Please Define "Marketable"

[sadclown]

You're so smart where did you get your degree? Wow you're so smart who would've thought. You should work for the ufc with ideas like that?

You don't deserve a response

The response that you gave me, which you said I don't deserve, shows that you recognize the logic in my post, and realize that you've made a mistake in yours, but you are emotionally hurt by my pointing it out, therefore you responded as you did, while saying I don't deserve a response.

This is a very human reaction. It's normal.

 

[campbecc]

they spend too much time trying to promote the UFC in general instead of trying to create a few major stars. It's stars that sell PPVs. Also Dana talks shit about his own fighters which is not good for their marketability.

 

[sportsjefe]

For purposes of fighting in the UFC, it means a fighter who knows how to market themselves, because the UFC doesn't know how to market anyone.

And wouldn't if they did.

 

[sportsjefe]

I only care about what I wanna see... why so many give a fuck about PPV numbers, and what will interest the casual fans, I'll never know!

Because without them you don't have a sport to watch.

 

[skombolis]

What do you want the UFC to do to market its fighters/athletes better? Explain in detail what and how you think this should be done. Explain what the UFC used to do correctly and it doesn't do anymore. Explain their shortcomings and such.

1) Teach them English

2) Hope they are somewhat gifted with a personality and do promos on up and comers even if they aren't fighting. Or have then do short interviews during events with the announcers or a quick guest appearance at the desk. People can't just keep going 6-8-10 months without even seeing a guy

3) Get more potential stars on main cards and free TV

4) Get these guts involved in the community and have the UFC foot the bill. The press eats that stuff up and fans love it

When you know little about a guy and can't understand him and barely see him and get maybe a few translated sentences every 3-5 months its hard to relate. That is why Dana blasting ppl for Barao when he took a title shot from Nick for skipping a media day shows what a liar White has become. He knows damn well even with known guys how important it is to get them exposure and make them available to the media for building a long-term fan base and selling events in the short-term. And the English isn't some nationalism bias, just being realistic about where a large portion of their target demo is

 

[skombolis]

All this talk about speaking english...

Either the UFC is a global entity or they aren't.

The fact that there are so many Brazilian fighters in the UFC that speak Portuguese is a huge reason Brazil is the second biggest and fastest growing market.

Do you honestly think Cain/Werdum are going to speak english on the Mexican season of TUF?

It's funny how every Sherdogger expects foreign fighters to speak english but don't say shit about american fighters on cards in other countries not speaking the native language.

A language barrier always hurts marketability

The question is where is the most money coming in from and where do the fighters live? When you have guys living in the U.S. then they have placed themselves in a market where its hard to market them.

Its why the UFC tries to have at least one Japanese fighter in every fight in a card in Japan and why Brazilians dominate cards in Brazil and so on. But the vast majority of the events are held in English speaking venues. So it makes it much harder to market when the fighter isn't as well known and doesn't speak English. The hard-core fans are more interested in what happens in the cage. They will follow Silva or Machida or whomever. But sports survive on casual fans. Those are just the facts. And while it is not all the language barrier, it does make it harder

 

[BrainBar]

Dana White's logic:

Marketable: Two roided out freaks with tattoos who will stand in the middle and throw wild haymakers...good technique be damned...and spill a gallon of blood on the canvas and talk trash to each other in weigh-ins

NOT marketable: An Olympic gold medal wrestler vs a BJJ World Champion, both of whom show respect for each other and are clean-cut and have decades worth of technique drilling, and put on a clinic of elite grappling, with some punches mixed in.


Marketable: Two "strikers" playing patty-cake for 15 minutes, dancing around touching palms, throwing weak jabs, and 70% power leg kicks....playing it safe for a nice decision win.

NOT marketable: Two elite grapplers locked in a battle on the ground, fighting for every crucial inch of transitioning positions, and hoping to land a solid submission, because his opponent is far too good and skilled to get caught by some gimmick submission.


UFC has sold out to marketing to the casual drunk fan at the bar who would watch a fight in the parking lot with the same excitement as he would a fight on UFC.

 

[Blackjack]

How about let's stop marketing to the casuals and start marketing to its real fans? Some casuals think jiu jitsu looks gay in the guard position.. seriously

U either like MMA or u dont

How about not? They already have their "real fans"! They need to market to the people who don't watch yet, or have watched but only a few times.

 

[Blackjack]

What do you want the UFC to do to market its fighters/athletes better? Explain in detail what and how you think this should be done. Explain what the UFC used to do correctly and it doesn't do anymore. Explain their shortcomings and such.

Some fighters are more marketable than others. So first i;d have them try to hire fighters who are marketable. Once they've hired a marketable fighter, they need to find a way to market him that focuses on what makes him different than all the other fighter s they have, what makes him unique.

Then they need to create an emotional investment on the part of the fans so that they really care whether the fighter wins or loses. If people don't care who wins or loses they will rarely watch.

They should have more interviews with the fighters so that the fans get to know something about who they are and find a reason to want to watch the fighter.

 

[Alexandergreat3]

Please Define "Marketable"

5' 10" or taller
170lbs or bigger

Six-pack abs and/or muscular body.

 

[BrainBar]

The more "casual fans" they try to attract, the more and more they'll push grappling out.

