For a long time, it was said that the UFC were struggling to produce a solid ‘PPV star’ below 170 pounds.
There have been very few, in fact you could argue that only BJ Penn has truly caught the imagination of the casual fan, the fan who will drop their hard-earned dollars on a UFC PPV. The ‘Prodigy’ could sell a fight with his trash-talking ability which was matched with a unique talent that put him on the map as the premier PPV seller south of welterweight.
That is not to say that there has not been a number of great champions in the lighter weight-classes. Far from it. Demetrious Johnson, the UFC’s one and only flyweight champion, has a spectacular skillset and is one of the most talented fighters on the planet, hoever his personality simply has not pushed on the paying fan. Is that all his fault? No. The UFC really needs to look at how they have promoted Johnson, often placing him on PPV events that simply do not have the traction to do well. UFC 186 is a case in point.
Just as Anthony Pettis was starting to look like a posterboy for 155 pounds, Rafael Dos Anjos steamrolled him.At bantamweight, Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz have an interesting rivalry but it remains to be seen if TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao can grab attention. That leaves one champion, Jose Aldo. The Brazilian has found himself in a similar situation that Johnson has at 125 pounds, phenomenal fighter but simply not catching the attention of the PPV buyer. That is about to change for the Brazilian.
Conor McGregor a brash, loud Irishman that backs up his trash talking with scintilating performances in the cage has got under the skin of Aldo. He has catapulted himself in to being one of the UFC’s top stars, simply by doing what his fellow 145 pound fighters were not doing, showing personality. When fighting on the European circuit with Cage Warriors, it was clear that the man known as ‘Notorious’ was something special. However, when the UFC came knocking, he took the bull by the horns and has ensured that he will earn the money that many fighters complain is not out there.
That is often one of the biggest gripes amongst the MMA community, fighters aren’t getting enough money. However, those that talk have done well for themselves. Messrs Sonnen, Bisping and Koscheck never got their hands on a world title but by being the ‘dick’ they have put themselves in to main events and co-main events on PPVS, sitting with a more than healthy bank balance. In fact, it is fair to say that the above fighters have made more than some world champions and Conor McGregor will also join that club.
His work on the microphone has been spectaular, whether it has been post-fight after picking up a win or pre-fight in hyping up his fight. While it is easy to say, get on the microphone and show personality, it simply is not that easy. That is why fighters need to use social media wisely. One fighter who has really caught the eye on social media over the last few months has been the lightweight division’s unbeaten Dagestanian, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Eagle’ has become one of the best follows on Twitter, with his pursuit of downplaying the lightweight division fast being one of the most interesting Twitter feeds in some time. Anthony Pettis took the brunt of it a lot but his most recent moment of gold saw him photoshop the great Mike Tyson.
[quote]Mike knows[/quote]
