About UFC Promoting Fighters...

IAmTheGOAT

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So I was thinking today about UFC promoting fighters. The main argument against this is that fighters should promote themselves, but in every other sport i've seen athletes who are talented are promoted by their organization. I don't really watch NFL or NBA, but I can't think of any many A list celebrity athletes who have good personalities. Most basketball players and football players are dull and boring. That doesn't stop them from being extremely popular.

Take for example Khabib. The Khabib that became popular during the buildup to the Conor fight is the same Khabib we've always known. Khabib became famous but didn't have to change his story. He was always the same person and if the UFC pushed him sooner and spent money promoting him all this time he could've become an star earlier.

I think a big part of creating a star is getting 3rd party creators involved. A big reason Conor blew up and others alike was because of YouTube content.

It also wouldn't help if the UFC payed big YouTubers and Instagram stars to promote their events/fighters. I could come up with tons of obvious ways to promote certain fighters and increase the UFC's stock but this type of archaic promotion will only go on for so long. It seems like the UFC is content with their current hardcore fans and casual fans who sits and eat at bars, but don't realize they can gain more mainstream recognition for certain talented fighters if they played their cards right.
 
if there was a simple formula to 'create superstars' don't you think a company motivated by making money would have created dozens of superstars in the last year?
 
Also it would help a bit if Dana didn't shit all over every fighter that ever fought for the UFC ☺️
 
WME has no clue how to promote fighters.
 
First step would be promoting the right fighters. How can you promote low tier fighters like Paige and Sage while ignoring a real champion like Woodley?
 
if there was a simple formula to 'create superstars' don't you think a company motivated by making money would have created dozens of superstars in the last year?
Then how come there's a simple formula to create superstars in other sports? There's tons of great athletes and personalities in the UFC. People overrate Dana as a business man and forget Lorenzo is who made the UFC what it is today. Remember this is a guy who has interns making posters for Madison Square Garden fights.

Promotion goes a long way. Look at Fury vs. Wilder. Both guys big in the boxing world but not mainstream crowd, however, both should've been. Fury, a great talker, and Wilder, a KO artist. When Showtime stepped in and made the fight, promoted it, the fight was huge and now both fighters have gained some mainstream significance. Hell, look at Eddie Hearn, he made Anthony Joshua, a guy who has zero charisma, a mega superstar in England.

Point is, there's no reason guys in the UFC shouldn't be bigger than they are. Till was on the verge of becoming a superstar but blew it. However, it wasn't due to the UFC that Till gained popularity in the UK, it was mainly due to BT Sport putting out great promotion.

It's not like the UFC is incapable of promoting fighters well. Look at what they did for Conor vs. Khabib, they even made an OST for the press conference and promos. The posters looked well made, and they spent time promoting it.

Now imagine if they did that for more fights and actually spent a bigger marketing budget.
 
They helped Mighty Mouse get an Xbox sponsorship and he still blew it.

Some fighters take the opportunity in the spotlight, others have no idea what to do
 
They helped Mighty Mouse get an Xbox sponsorship and he still blew it.

Some fighters take the opportunity in the spotlight, others have no idea what to do
Look I hate manlets as much as the next guy but lets be honest that had nothing to do with the little mouse it had to do with Dana and the shitty Reebok deal.
 
First step would be promoting the right fighters. How can you promote low tier fighters like Paige and Sage while ignoring a real champion like Woodley?
In theory what you are saying makes perfect sense to a fight fan, put money behind the most skilled fighters. The thing about billion dollar corporations is they are cut throat business men with one goal in mind, the bottom line. Some pencil pusher who probably knows nothing about fighting knows Woodley is 36 years old, and if he was going to be a household name he already would be. They factor in Social media, google searches, fan surveys, age, and I am sure a bunch of other non fight related criteria to determine who to promote, and how much money to put behind them.
 
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