Behind the psychological warfare of the UFC

Britain’s Michael Bisping bumps into Anderson Silva in a gym.

“You’re too old…you’re too slow,” says Bisping. “All your life on steroids."

Anderson laughs it off.

“Hey I’m going to f*** you,” adds Bisping as he is dragged away.

Well that escalated quickly…

Ireland’s world title holder Conor McGregor recently threatened to “behead” Brazil’s Rafael dos Anjos.

“I will drag his head through the streets of Rio de Janeiro,” said the Dubliner.

Too much? Too far? Not when it comes to UFC.

Trash talk is all part of the show - and for the fighters it is about gaining an advantage before they even step inside the ring.

McGregor and Bisping are trying to hook their opponent’s inner child, by being a child themselves, according to sport psychologist Professor Peter Clough.

They are fishing for a reaction, trying to get into their opponent’s headspace by throwing insults at them, some of which are just downright childish.

There are three reactions. Firstly be an adult, and ignore the person, the second is to be a parent and tell them off and the third is to react like a child.

A tantrum, a reaction... That is what these fighters are after, to distract their opponent, says Clough, from Manchester Metropolitan University, who has worked with professional rugby players, Olympians and Premier League teams.

He says this is a tactic used in all sport to put their opponent “out of the zone” and “dismantle their psychological state.”

“The optimum performing rate for an athlete is an empty mind. So if you can get your opponent to think about things, plant a seed that grows during the right then they will lose focus.”

But what about threatening to behead someone, surely they need to see someone, like the police.

Professor Clough believes the fighters are not demonstrating violent tendencies.

McGregor does not actually want to decapitate anyone.

They are saying these things as a tactic, called instrumental aggression.

This is aggression with a purpose, to achieve a goal of unsettling an opponent - It gives fighters like McGregor control.

“He is a controlled person", said Prof Clough.

“If he wasn’t and let it loose totally then he would not be an effective fighter".

Aggressive and stupid never go together.

"This is not a spontaneous action; He is just putting doubt in the opponent’s mind.”

Does it work?

“For some people it does,” adds Prof Clough. “We all have a weak point."

“When we get tired we become more vulnerable psychologically and the ability to maintain our adult begins to go.”

It also affects the UFC crowds, who buy into these mind games more than the fighters themselves.

“Fighters see it as instrumental aggression, the crowd see it more seriously,” says Prof Clough.

So how do you counter it?

Put your defences up, be an adult, smile and ignore it is the advice from Prof Clough.

“If someone tries really hard to psyche you out it can actually go the other way. It will drive them crazy and tire them out trying to hook you.”

Look again at the exchange between Bisping and Silva, who fight at London’s O2 Arena tonight.

The Brit has based his pre-match barbs around the Brazilian’s past.

Silva was banned last year for taking a performance enhancing drug, which he claimed was a sexual-enhancement pill.

But the gym exchange was won by Silva. Why? Bisping failed to hook his inner child.