Through some truly professional investigative journalism, we've dug through the file room at UFC headquarters and discovered that certain fighters on the UFC roster have long-been advised to drop their chosen nicknames. Apparently, UFC brass has been regulating nickname use since some time in the mid-'90s and, for the first time ever, we're releasing a few of the forbidden names.
Chuck Liddell
Current Nickname: Ice Man
Rejected Nickname: "Up" Chuck Liddell
Our digging turned up the idea that Chuck will hit you so hard it will make you throw up. It was rejected purely on the premise that it is the stupidest thing anyone has ever heard, and it sounded too much like a Garbage Pail Kids property. Rumor has it that Dana was advised by council to avoid the ruthless GPC legal bullpen of Sawyer Lawyer and Trial Miles.
Rich Franklin
Current Nickname: Ace
Rejected Nickname: "Richie" Rich Franklin
This name was all set to go when Franklin's then-manager refused to change his name to "Dollar" Bill and the UFC wouldn't let Franklin take on the name solo. This disrupted Franklin's whole persona-which was, of course, all about the Benjamins. His entrance song was Ice Cube's "Hundred Dolla Bill Ya'll."
[Editor's note: you TOTALLY thought we'd go Diddy here. Suckers!]
Forrest Griffin
Current Nickname: None
Rejected Nickname: "Run Forrest Run Griffin"
This name stems from an attempt by Griffin's camp to tie Forrest's original passion, chasing down perps for the Richmond County Sheriff's department with an easy-to-remember, chant-worthy slogan. There were also rumblings that he was courting paramount for a sample of Robin Wright Penn's voice to stir local crowds into a frenzy. Our research proved the trouble was in the absolute idiocy in the name "Run Forrest Run." It represents zero creativity and flirts with infringement boundaries. However, we can't help but point out that no other name has been deemed worthy to take its place.
