Can a strong body odor win you a UFC title, or will it just lose you friends? Here’s the facts you can’t turn your nose up at...

Imagine being locked up in a vise-like guillotine by a sweaty 220lb monster. His muscles crush your windpipe and darkness begins to fill the corners of your vision as your brain is starved of oxygen.

Your legs feel weak and your eyes bulge out of their sockets from the intense pressure.

Your face turns blood red, the crowd’s screams fade and you begin to slip into unconsciousness.

Not pleasant right? Now imagine yourself making a last-ditch effort at surviving the onslaught by opening your mouth and taking in one final breath, only to suck in the foul, vinegary smell of your opponent’s dripping armpit.

Your gag reflex jolts and you begin to throw up. Everything fades to black. You’ve not only lost the fight, you’ve lost your dignity.

STINKY FIGHTERS

For former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, that situation was nearly all too real.

In 2006, Rampage would throw down with explosive wrestler Matt Lindland for an awe-inspiring superfight under the now-defunct World Fighting Alliance. The pair seemed evenly matched, yet Lindland held a distinct advantage: his body odor.

The wrestler’s stench became a valid weapon in nearly derailing the Pride veteran, with his bitter tang supposedly breaking Rampage’s concentration on a number of occasions.

In a tight battle, Rampage came out with a decision win, yet it was way too close for his liking. 

After the fight, Rampage addressed Lindland’s fervent funk, stating, “Man, that was like fighting a big ass smelly skunk!

Matt, you need to take a shower, man!”

Or was it perhaps Rampage who needed to throw away the soap and harvest a thick-layer of sweat and dirt on his skin? Nobody likes rolling around on the floor with a guy who smells so bad even dogs won’t sniff him, yet can smelling like a garbage truck see you take out the trash come fight night?

CAN SMELL BE A WEAPON?

According to Professor Robert Henkin, the answer is yes.

“Smell can certainly be used as an offensive weapon,” laughs Henkin, who has been studying olfactology (the study of smell) for the majority of his professional career.

“Fighters aren’t just fierce in terms of their physical ability, they can also smell fierce.”

So what exactly turns a fresh fighter into a pungent pugilist?

“There are volatiles in your sweat,” says Henkin.

“Everyone has a certain smell based on their skin bacteria and the range of chemicals that excrete from their body that can cause a strong odor, some stronger than others.

The smell will vary with certain factors, from how much you sweat to what you eat. If you eat a lot of meat, this is difficult to break down and chemical reactions occur which can produce body odor.”

So could it just be the fact that Lindland loves a juicy steak that could make him smell like a cow’s hide, or is there more to it?

“Smells aren’t just evident on a conscious level, they’re also evident on a unconscious level,” adds Henkin.

“A fighter’s natural smell can make his opponent very uncomfortable without them even realizing it.”

The science states that you could already be notching up a ‘W’ before stepping into the cage if you’re lucky enough to have a smell that your opponent doesn’t dig, whether they realize it or not.

And it doesn’t just stop at sweat.

“BO characteristics can come from all your organs: from your skin, your mouth, your anus – you don’t want to limit yourself just to sweat,” says Henkin.

“Dragons don’t only breathe fire, they have a breath that can knock you over! Eat things like garlic for bad breath and smelly skin.

Also, your urine smell is much less odiferous than your fecal smell.”

If you want to notch up the nose offensive, the range of body odors that add up to create a brutal barrage of stench is endless.

GET SMELLIER

Methods such as not brushing your teeth regularly will allow bacteria to grow inside your mouth creating a breath worse than a homeless hound (great for exhaling during the Thai clinch).

Then there’s poor hygiene from going to the toilet and not wiping properly, which can result in ‘ass cress’ (n. The wiry growth of ass hair adorned by excessive fecal cling-ons. As in, “Damn, my ass itches. I must be cultivating a fine layer of ass cress.”)

This is sure to put off your opponent when in the north-south position!

