It just dawned on me how great a marketing move this is. Think about it- before the opponent change, he was going up to fight the 155 champion, and an absolute beast. It's technically a win-win for Conor, because if he wins- great. If he loses- well, it was a division up against the absolute best- no shame in that. Easy to spin.
With the opponent change however, he goes from the very best at 155 to a top 10 guy with a couple of weeks to prepare. Now it's suddenly gone from a win-win situation to a lose-lose situation- if he wins, everyone expects it anyway. If he somehow loses, he's lost to a guy with no time to prepare who isn't even in the reckoning for a title shot.
What's the solution? Simple, put the fight at 170. Nate isn't a natural WW at all- he's tall, but very rangy. Compared to a similar body type in Condit, Nate is distinctly undersized. So taking the fight at 170 doesn't really give Nate any real advantage- they both just compete without the weight cut. But now, if Conor should lose- he has a fantastic spin opportunity based on the fact he went up 2 whole divisions to save the card. The marketing team can easily talk him up for saving the card on short notice and the fact he only lost to an opponent significantly larger. And not only that, whatever happens, he looks like an absolute warrior for not giving a fuck about weight.
Top marks to Conor or whoever made this scenario, they really covered the bases. Hope the fight lives up to expectations, and really hope Conor does take it- I want that RDA fight to happen!
With the opponent change however, he goes from the very best at 155 to a top 10 guy with a couple of weeks to prepare. Now it's suddenly gone from a win-win situation to a lose-lose situation- if he wins, everyone expects it anyway. If he somehow loses, he's lost to a guy with no time to prepare who isn't even in the reckoning for a title shot.
What's the solution? Simple, put the fight at 170. Nate isn't a natural WW at all- he's tall, but very rangy. Compared to a similar body type in Condit, Nate is distinctly undersized. So taking the fight at 170 doesn't really give Nate any real advantage- they both just compete without the weight cut. But now, if Conor should lose- he has a fantastic spin opportunity based on the fact he went up 2 whole divisions to save the card. The marketing team can easily talk him up for saving the card on short notice and the fact he only lost to an opponent significantly larger. And not only that, whatever happens, he looks like an absolute warrior for not giving a fuck about weight.
Top marks to Conor or whoever made this scenario, they really covered the bases. Hope the fight lives up to expectations, and really hope Conor does take it- I want that RDA fight to happen!