"Casual fans" wanna see roided out freaks with tattoos and attitude problems throw haymakers and spill blood. Not two world class grapplers fight inch-for-inch for a submission or dominant position.

In the near future, UFC will no longer feature the "best fighters". Just....some fighters.

 

[BrainBar]

5' 10" or taller
170lbs or bigger

Six-pack abs and/or muscular body.

Don't forget: Crazy tattoos, bad attitude problem, willing to go throw wild reckless punches and spill as much blood as possible....... and absolutely no desire to grapple.

All the above combined with a fitness model physique...and you got the future of UFC. Sadly.

 

[KlNG]

1.Good looking/Sexy

2.Must be able to speak english

3.Must have a ''desirable'' personality.

4.Must be a great athlete with actual martial art skills.


With 2 out of these 4 you will make in the UFC.

 

[Kingfarthur]

Don't forget: Crazy tattoos, bad attitude problem, willing to go throw wild reckless punches and spill as much blood as possible....... and absolutely no desire to grapple.

All the above combined with a fitness model physique...and you got the future of UFC. Sadly.

Yeah, like Barao, Aldo, DJ, Pettis, Hendricks, Weidman, Jones, and Cain..oh wait.

I think you have the past mixed up with the future. The future of the UFC is the most well rounded fighters on the planet, just like it is in the present, with a slight bias towards fighters that don't blanket opponents.

 

[Jackonflame]

A language barrier always hurts marketability

The question is where is the most money coming in from and where do the fighters live? When you have guys living in the U.S. then they have placed themselves in a market where its hard to market them.

Its why the UFC tries to have at least one Japanese fighter in every fight in a card in Japan and why Brazilians dominate cards in Brazil and so on. But the vast majority of the events are held in English speaking venues. So it makes it much harder to market when the fighter isn't as well known and doesn't speak English. The hard-core fans are more interested in what happens in the cage. They will follow Silva or Machida or whomever. But sports survive on casual fans. Those are just the facts. And while it is not all the language barrier, it does make it harder

I believe the UFC's stated goal is to become a global entity. And it would seem they are taking steps in that direction with all the various seasons of TUF around the world as well as holding cards in several different countries.

It's a long term strategy and a necessary one if the company wants to grow. Speaking English in all the foreign markets won't help. In fact, it might hinder. For the same reasons not speaking English now is seen as a barrier to marketability. As new markets grow, speaking English won't matter nearly as much as people claim.

I just think Sherdog in general places to much emphasis on language.

 

[skombolis]

I believe the UFC's stated goal is to become a global entity. And it would seem they are taking steps in that direction with all the various seasons of TUF around the world as well as holding cards in several different countries.

It's a long term strategy and a necessary one if the company wants to grow. Speaking English in all the foreign markets won't help. In fact, it might hinder. For the same reasons not speaking English now is seen as a barrier to marketability. As new markets grow, speaking English won't matter nearly as much as people claim.

I just think Sherdog in general places to much emphasis on language.

The TUFs in different places help. And sure speaking English in non-English speaking markets won't do someone much good either. And there may be a bit more emphasis on it than exists. But I think it goes hand in hand with people just not seeing guys enough or knowing much about them as well. No language barrier helps but bottom line is they need more exposure and more of a reason a fan will feel a connection to the fighter. At least enough to look forward to seeing him fight again.

I consider myself a pretty avid follower and I couldn't tell you much about Barao and how he grew up, his family, how he got into MMA. Etc. maybe they did a documentary and I missed it but if I missed it, how much does the casual fan know? And I look forward to seeing him fight just from past fights. But when he showed up on TUF as Fabers next opponent when Cruz got injured I was like who the fuck it that? If it wasn't Faber or I wasn't watching TUF or following the UFC in general I still probably wouldn't know anything about him

DW needs to address this without just claiming any fan of fighting should want to see him. Most fans are casuals and don't get excited to see ppl they don't know. If I was a marketing genius id probably be making big bucks somewhere. Some of these problems come with the territory. But I don't even see much of an effort from the UFC at times. Just seems weird to me

 

[Blackjack]

Yeah, like Barao, Aldo, DJ, Pettis, Hendricks, Weidman, Jones, and Cain..oh wait.

I think you have the past mixed up with the future. The future of the UFC is the most well rounded fighters on the planet, just like it is in the present, with a slight bias towards fighters that don't blanket opponents.

"...oh wait"? Wait for what? Use the delete key.

 

[RockstarChris]

Well i will tell you this brother. Chael Sonnen is a gangster that has only one ambition in life which is to hold that belt above his head and say "we did it brothers!" So brother, i think you should take your Flintstone Vitamins and go with all other Chaelamaniacs and cheer on the fighting pride of Oregon when he puts the smack down on the bad guy from every movie you have ever seen. Lets go brothers!

 

[RockstarChris]

Well i will tell you this brother. Chael Sonnen is a gangster that has only one ambition in life which is to hold that belt above his head and say "we did it brothers!" So brother, i think you should take your Flintstone Vitamins and go with all other Chaelamaniacs and cheer on the fighting pride of Oregon when he puts the smack down on the bad guy from every movie you have ever seen. Lets go brothers!

That.

 

[aus101]

Being attractive. Why do you think people have a go at Barao? GSP speaks English only slightly better than some brazilians but has the advantage of looking like van damme in blood sport. Everything in life is biased towards good looking people.