SI.com's '08 mid-year MMA Razzies
We gave you the legitimate awards. Now it's time for the fun stuff. Who boosted your self-esteem with their crazy antics? Who made your rags-for-a-wardrobe look like designer duds? Welcome to SI.com's mid-year Razzies, where the worst-of-the-worst are showcased for all to enjoy ... yet again.
Face of MMA (for better or worse): Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.
Money Man: Lorenzo Fertitta of Zuffa. Millionaire trying to make more millions steps away from billion-dollar industry into multi-million dollar industry in hopes of turning it into a multi-billion dollar industry.
Nuthin to Sumthin: Forrest Griffin. From TUF to UFC champ, "Ears" got game.
Greatest Feud: Randy Couture vs. Zuffa. Yes, the contract dispute is ongoing and seemingly never ending.
Biggest Party Pooper: The State of New York. MMA's ongoing battle for regulation across the United States crashed and burned in the Big Apple. The New York Assembly failed to push forward a bill that would legalize the sport in the state.
Biggest Whiner: Juanito Ibarra. Dude, get over yourself. And ditch the hat.
Foolish Yet Brilliant: Jesse Taylor. Perhaps the only man in the world to put on a public drunken rampage and get paid for doing so -- legally, that is. See you at UFC Fight Night 14.
Worst Dressed:Kimbo at the Country Music Awards. The fact that he was even at the event is a whole other issue.
Best dressed: Jay Hieron. Stud.
Best female fighter: Gina Carano. Bring it.
Best body: Georges St. Pierre. Words are not needed. (Currently sweating.)
Hottest Ring Girl: Rachelle Leah. Not sure if she's still an Octagon Girl but does it really matter?
Man Amongst Boys: Anderson Silva. It doesn't matter if he's only fought once so far this year: The man's a beast.
Most Likely to be on "A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila": Josh Koscheck. He's just not right. They'd make a cute couple.
Best Victory via Ass-Beating: Kimbo. (He's on a roll!) Bursting a dude's cauliflower ear is not in the rule book under means of TKO. Lying on the mat like a beached whale does not equate to a skilled ground game. And shaving your body hair into pretty shapes doesn't help your cause on any front.
Most Quotable: Tim Sylvia: "Half of this game is 90 percent mental." Aside from the obvious, Sylvia blows away the others in this category because it's a STOLEN dumb quote that's been mangled to sound dumber. If you're gonna steal a quote, don't take Yogi Berra's. And if you're dumb enough to take Yogi's, don't mess it up even more.
Worst Hair: Tito Ortiz. Just because your girlfriend has bleached-blonde hair doesn't mean you should too. And how you maim a buzz cut?
Best BookReviews: Randy Couture's new book with Sherdog.com's Loretta Hunt, entitled Becoming the Natural, has been praised by the likes of Time, Brett Favre, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Joe Rogan, "Big" John McCarthy, Rob Schneider, Criss Angel and Mark Cuban. Quite the mix there.
WorstIntro: Phil Baroni looking like a pimped-out Santa Claus at CBS-EliteXC's inaugural "Saturday Night Fight." Quite the prime-time debut.
Family Feud:Daddy Diaz vs. Daddy Noons. When's the rematch?
Worst Trash Talker:Tito Ortiz on Dana White. Telling someone you would have shanked him when you were younger just makes you look moronic. Strike two for Tito.
Least Likely To Form a Cohesive Thought: Nick Diaz. Case in point: I'm here to fight. I'm not trying to be a movie star. I'm not trying to wear a [expletive] suit like K.J. Noons. I'll save my money to buy some [expletive] weed. You know what I mean? I'm trying to enhance the quality of my living. That's the same reason why I will fight people, I will get high, because that's a higher quality of life. You know what I mean? I don't [expletive] do drugs and I don't do no [expletive]. You know what I mean? I'm trying to enhance the quality of my living. Whatever is going to do that. I'm not down for [expletive] chemicals. You know what I mean? I'm down for whatever is going to do it. If fighting and whatever else I do and saying [expletive] you, and being able to do that and still make money, you know, sounding ignorant.
Greatest Set of Ears: Three-way tie between Forrest Griffin, James Thompson and Randy Couture. Couture hasn't fought (officially) in almost a year and those things are still disgusting. Unfortunately for Griffin, those bad boys are natural. Sorry, buddy. Tough break.