Chael And Others Like Him Are Good For MMA

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bugrimmar

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I mean, say what you want about his WWE-style promos and self-inflation, but you gotta consider that everything he says is interesting and generates hype for the whole sport.

More importantly, he's a grappler who actually attempts consistently to finish guys instead of laying on them, and that gives the ground game a good name in an era of Fitches and Okamis that are content to grind out decisions. People boo when fighters go to the ground, but not when Chael goes for that double leg because they know that he doesn't just stall.

Aside from a good marketer for MMA, he's a good marketer for grappling and wrestling. I think that he gets a lot of undeserved flak for what he contributes to the sport. Actually, if he didn't talk trash that way, the sport wouldn't be as popular as it is right now. He has a genuine talent for speaking that captivates people and he should get more credit for it.

Edit: Oh and you gotta appreciate that he really literally doesn't care about who he fights even with very little time to train. Many fighters like to say "I'll fight anyone" but when the opportunity comes along, some of them walk away. Chael is one of the few who actually backs up that claim.
 
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Nah cause he brings in the worst type of fan.
 
bugrimmar said:
I mean, say what you want about his WWE-style promos and self-inflation, but you gotta consider that everything he says is interesting and generates hype for the whole sport.

More importantly, he's a grappler who actually attempts consistently to finish guys instead of laying on them, and that gives the ground game a good name in an era of Fitches and Okamis that are content to grind out decisions. People boo when fighters go to the ground, but not when Chael goes for that double leg because they know that he doesn't just stall.

Aside from a good marketer for MMA, he's a good marketer for grappling and wrestling. I think that he gets a lot of undeserved flak for what he contributes to the sport. Actually, if he didn't talk trash that way, the sport wouldn't be as popular as it is right now. He has a genuine talent for speaking that captivates people and he should get more credit for it.
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I agree with these sentiments. I see a lot of talk on these boards about Chael being a "loud mouth LNPer" but I wholeheartedly disagree. I see him as very active on the ground & I love watching the guy fight.
 
bugrimmar said:
I mean, say what you want about his WWE-style promos and self-inflation, but you gotta consider that everything he says is interesting and generates hype for the whole sport.

More importantly, he's a grappler who actually attempts consistently to finish guys instead of laying on them, and that gives the ground game a good name in an era of Fitches and Okamis that are content to grind out decisions. People boo when fighters go to the ground, but not when Chael goes for that double leg because they know that he doesn't just stall.

Aside from a good marketer for MMA, he's a good marketer for grappling and wrestling. I think that he gets a lot of undeserved flak for what he contributes to the sport. Actually, if he didn't talk trash that way, the sport wouldn't be as popular as it is right now. He has a genuine talent for speaking that captivates people and he should get more credit for it.
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Heck yes
 
I think 50% of his fans are american hillbillies who believe the bus story.
 
The worst type of fan has been around a lot longer than Chael.
 
Yeah, it's great for the sport to have such a popular fighter make racist, xenophobic, and other offensive comments. Great, great for the sport. We need more comments about Brazilians feeding carrots to buses, and men beating women. Chael seems like a genuinely good guy when he's not in character. But, his character is a terrible person to have as a popular personality in MMA.

It's like Joe Rogan being a popular personality in MMA. He's loud, arrogant, ignorant, and can't control his emotions or mouth. He's a glorified 15 year old kid with an outlet to be heard.
 
I remember the times when fighting in MMA spoke for what you felt and intended to do. Those days are far from gone, and a scrub like Chael won't diffuse the coarse of support for me and other pure MMAheads...
 
I don't mind Chael.

He will fight anyone. He got in that cage with Anderson twice and Jon Jones once. He talks a great deal, he clowns, he irritates, but he is also very smart, quick witted, and knows how to be humble in defeat.

After his losses to both Anderson and Jones he never made excuses. He played the closeness of the first Anderson fight perfectly in order to get another shot but he never seriously took anything away from Silva for that. It was just marketing and hype. In his other losses he has been reasonable and respectful in defeat and knew well enough to let it go when all was said and done.

