Are Lower weight classes less marketable?

[grecobjj]

For instance do you think more people would buy a PPV if it's mighty mouse vs Benavides or like a Weidman vs machida? If so why?

The ufc has pushed the brand over the individual fighters for years.....marketing responsibility falls on THEM....if mm/ali does poor...its because the ufc has FAILED TO MARKET THEM PROPERLY



Weightclass doesn't determine ability
Nor does it impact the chance for an exciting and competetive fight


People(general public) are going to buy whatever ppv the ufc puts MONEY into marketing and ADVERTISING the most

 

[divljak]

Most people would watch two rhinos awkwardly fight rather than watching two cats tear eachother apart. No real rhyme or reason to it.... people also just love shiny things. Bitches want diamonds when they KNOW they're pointless.

rhinos and cats are different spieces.

Its like watching 2 bulky cats that tear them selves apart, opposed to skinny cats that dance around

 

[Meathead Jock]

As a life long wrestler, I find it funny how it works that in wrestling the crowd loves the lower weight guys and they struggle to keep the fans around for the big guys. It could be "well they aren't allowed to punch" and highlight their knockout power. But the fact Floyd and Pacquiao (Oscar before) are boxings two biggest current draws, shows it's not just about knockouts. It's how the UFC has branded itself, and it'll be tough for them to undue the perception they've created to make them more popular. WEC did a better job of it.

 

[theanticool]

disagree Aldo & Barao are prime examples of top small guys , aldo with more name value but cant sell for sh**.

Rousey not only has a name but the women in general are bigger draws..From what i hear TUF women fights had more views than the guys

Im one of the people that watch MMA but not interested in anything below 155 for men but am a huge fan of the women division after being introduced through carano and Strikeforce

Disagree. Just because Aldo and Barao are exciting, doesn't mean a) they're marketable to an American audience that has to pay to watch them. 2) They are marketed correctly.

Look at their last fights. They were basically marketed as squash matches. If you can't sell an opponent, you're not going to sell a fight. That's why Mayweather didn't break a million with Maidana but could get 2 million with Canelo. Also believe it or not, English helps. Casuals like to hear the fighters talk up fights. That's why Sonnen gets paid the way he does. Neither Barao nor Aldo speak English.

 

[Mma Adiction]

Yes, i dont get why, maybe because, in the ufc, the lower weight class are something quite new and the ufc is the most markeable rooter in mma. I love the lower weight classes

 

[mime]

it would help if the UFC marketed them. I see almost nothing for the mighty mouse ppv coming up. It actually helps with the casuals. Most people have never seen Mayweather fight but know him as the best.

 

[MilesAbove]

rhinos and cats are different spieces.

Its like watching 2 bulky cats that tear them selves apart, opposed to skinny cats that dance around

Oh for fuck sakes. The analogy is fine. Leave it alone. The point is people will sacrifice actual skill to watch to very large things collide.

 

[divljak]

Oh for fuck sakes. The analogy is fine. Leave it alone. The point is people will sacrifice actual skill to watch to very large things collide.

you only see skill in low weight clases because there is no mass behind it.


If you think they are more skilled, you are wrong.

 

[Meathead Jock]

The UFC/Dana has sold this sport about being "the baddest man on the planet" more than "the most skilled fighter per weight class" as a result the fans got into the sport with the same attitude, lightweights won't be big in the UFC anytime soon as a result, the culture has already been set, would take a true self creating superstar to potentially get it changed.

 

[Koro_11]

The HW weight class is and always will be the most marketable. In boxing it has died off lately so guys like Pac Man and Floyd get some recognition, but if you had a Tyson-like HW again every other weight class in boxing would take a back seat regardless of how talented or p4p the small guys are considered.

In MMA it's the same, I personally dont care all that much who is the toughest kid in grade 10, or who is the toughest mma fighter if I can bench press him with one hand. The idea is the guy on top of HW is the king of all, and every other weight class below him is a little less important. By the time we get to Mighty Mouse and TJ Dillashaw it's like ya they're great for their size, but 90% of the UFC roster would step on them like dog shit.

 

[Oenomaus]

its not about history or depth, really its just that small guys dont have any weight behind them

I'd beg to differ, the UFC hasn't exactly taken the smartest approach when it comes to the smaller weight classes, but in time when they are allowed to grow they may produce some of the larger draws. I understand what you're saying, but if Mayweather and Pacquiao can draw the most in boxing, it's not entirely impossible that stars can emerge in the lower weight classes and do the same.

 

[divljak]

I'd beg to differ, the UFC hasn't exactly taken the smartest approach when it comes to the smaller weight classes, but in time when they are allowed to grow they may produce some of the larger draws. I understand what you're saying, but if Mayweather and Pacquiao can draw the most in boxing, it's not entirely impossible that stars can emerge in the lower weight classes and do the same.

I also get you, they can be popular, but still, they dont have torque of a HW to be really fun to watch

 

[Vhagar]

There have been HUGE draws at 155 and 170.

It's a persons charisma not weight.

Having said that Heavyweights will always have the potential to be the most marketable in my opinion.

 

[Malbec]

HW is where its at


Low weight classes are like watching 2 mosquitoes buzzing and plinking at each other for 15 mins.

I agree completely. The small guys can hit each other a hundred times. I don't feel any tension while watching them. In fact, I generally get tired and start dozing off.

 

[Bones245n4847]

People want the illusion of badasses, I want to see a fighter who is regular human size not some gnat flying around looking like he doing things quickly. Give me 6'0+ 170+ then I'll buy, 5'3 125 I can look at my little sister or cousins or maybe my 11 year old brother if I want to see those types of fights because they are the same size.

 

[roller]

Clearly.

It explains why guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao who have fought their entire careers from 125-145 are so unmarketable.

Oh wow Mayweather and Pacquiao have spent their entire careers in MMA? And here I thought they were boxers....

 

[roller]

The ufc has pushed the brand over the individual fighters for years.....marketing responsibility falls on THEM....if mm/ali does poor...its because the ufc has FAILED TO MARKET THEM PROPERLY



Weightclass doesn't determine ability
Nor does it impact the chance for an exciting and competetive fight


People(general public) are going to buy whatever ppv the ufc puts MONEY into marketing and ADVERTISING the most

So the UFC is purposely not spending money on the smaller divisions because they don't want people to buy those ppv events.... makes sense.

 

[Oenomaus]

I also get you, they can be popular, but still, they dont have torque of a HW to be really fun to watch

As someone previously mentioned, if you get someone at HW with the mystique of Mike Tyson, in all likely hood they'd outdraw everyone else. Like you said though, there is still room for the smaller guys to be popular, under the current system the odds of that aren't pretty, but they exist.

 

[ironfist05]

no, they are not

 

[Steve08]

It depends. Lighter weight champions lack "the name value" that the Heavyweight Champion of the World does. However, any lighter weight fighter can still become a break-out star so long as he does so with tools beyond his status as Undisputed Champion. This just means that people have to forget that you're not actually that big whenever they hear you talk (which needs to be frequently).

For example, nobody considers the fact that Mayweather is 160 soaking wet because his marketing campaign is focused so wholly around his zero.