Explain to me "charisma" or "aura"

[SuperNerd]

I'm the OP.
You missed my point, or I worded it poorly (excuse my English btw).

I do understand what "charisma" and "aura" mean. Well, "aura" is just a Gen Z "let's rename stuff" thing.

I just find myself (and the ones around me since we started following MMA) having very different opinions on which fighters are actually charismatic.

TL;DR Islam is, Khabib was/is, Fedor (but that's pretty much a consensus). Conor wasn't and obviously isn't. At all, IMO.
Leon is boring but the aftermath of the Usman's KO was emotive, first, and stone cold (headshot, dead) just right after.

For some flex you need to be smart, witty, quick and good enough with words i.e. Sonnen back then and now DDP-

I hate you.

 

[krelianx]

Charisma has to do with personality and charm, and is correlated with a variety of traits: humor, wit, linguistic ability and eloquence, swagger, physical expression, fashion,...

Aura overlaps with charisma, but also often also refers to a sense of invincibility or authorial power: Fedor had an "aura of invincibility"...

 

[Kaiokenrye24]

First things first: for me, a fighter is exciting or not depending on what he does inside the cage.

That said, after following the sport for many years, I've watched many "face-offs" in press conferences and YT throws at me tons of reels and whatnot of fighters not fighting.
Plus the post-fight interviews, obviously.

Maybe it's something cultural, I'm Spaniard, or I'm missing nuances because English is not even my second language.
I'm approaching 40, so I was young enough at some of the times I'm referring to.

Conor (prime Conor, not... the current junkie one) never struck me as charismatic. Pre-Aldo fight he was overly loud, histrionic, annoying and disrespectful to a true legend.
Pre-Khabib, I think Khabib was the charismatic one, not even a contest.

I like some flex when you are smart, witty and can deliver a joke: DDP.
Chael Sonnen (back then), obviously. Fedor.
JG is lots of fun.
Khabib and now Islam are comedy gold and have charisma over 9000. I'm not a muslim and couldn't care less about religion.

Leon is boring as a fighter, but calling his mom in tears after KOing Usman and right next being cold enough for the "headshot, dead" punchline was pure magic.

For context, IMO Jokic is the most charismatic NBA player right now by a mile.

That is the best and worst part of mma. There is something for everyone, I never liked Conor, he is a drunk retard who said stupid things but if he appeals to millions he has to have charisma

 

[AstralPanda]

Fedor is probably one of the least charismatic fighters out there. You could say that his lack of charisma made him charismatic, but that was only so cuz he was probably, in his prime, the most feared MMA fighter out there, ever. So his "charisma" was based on him destroying his opponents. Certainly not on him being charismatic as a person. He was the opposite.

His aura and presence was palpable though

When he walked into a room, you'd feel it.

I still remember back when pride was still an organization, Fedor was like the boogy man, nobody wanted to fight him, nobody thought anyone could beat him.

 

[SamuraiBro]

This thread has no aura and negative rizz

 

[Bret 'The Hitman' Hart]

Conor had both charisma and aura.

Charisma is still there, aura is gone.

 

[HHJ]

I wish I could remember who said this but the best and most succinct definition of charisma I've ever heard is "innate appeal". It's something that people have or they don't, and it's very easy to tell. If you want a great illustration of this in action there was a short interview maybe 5 or 7 years ago where Bisping was interviewing Colby for some reason and it kind of explains the concept better than I could

Hahah that actually is perfect

 

[evergreenrider]

You cannot describe IT. You either have it, or don't. But it's generally undeniable when it presents itself

 

[meast]

iykyk

 

[mister piscadinha]

charisma is natural appeal

conor had it, rampage had it, strickland has It

aura is intimidation factor

fedor had it, wanderlei had it, khamzat has it

 

[Spath]

When you walk in to a room, can you hear a rat piss on cotton?

 

[Rubios]

(OP again)
Maybe it's more of a cultural thing than I thought. I'm a Spaniard.

