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In the wake of Uriah Fabers retirement, the UFC not only lost its most profitable fighter of the division, but one of its perennial "good guys", someone who the the hardcore fans and masses generally want to see win.
Dominic Cruz has always been disliked by the hardcore fans during is rivalry with Faber, and mostly ignored by the masses. His strange fighting style and tendency to get injured hurt his rating stock, and over the years Dominic has never been able to fully shed the bad guy persona. Most people still generally root for him to lose, wether for style or personality flaws. His recent role as prominent analyst has looked to help his image, but could also lead to a earlier exit to his fighting career. Why stick around and put your body through punishment when you have a bigger paycheck waiting behind a commentator desk? Also his bad guy image was really the only angle he had, and being a well spoken commentator can only hurt this.
The void created by Uriahs departure, coupled with TJ unexpectantlty becoming one of the most hated fighters in the UFC with his camp switch, opened the door for Cody Gandbrandt to take on the baby face role. Unfortanently for the UFC, his antics on this TUF season clearly shows Cody is not your standerd role model, and is becoming less liked by viewers with each episode. With TJ seemingly stuck as the "snake", UFC is starting to push a 'heel vs heel' rivalry.
The question is, can this be profitable? Never have we seen the top 3 fighters in a division so disliked, yet also so engaging. Cody brings in a viewer friendly fighting style and intreging looks, but seems to distance himself with likability when he opens his mouth. And his next two opponents, for now, both are already entrenched in the bad guy roles.
I am very interested how this division plays out rating wise. The hardcore fans clearly love it, and UFC is trying to push it further. By years end this 3-way rivalry could possibly be one of the UFCs most valuable commodities.
Dominic Cruz has always been disliked by the hardcore fans during is rivalry with Faber, and mostly ignored by the masses. His strange fighting style and tendency to get injured hurt his rating stock, and over the years Dominic has never been able to fully shed the bad guy persona. Most people still generally root for him to lose, wether for style or personality flaws. His recent role as prominent analyst has looked to help his image, but could also lead to a earlier exit to his fighting career. Why stick around and put your body through punishment when you have a bigger paycheck waiting behind a commentator desk? Also his bad guy image was really the only angle he had, and being a well spoken commentator can only hurt this.
The void created by Uriahs departure, coupled with TJ unexpectantlty becoming one of the most hated fighters in the UFC with his camp switch, opened the door for Cody Gandbrandt to take on the baby face role. Unfortanently for the UFC, his antics on this TUF season clearly shows Cody is not your standerd role model, and is becoming less liked by viewers with each episode. With TJ seemingly stuck as the "snake", UFC is starting to push a 'heel vs heel' rivalry.
The question is, can this be profitable? Never have we seen the top 3 fighters in a division so disliked, yet also so engaging. Cody brings in a viewer friendly fighting style and intreging looks, but seems to distance himself with likability when he opens his mouth. And his next two opponents, for now, both are already entrenched in the bad guy roles.
I am very interested how this division plays out rating wise. The hardcore fans clearly love it, and UFC is trying to push it further. By years end this 3-way rivalry could possibly be one of the UFCs most valuable commodities.