Most important factor for a marketable fighter?

There's a certain uniqueness to a star, or "it factor", which as far as I can tell varies somewhat but can include things like finishing ability (bonus points for KO ability), overall charisma (which may be the biggest factor), win streak, and unique fighting style. Nationality can play a part but I think that link is probably more often than not outweighed by the other factors. Skin tone may play a role as well, at least in MMA. Charisma is probably the most interesting and enigmatic factor on that list, as "good" charisma, i.e., charisma that increases popularity, comes in different forms, however common threads include quick wit and speaking with absolute confidence and authority, often ostentatiously (traits that transcend sports). Combine that with one or more of the other factors and you have a star.
 
Subpar as to opposed by what? Certainly not the numbers the UFC are doing now.

Conor is special. He's got pretty much all of what takes being a draw. Except being undefeated. But, and this is important, he's got legit excuses when he gets defeated. He literally moved from 145 to 170 when he got beat by Nate i.e. Got beat by Mayweather, did better than most expected.
I purposely looked at champions that were pre-WME because the fact that the product as a whole is down right now.

Silva and Jones' buyrates when they were the A-side, at that time (pre-WME), were subpar.
 
For the UFC machine? White, aesthetic, blonde, colored eyes (not brown).

PVZ, Sage, Conor, Ronda, Brock. They almost had Cody, even though he's missing some of the criteria. They really wanted Till. Ngannou was an outlier, white people have always had a thing for "beastly" black men.
 
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Why was Tyson marketable? 90% of it was because he was a KO artist.

Not just KO artist. He put out everyone, hurt them badly, sent them to the hospital.
In HW division.
And he was small, short hands, yet looked like a monster, had insane speed.

Imagine JDS and Liddell altogether, with size disadvantage of Lineker at BW...
 
Say what you want, but whiteness is sadly a factor.

Even the poster above me that says Conor, Ronda, Brock and GSP are very different had to notice they all have the same skin color

Possibly, but you're left explaining why Mike Tyson is so much more popular than the Klitchko's, or why Mayweather is so much more popular than Golovkin.

Racism is definitely a factor in a lot of things in sport, but it doesn't seem to the major factor in terms of popularity. Right off the top, nationality and charisma seem to be much bigger factors.

And when you get right down to it, the single biggest factor is winning. If you aren't a consistent winner you're not even in the discussion for popularity (the exception I suppose is Kournikova, and her draw was primarily beauty rather than whiteness - and even she won a fair number of matches).
 
For the UFC machine? White, aesthetic, blonde, colored eyes (not brown).

PVZ, Sage, Conor, Ronda, Brock. They really had Cody, even though he's missing come of the criteria. They really wanted Till. Ngannou was an outlier, white people have always had a thing for "beastly" black men.

So I guess i.e. Jones isn't getting preferential treatment?
 
So I guess i.e. Jones isn't getting preferential treatment?
The one guy who doesn't fit the mold and is widely considered the greatest MMA fighter of all time? There goes my argument.
 
Dana liking you.
 
They don't have to be attractive but they can't be ugly.
 
They don't have to be attractive but they can't be ugly.

I disagree I think being really ugly can be a benefit if you play it right.

It works for Danny Trejo in Hollywood, can’t think about it in MMA.
 
Winning fights

really? i disagree as it being the most important factor. winning in an entertaining fashion trumps all, in my opinion. a fighter can win, but if it's in a boring style, lots of people won't care.
 
What is the difference between potential star and the real one, in your opinion?

Conor became a star when he fullfilled his potential. Now, when did he do so? Probably when knocking out Aldo in 13 seconds. Was he a star before? Yeah, in retrospect. So was Till. Only Till couldn't do what Conor did. And so now Till is ridiculed, and Conor is a star.
 
From what I can see, acting like a middle schooler = "having charisma" in today's world.

Chael was hugely popular (and still kinda is) even though he lost lost of times and everyone eventually figured out he was a poseur. And when was the last time Conor actually won a fight? Two years ago? Three? By rights he shouldn't be anywhere near as popular as he used to be, but it seems like he's actually more popular than ever. So it's not necessarily winning a lot or even being active that makes someone an MMA star. You also don't even need to be exciting--Jones had lots of relatively boring five rounders, as much as any champ I can remember except GSP. So we're back to acting like a middle schooler, which is the one trait the stars have in common. If GSP had done this he'd have been right up there but he didn't so he's considered by almost everyone as below that level even with all his wins over all these years.
 
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