OU

Let's see if a new thread will function this morning.

Just another one of my pointless threads that I find interesting. Humor me and play along. What fighters out there that you either use to hate that grew on you or fighters that you use to love that you no longer root for.

I use to HATE BJ Penn, back when he was Hughes rival. But then over time BJ grew on me and he seemed to mature and I actually started rooting for him.

The list is longer for fighters I use to root for. I use to root for Diego Sanchez early on before I realized just how looney the guy is.
I rooted for Bones early on before he started doing interviews and we found out who he really is.

EDIT: I have more but I got to do some actual work for a min.

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Hammerlock2.0

Michael Bisping. I couldn't stand him until recently when he said TRT is against the spirit of the sport and should be illegal.

I couldn't stand Chael Sonnen until I watched a full interview with him.

I was neutral towards Jon Jones until he acted all holier-than-thou, said Dana would never have to worry about a DUI with him and then wrapped his new Bentley around a street lamp. Him beating some of my favorite fighters didn't help either.

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Tyson Fury

Neither hated or loved a fighter to be honest. Wandy will always be my fave but never felt strongly about a fighter. I'm usually more interested in the fighters ability than their personality. Going from hating a fighter to loving one or vice versa doesn't make sense to me. I don't know them on a personal level and I'm not going to judge someones personality on a bunch of interviews. Especially since most of them say things they wouldn't normally say, or act how they wouldn't normally act to hype a fight or themselves in oder to progress further in their careers.

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Soakked

As far as grown on me I would have to say Bisping and Sonnen. Somehow their bravado and exaggerations doesn't bother me anymore.

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"Let them see that their words can cut you, and you'll never be free of the mockery. If they want to give you a name, take it, make it your own. Then they can't hurt you with it anymore." - Tyrion Lannister

Terror Kovenant

I used to like Bisping. When he was on the reality show he was a clear winner the whole time and he had those cool flying knees. It was before the Dan Henderson fight that I started to not like him. He was running his mouth about how he would be the first to KO Hendo....something Wandy, Rampage, and Anderson couldnt do. Running his mouth about how he could wrestle with Hendo, etc. From then on I've just thought he was a complete ass

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Attero Dominatus.

Killz

Roy Nelson.

Hated him in TUF then grew to like him over the next few years and now hate him again.

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OU

It's a natural reaction from fans to either love or hate athletes. They are in the spotlight and the top athletes have alot of exposure. So we get a decent look at their personalities and mentality. I'm a passionate fan and just like I love my Oklahoma Sooners I love me some Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. Love the way they fight and how they approach fighting. I think it's just natural to love or hate fighters. Certainly nothing wrong with it. They provide a break from our everyday lives, caring about certain fighters is just part of being a fan IMO. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy the sport and appreciate what all fighters do in the cage.

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HorsepoweR

I used to like Anderson Silva, GSP and Bones Jones, now I hate all 3 of them. GSP and Silva used to be my number 2 and 3 favorite fighters. Blah.

I didn't like Sonnen at first but I love him now.

Always hated Bisping and Koscheck.

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NPFFL
Cain Velasquez
Frankie Edgar | Nick Diaz
Chael Sonnen | Chris Weidman

MMAnWEED

I grew to love Joe Lauzon. Maybe it was based on pure appearance but I always had a weird sense of dislike for the guy but once I realized how down to earth and intelligent he is, it eliminated anything negative I previously felt about him.

I grew to hate Rousimar. I always ruled off his mistakes based on him being really stupid but he never came off as a douche to me. Now it's all very clear that not only is he as intelligent as a salmon, he's a dirtbag.

Tyson Fury

I understand all that. What I'm saying is there is a diference between loving a fighter and loving the way they fight. Thats all brother. I love the way Andy fights, JBJ etc but do I love them? Dunno. Don't know them.

Theres also a diference between the personality of a fighter you see on tv and their actual personality. They are usually tring to hype themselves or a fight.

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