I'm circa 40, but during the Aldo/Conor and Conor/Khabib me and my pals were young enough for this shit.
We all found Conor annoying and cringey (we loved him as a fighter, though).
And we throught Khabib, on the other hand, had charisma to spare.

Since then, Islam and Khabib are comedy gold.
DDP is proper (wink, wink) Conor, for me. Flexy but witty, calm, smart, smooth.

A broader example, as much more people follow NBA than MMA.
Here, the consensus is that you got to love Jokic. I'm a huge fan, as a player AND persona.
If you fancy a bit more flex, Butler and Luka are game both on and off the court.

Ja Morant, Anthony Edwards... loud and obnoxious.

 

[SuperAlly]

This thread has no aura and negative rizz

Rizz rhymes with jizz and should never be used by any grown adult

 

[Rubios]

See my post above.
I just want to know if me and my friends that follow MMA represent a tiny minority, probably due to being European, or some of you share our point of view regarding which fighters we find very charismatic and which ones highly regarded as charismatic just seem loud, obnoxious and annoying to us.

 

[NoStoneUnturned]

See my post above.
I just want to know if me and my friends that follow MMA represent a tiny minority, probably due to being European, or some of you share our point of view regarding which fighters we find very charismatic and which ones highly regarded as charismatic just seem loud, obnoxious and annoying to us.

Do you realize England or Germany are roughly the size of Montana, just one of our fifty states? Do you realize that Spain or France are only as big as Texas?

The USA is huge, massive even, and thus the spread of opinions, likes, and dislikes are huge.

 

[Robbocop]

Aura is the same word in English and Spanish, "charisma" in English is "carisma" in Spanish, so basically the same.

 

[Rubios]

Do you realize England or Germany are roughly the size of Montana, just one of our fifty states? Do you realize that Spain or France are only as big as Texas?

The USA is huge, massive even, and thus the spread of opinions, likes, and dislikes are huge.

True.
I don't believe someone like Conor would've had that traction here. He tried too hard and his antics were foolish.

Media is putting Ilia down our throats every single day. Mainly, we agree that he's amazing on the cage but a total retard out of it.

Around here most people like DDP smoothness, Islam's trolling, Jiri being Jiri, Poatan's Poatanness...

And we enjoy and gravitate towards regular people like MM, GSP, Volk or DP.

Old man Volk "sketches" were gold, and this clip is pure class

 

[sanguinius]

This topic was written by an alien.

 

[Luffy]

Aura may be a way to describe boosted fighters.

But more likely, just a fancy term to get the fans hooked... Like, I think it mainly started with Jiri Prochakza talking about Alex Pereira doing ritual with some "shamanics", getting spiritual help... Jiri mentioned "everyone can feel his energy and what's around him" as if it were an anime. Their face off and all, and the after fight in which Jiri got up but fell again once looking at Alex gave more fuel (tho mostly in a messing around way, but also... An intriguing one) to the "magic" stuff.

Izzy would talk about that as well before Alex came, and would mention it in his saga vs Alex Pereira...

And also, an interview from Aspinall that went viral in which he told something he felt when him and Alex sat next to each other pre UFC 295 (the one Tom got the interim belt and Alex defeated Jiri the first time).

Tom said his dad had asked him how was it sitting next to Alex Pereira, and Tom said "he thinks he can beat me, you know". His dad was like "what do you mean?"

and Tom — "Idk, I could just tell. We didn't talk much if at all, he seemed a little frosty when we met, definitely not happy chatty, it must be the language barrier. But as I was in the press conference [vs Sergei], I definitely could feel off him... He wasn't trying to intimidate me or posture, nothing, and I'm not that insecure guy. Maybe my mind was just making that up, idk, but it's almost like a feeling I'd get from an opponent. That's why when I heard he wanted to move to HW and wanted to fight me, I wasn't surprised... I definitely felt like he was sizing me up a little bit"...

So yeah I think it started moreso with Izzy at first but gained traction with Alex Pereira but unintentionally by his part, the comments made by Jiri Prochazka and Tom that kicked it in more so imo.

 

[Luffy]

Videos for reference...