stuck. My brother was called Ninja so they thought of a Japanese name for me. I was wearing a Shogun-brand gi at the time so that's why they called me Shogun.”

Shogun vs Rampage

Shogun vs Cyborg

Murilo Rua
aka
Ninja

Shogun on how his brother Murilo Rua got the nickname “Ninja”

“Honestly, I don't remember. We've called my brother Ninja since we were kids. From what I've heard, Chute Boxe Japan's coach gave him the nickname. We didn't think we would be able to fight in Japan at the time, so it turned out to be a great nickname."

​

 

[Y2Khaos]

Quinton Jackson
aka
Rampage

Quinton Jackson on how he got the nickname “Rampage”

“My cousins gave it to me when I was 8 years old, They used to get me spun up on purpose and watch me rampage around the house destroying things and getting into fights. I would even hyperventilate and have to breathe into a paper bag to calm down.”

Rampage vs Ninja

Rampage vs King Mo 1

Rampage vs Minowaman

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[Y2Khaos]

Terry Bollea
aka
Hulk Hogan

While in Tennessee, Bollea appeared on a local talk show with Lou Ferrigno, the actor who played the Incredible Hulk. The host noticed that Bollea was actually bigger than Ferrigno, leading him to take on the name “The Hulk.” When he joined the WWF in late 1979, promoter Vincent McMahon wanted him to adopt an Irish persona with the last name “Hogan.” His name became Hulk Hogan.

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[Y2Khaos]

Hayato Sakurai
aka
Mach

Hayato Sakurai's nickname, “Mach”, pronounced ma-ha in Japanese was taken as a tribute to his childhood professional wrestling hero, Higo Shigehisashi, better known as Mach Hayato, the first Japanese professional wrestler to completely embrace the Mexican style of Lucha Libre and was also among the group of professional wrestlers who made the transition to shoot wrestling as part of the original UWF movement.

Mach vs Hellboy

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[Y2Khaos]

Joachim Hansen
aka
Hellboy

Joachim Hansen on how he got the nickname "Hellboy"

"After training BJJ about 2 months at Kampen BJJ Academy, a local tournament for the students was arranged and we had to sign our names on a whiteboard - and we were allowed to add nicknames. I was in a fury because people were standing in line waiting to sight their names, so I had to come up with something brutal, and fast. I thought about signing "Hellhammer", but I knew that name was already takin by the drummer in Mayhem (a Norwegian black metal band). I didn't want to be a ripoff, so I put the marker to the whiteboard and wrote Hellboy. Far away in the distance of my imagination, I could hear a thousand Valkyries singing. About a year later I walk past a comic book shop, and on the window there was a poster of Mike Mignola's "Hellboy" smiling down at me."

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[Y2Khaos]

Roy Nelson
aka
Big Country

Roy Nelson on how he got the nickname "Big Country"

"I used to train a lot of UFC fighters and we were doing takedowns and I was taking everybody down and everybody thought I was like an Oklahoma wrestler from Iowa just for my wrestling ability. The nickname kind of stuck. Eric Pele gave it to me, he was like, "What's up, Big Country?" The more I fought it, the more it stuck but they thought I was a wrestler from Oklahoma or Iowa and that's how it came."

Big Country vs Cro Cop

Big Country vs Bigfoot

Big Country vs Kongo

Big Country vs Kimbo Slice

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[Y2Khaos]

Jon Koppenhaver
aka
War Machine

Jon Koppenhaver got his nickname “War Machine” from Phil Baroni “due to his bio-mechanical tattoos and his original sparring style which he says at first he “couldn't go light only hard.” Koppenhaver ended up legally changing his name to “War Machine” due to copyright claims much like the Ultimate Warrior did as a way to continue to use the name. War Machine : “SO in case you didn’t notice in my last fight the UFC did NOT use my nickname when I fought. Turns out some gay ass wrestling federation threatened to sue them because they recently named one of their wrestlers The War Machine Rhino and trademarked the name. Too fuckin’ bad that I have been using this name for 6 years, have it tatted on my body and it is what my fans yell out when I’m fighting. If you know my personality then you know damn well I am not gonna let some ass, FAKE wrestler steal MY name. SO 6 weeks ago I filed a change of name request and today I had court to make my name officially WAR MACHINE”.

Jon Koppenhaver Legally Changes His Name To War Machine​

 

[Y2Khaos]

Renato Sobral
aka
Babalu

Renato Sobral on how he got the nickname "Babalu"

"The nickname was given to me by a friend when I was 11 years old. It is the name of a chewing gum. I used to wear red shirts that resembled the gum's wrapper. Your nickname is not something you can change - the more you dislike it, the more people will call you that to make fun of you. Here in the U.S.' people have nicknames like 'The Killer' or 'The Assassin,' but it's different in Brazil. Their nicknames are things like 'Big Head" and 'Owl's Face.' You don't get to pick your own. This nickname was given to me, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Babalu vs Pelé

Babalu vs Shogun

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[Y2Khaos]

José Landi-Jons
aka
Pelé

José Landi-Jons on how he got the nickname “Pelé”

“I think I'm special because I do everything I do in a special way 100 percent. When I had my first kick knockout people shouted 'Pelé Pelé'!! But I did not know who Pelé was. You have the opportunity to see the Pelé fight you forever remember and speak to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren about me. The people yelling my name because I come for a fight, the great show. My heart my soul in the fight.”

Pelé vs Cyborg

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[Y2Khaos]

Ronaldo Souza
aka
Jacare

Souza's nickname of "Jacare", which is the name of a species of crocodile that inhabits Brazil, was given to him for his aggressiveness and explosiveness on the mats.

Jacare vs Mayhem 1

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[Y2Khaos]

Jason Miller
aka
Mayhem

Jason Miller on how he got the nickname "Mayhem"

"That's what people who know me call me, or if you seen me flip out, and go ninja on someone, you know, blow them right outta their shoes. I used to be a loose cannon, but I now keep it all inside the cage, which is a dangerous thing for the man standing across from me. It's just who I am. I talk mayhem, I fight mayhem, and I brush my teeth mayhem. I boys didn't take long to slap that one on me, and I've grown into it quite nicely."

Mayhem vs Jacare 2

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[Y2Khaos]

Muhammed Lawal
aka
King Mo

Muhammad Lawal on how he got the nickname ”King Mo”

“King Mo came from my brother Kenny, a guy I've known for awhile. He was like, when you start MMA, you'll be a king. We'll call you King Mo. In wrestling, I was called twenty five-eight. I like that. I still go by that. You know, 25 hours a day, eight days a week. But then King Mo, I actually like that better. . . I love Coming to America, my favorite movie. I was like, King Mo, yeah, I like that.”

King Mo vs Rampage 2

King Mo vs Kongo

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[Y2Khaos]

Antonio Silva
aka
Bigfoot

Antonio Silva on how he got the nickname "Bigfoot"

"That's because my feet are really big. I was a skinny guy, and my foot was larger than the rest of my body (laughs)."

Bigfoot vs Cabbage

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