Why isn't Pavlovich more popular & can he be a star?

[Busgosu]

Reem at least it's Legend of Sport Islam lost to Adriano Martins lol.

But doesn't Matter Islam and Pav evolved as a fighters.

Lol I love that GIF and hate all neckbeards but a case can be made about Islam getting caught. Sergei on the other hand was just outclassed and demolished.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

a combination of him not talking enough shit on the mic, angrily, with murderous intent and also UFC stuck in a hard place trying to market a Russian fighter given the message, Russia is bad.

 

[Brigfa2]

You can't be a star without knowing english

 

[NoSmilez]

Language barrier and no memorable fight in terms of hype. He just needs to learn bro and smash. Maybe grow a beard.

 

[Tweak896]

I think if he beat Overeem back when they matched up he could've taken the Ngannou trajectory earlier. He was sort of written off temporarily and had to rebuild his reputation.

 

[RonDante]

It makes you wonder, why doesn’t every ranked guy start talking trash and trying to build a personality people can enjoy? It really does feel like mcgregor was the only guy that really went in on “if they’re talking about you, you’re doing something right”

 

[Trabaho]

It's been 30 years and the bathrobe crowd still doesn't realize this is entertainment, not bushido nonsense.

You can KO guys dead but then if you've got the personality of drying paint when the mic's actually given to you and the audience gets a chance to connect nobody's going to remember you.

Who cares. He's a real fighter not a clown.

To answer ts : English

 

[TeenageMutantLesnarTurtle]

He hasnt really had his big moment that could make him a star yet. Him and Aspinall are both on the verge though.

 

[Wetarmpits]

He has the charisma of a potatoe.

 

[aunshi189]

He should start doing shoeys

 

[DreyDay]

He's Russian

 

[VinceArch]

Reem at least it's Legend of Sport Islam lost to Adriano Martins lol.

But doesn't Matter Islam and Pav evolved as a fighters.

Islam is a UFC champion. Something Overeem couldn't get to.

 

[ilfirin]

Inevitable future champ, and I don't mind it one bit.

 

[deadshot138]

The guy was destroyed by old, washed out, non-Uber-Reem...
Seriously , this whole current UFC HW roster is just awful.

He would murder Reem today

 

[MMAALLDAYBAYBAY]

He seems like a nice quiet humble kinda guy. Unfortunately, those types of guys (aside from GSP) don't usually turn into draws/stars in MMA.

 

[OldBoy91]

Ahh modern day so-called MMA fans…more interested in stars than actual fights. Conor you have truly ruined the MMA image with your WWE antics.

MMA has always been like this, don't kid yourself. Conor didn't ruin shit, Conor got big because people always gravitated towards or against big personalities.

 

[jjjjjjjjjjohnny]

who is this guy?

 

[ermac88]

I think the Russian thing hurts him,.

 

[OldBoy91]

I think the Russian thing hurts him,

I don't. As many others have said it's because he doesn't speak English. He's a very basic personality, no drama, not overly respectful either,. Just says he will win in interviews etc. Nothing to really love or hate about him. He isn't funny or cracking jokes, he just trains and wins fights.

Khabib, Khamzat and Islam to an extent have all become stars and they are Russians. It's because they speak English and have divisive personalities. Khabib is funny, mostly unintentionally but it works for him, Khamzat is basically Russian Conor, and Islam doesn't have much personality but being Khabib and Abdulmanap's prodigy has done wonders for him. As has his relationship with Cormier.

The only fighters I can think of that speak very little to no English and became stars anyway are Aldo, Oliveira and Poatan.

For Aldo and Olives it took until very late in their careers to become stars and beloved by most of the fanbase. Aldo didn't really break through until after his title reign, and Oliveira was around 25 fights deep into his UFC tenure.

Poatan has caught on quickly because he is very active on social media and his relationship with Glover has quickly endeared fans towards him. Given how his warm personality contrasts with his stone faced killer reputation as a fighter.

 

[Clark Rogers]

I don't. As many others have said it's because he doesn't speak English. He's a very basic personality, no drama, not overly respectful either,. Just says he will win in interviews etc. Nothing to really love or hate about him. He isn't funny or cracking jokes, he just trains and wins fights.

Khabib, Khamzat and Islam to an extent have all become stars and they are Russians. It's because they speak English and have divisive personalities. Khabib is funny, mostly unintentionally but it works for him, Khamzat is basically Russian Conor, and Islam doesn't have much personality but being Khabib and Aldulmanap's prodigy has done wonders for him. As has his relationship with Cormier.

The only fighters I can think of that speak very little to no English and because stars anyway are Aldo, Oliveira and Poatan.

For Aldo and Olives it took until very late in their careers to become stars and beloved by most of the fanbase. Aldo didn't really break through until after his title reign, and Oliveira was around 25 fight deep into his UFC tenure.

Poatan has caught on quickly because he is very active on social media and his relationship with Glover has quickly endeared fans towards him. Given how his warm personality contrasts with his stone faced killer reputation as a fighter.

I don't disagree that the language is an issue. That's literally a part of "the Russian thing," but admittedly not the point I was looking to make.

But, we're literally in an environment right now where Russian athletes have been uninvited from certain sporting events, canceled, restricted, not promoted, all because of a war they have zero control over, but it's still hurting the athletes. I'm not condoning it or saying it's right, it's just what it is. Some of it has improved, but there's still a lot of shit being thrown at Russians in general over Ukraine.

Then you have those fans whose politics lead everything in their life, who aren't going to latch onto a Russian for a reason that athlete can't control at all, but they're feeling the blowback on.

Idk that it's the primary thing holding him back, but I think given the state of the world right now it'd be hard to say it isn't a factor at all.

That said, that's about as much of a friendly debate as I'm gonna have on the subject because I really don't give a hoot.