MMA Has Sports' Best Nicknames

There are a lot of great things about sports. The athletic competition, the drama, the close games, and the crazy fans. But as I wrote in a previous article there is one thing that is missing from sports, good nicknames.

In today's sports the nicknames are lame. Most athletes today get their names by using their initials or sections of their name. A-Rod, KG, and AI are not good nicknames. Other nicknames are recycled for other athletes. For example, A-Rod is now the nickname of both Alex Rodriguez and Andy Roddick. There is one sport that has great nicknames though and that sport is MMA. The names are original, descriptive and give each fighter some added character.

David "Tank" Abbott
If you were given the job of assigning a nickname to Tank Abbott the first thing you would focus on is his size. This guy is big. Tank Abbott is not exactly the fastest guy in the world, and not the most technical so Tank is the perfect name for him. There is nothing pretty about the way he fights, but he'll run you over.

"Captain America" Randy Couture
Randy Couture's in-ring moniker is "The Natural" but is also known in the MMA world as "Captain America." The name "Captain America" is a perfect description of Randy Couture. Randy Couture is an All-American wrestler and an All-American guy. Randy Couture is 100% hard working, 100% class and is one of the most admired men in MMA.

Eric Esch
Eric Esch? Who is that? If I talked about Eric Esch nobody would know who I'm talking about. But if I called him by his in-ring nickname, Butterbean, you'd think, "oh yeah I know him! He's the big fat bald guy!" What better name for an obese scowling fighter than Butterbean?

Mirko Cro Cop
Mirko Cro Cop, real name Mirko Filipovic, has one of the most interesting nicknames in MMA. When Mirko Cro Cop isn't kicking people's head off in the ring he is a member of Croatia's Anti-Terrorist police. That is where Mirko gets his moniker. Mirko Cro (Croatian) Cop.