Chael is good for the UFC.

Is he good for MMA? That remains to be seen.

The UFC as a promotion encourages self promotion and hype. I don't know if the other organizations can provide a large enough platform for someone like Chael. Being an outspoken and outrageous personality needs a large enough audience to mitigate the humor and entertainment factor.

Take Jason "Mayhem" Miller for instance. He has tried to become an outrageous personality in several ways, some of which just added to the train wreck that has become his career.

There is an acceptance level of these types of behaviors. If enough people can handle it and accept it the entertainment value is beneficial. If too many people see it as a poor gimmick and it translates into a tragic ploy a la Mayhem Miller it backfires and worse puts a great deal of distance between the fans and the person in question.
 
clumseygenius said:
I remember the times when fighting in MMA spoke for what you felt and intended to do. Those days are far from gone, and a scrub like Chael won't diffuse the coarse of support for me and other pure MMAheads...
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Great quote...apparently just fighting/winning isnt enough anymore. I wouldnt call Sonnen a scrub though, hes def picked up his game since 08
 
Its all about entertainment. Chael makes it more entertaining. How many people knew casual MMA fans knew who
Chael was before the first Anderson fight? He's had two title fights since then and does tons of work for the UFC and makes wayyyy more bank now than he did before that first Anderson fight. He always backs up what he says. I'm not the biggest Chael fan but he's a genius.
 
I don't find his hyping fights funny or entertaining anymore. It got old quick.

Besides isn't his UFC record like 7-6

Yup, exactly what the sport needs.
 
bugrimmar said:
I mean, say what you want about his WWE-style promos and self-inflation, but you gotta consider that everything he says is interesting and generates hype for the whole sport.

More importantly, he's a grappler who actually attempts consistently to finish guys instead of laying on them, and that gives the ground game a good name in an era of Fitches and Okamis that are content to grind out decisions. People boo when fighters go to the ground, but not when Chael goes for that double leg because they know that he doesn't just stall.

Aside from a good marketer for MMA, he's a good marketer for grappling and wrestling. I think that he gets a lot of undeserved flak for what he contributes to the sport. Actually, if he didn't talk trash that way, the sport wouldn't be as popular as it is right now. He has a genuine talent for speaking that captivates people and he should get more credit for it.

Edit: Oh and you gotta appreciate that he really literally doesn't care about who he fights even with very little time to train. Many fighters like to say "I'll fight anyone" but when the opportunity comes along, some of them walk away. Chael is one of the few who actually backs up that claim.
Click to expand...

I keep hearing this and its laughable. Sonnen is a 36 year old veteran who has never won a title. What the fuck does he has to lose. At the age of 32 when he lost to Maia before his new style. He was a veteran who never cut it at the highest level. So he changed persona and made sure people noticed him. People talked about him and he seeked the top fights. Fair enough he deserved his title fight with Anderson. But its beyond joke he fought Jones. What the hell did he has to lose in that fight? Give any solid MW a title fight against Jones and see if they turn it down
 
Yes but mostly because hes a charismatic guy, a marketing genius, excelent with a camera on his face, and is a top 10 fighter.

If guys like him were hanging by the dozen I assure you someone would have made an FC based on them alone.
 
I'm not a fan of Chael's style of fighting but I do like his mic skills (most of the time) and he has some of the biggest balls in MMA. MMA can't be all Fedor, GSP, Randy types it needs its Sonnens, Baronis and Mirs for a bit of diversity. If you don't like the brash trash talking fighters it's all good cheer against them, Tito made a living off it his whole career, Chael's simply following suit.
 
I see him like I see Ben Henderson. A wrestler with a lot of decision wins, but he also is very active and has a very high output. The guy is a warrior, and only fights the very best in the sport. He's annoying but very entertaining, and sells tons of tickets (which the UFC needs right now)

He is definitely good for MMA
 
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