Have UFC made a poor decision in marketing fighters like Paige and Sage

[leatherneck]

wait, did you say Artem?

 

[awymore]

Has the UFC really spent that much money marketing Sage? I haven't seen anything to think this is the case. That being said, do a quick count of UFC stars over 25 and under 25, and it may give you an idea of why they'd like to promote some fresh blood.

 

[Alex]

They stood behind people who already brought attention to themself.
You can say whatever you want but look at how many threads there are on Sherdog about these 3.

 

[Dublin]

You don't build promotional juggernauts out of nobodies that train all day and then go home to have a beer and watch Matlock. There has to be something special about them, something that separates them from the pack. They have to be able to draw attention to themselves, be tireless self promoters, spend as much or more hours trying to secure endorsements and sponsorships as they do boxing. Being good looking helps, a lot. Saying outrageous things that grab headlines, having a natural charisma that comes through on camera. And just as critical as all of these things, they have to be champion material, preferably undefeated. They've gotta be working ten times harder than everyone else all the time.

It's a rare, perfect storm of a person that all of these things collide in. Some of the people you listed have one or none of those qualities that can turn them into a superstar. Why do you think they were heavily behind Conor almost from day one? They knew right away they had something special. Those are the kind of people they're going to throw their weight behind. Both Paige and Sage would be blowing up right now if they'd continued winning but they didn't. Even someone like Khabib is only part of the puzzle - he's definitely champion material but his English is kind of hilarious and he'd probably rather be in the mountains and/or fasting than spending 12 hours a day doing promo work.

So why are they putting all these money into two fighters who aren't championship material and won't be for a long time (or ever in PVZ case)? I understand the out of the octagon skills needed to make a guy go from a fighter to a star but we dont know how long these guys will even be here for. If paige ever gets famous (which would be thanks to the ufc) she will leave the ufc and get her own shitty reality show or host a shitty talk show. Sage is very young and he could lose interest pretty quickly especially if he stops improving.