I liked your post because I was prepping to make a similar thread. So, I might as well post my thread here. LOL
The UFC Should Get This Guy
I watched the entire interview, and he is very engaging. Plus, he is a highlight reel waiting to happen. The dude has one fight left on his contract. If I was Dana White, I would sign him and use the boxing model to promote him i.e. only favorable match-ups.
I would book him against fighters that will allow him to express his arsenal of striking, and not dudes who are just going to lay-n-pray to a victory and claim "I beat you." You didn't beat shit, but fair play, you won a game. LOL
Not every fighter needs to be promoted with the "on path to a title fight" hype. Some guys can should be promoted to headline the free ESPN cards and bring excitement to the fan base. I hate this "every star has to be on the road to a belt" nonsense. It doesn't have to be that way.
Basically, some fighters should be marketted towards the hardcore fans who are willing to pay for PPVs, others (the more exciting strikers) should be promoted to the less knowledgeable potential fans who are turned off to MMA, because they believe it is just sweaty half-naked men "cuddling" each other. Others, can grab all markets. You don't have to do the same old stale propaganda for every prospect.
Every potential star should be given the Conor McGregor treatment, a bunch of favorable match-ups with 3-and-something fighters, short-notice opponents, smaller-and-shorter guys at a reach disadvantage. When you perform, you become bulletproof, so even if you lose to a better guy, your stock doesn't plummet because the fan-base has bought into your persona.