It’s safe to say that wiping once only is an extreme step to getting the advantage over your opponent – and we always advises a clean fight and good personal hygiene – but should you decide to take out your opponent hook, line and stinker, the experts agree sweat is the best chemical weapon.

“Sweating is part of the body’s natural cooling process.

We lose fluids through our sweat glands which settles on the skin and cools us as the air reaches it. The fluid lost does not have a strong odor, but, when it is left, bacteria can breed which increases the strength of smell,” says Jo Johnson, an expert in personal hygiene.

“Although it isn’t advised, there are certain areas on our body that contain many more sweat glands that other parts that can smell foul if not washed properly: the groin, underarms and feet excrete higher amounts of oils through a larger number of glands and will smell awful if not cleaned.

BACTERIAL FRIENDS

These areas are also mainly hidden away from the air so the bacteria have plenty of opportunity to breed to create a strong odor.”

In Lindland’s defense, it isn’t necessarily bad personal hygiene that has given him the power to make Right Guard turn left; it might be the fact he’s more masculine than his fellow fighters.

Studies conducted by scientists at Osaka International University, Japan, found increased testosterone levels trigger sweating sooner.

So the manly Lindland may stink when it comes to the throwdown, but boy can he fly through an oil change or knock up a wardrobe or two! 

Another factor that may skyrocket Lindland’s perspiration levels is his age.

At 41, Lindland is no spring chicken, and middle-aged men produce a substance called noneal, which adds to the production of bad odors. Although Lindland didn’t return the jibe towards Rampage, science also states that the color of your skin can also act as a biological factor in the pairs opposing odors.

“Body odor also has racial characteristics,” finishes Henkin.

“Black people have a different set of skin lymphids to white people so although they may not sweat more, their smell will certainly vary.”

All in all, being reluctant to take a bath isn’t the only way a fighter can adopt a skunk-like fragrance, yet it is a quick ticket to Stankoville, a place no opponent wants to visit.

We advises you to train hard, bathe hard and fight easy, letting your fists be the primary weapon in your MMA arsenal.

But if you do decide to go down the route that reeks, then the evidence is all there; building up a formidable pong can see you bewilder your opponent, and could provide you with the sweet smell of victory (well, sort of).

MMA’s most gut-wrenching moments

If you want to take body odor offensive to the next level, try these foul-smelling attacks

Clay Guida, The Burper

‘The Carpenter’ has been known to use the burp attack during a number of his fights. Although he accidently does it due to excessive wind during exercise, it is sure to put off his opponents.

Try eating a particularly acidy dish beforehand, then complement it with a rich dish like a creamy mushroom kiev – guaranteed to burn a few hairs off your opponents chin when it comes to the clinch.

Eder Jones, The Spewer

While the masses will not of heard of Eder Jones, his name rings a bell of disgust around every MMA aficionado who loves to trawl the Internet for unusual cage moments.

Shortly after his win at a PRIME MMA event in Brazil, Jones proceeded to projectile vomit all over the cage floor.

Although not recommended, releasing your lunch next to your opponent is sure to put them off long enough to lock them up in a nasty triangle choke.

Tim Sylvia, The Dung Beetle

Built like an armoured dung beetle and sometimes smelling just as bad, former UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia has been known to let his bowels go in the cage on a number of occasions.

Yet doing this is not recommended. It may earn you the win by freaking your opponent out, but it will lose you A LOT of respect.

Keep it Clean

Should you prefer to smell fresh rather than funky, follow these simple methods of staying mean and clean

1: Bathe more

Bathing simply washes the bacteria off your body. Showers are better at preventing BO than baths because during a shower you’re not sitting in your own dirt.

2: Deodorants/antiperspirants

Many deodorants only mask body odor, but some products actually fight bacteria. The most effective deodorants contain aluminum or zinc. Both elements are known to fight odor-causing bacteria.

3: Proper nutrition

Cutting down on caffeine reduces BO. Coffee, cola, chocolate, and other caffeine aliments contribute to odor because they stimulate apocrine sweat glands (the fatty sweat that bacteria just can’t get enough of).