Ronda Rousey or Conor McGregor?

[bigconan]

Spoiler

When was the last time ronda pulled that many people to one of her weigh ins?

 

[Vodka]

Who is doing more for the sport ? Say what you want about Rousey's competition but I mean for the sport in general. McGregor has a whole country behind him and Rousey is a household name.

You should ask yourself who do you want to watch fighting? My answer is McGregor, though I don't like him.

 

[mademan081]

Conor. He's the bigger PPV draw and currently the biggest in the UFC at this time. Ronda's more popular around the world though, at least at the moment.

I'm hearing UFC 190 did bigger numbers than 189 and Ronda carried that card by herself whereas Connor had another title fight as comain.

 

[SKITZADACTYL]

She's also been in the ufc for far longer than conor has. Far longer. If conor wanted to do bit parts, with 2 words with horrible acting, i'm sure he could do that as well. People make out of her roles in expendables or fast and furious. she was literally in them for a total of maybe 10 seconds. a fight scene, but only 2 or 3 words being spoken. She's a terrible actor.

she wasn't even there 2 months before conor's debut.

 

[skold]

In the long run its Ronda.. the amount of attention UFC is getting from non fans because Ronda is wrecking these girls in 30 seconds, has got to be attracting more people to the sport.

 

[JKS]

Well, Ronda is bringing a whole new component to mma and thats female fans. I can only imagine how many girls/women are gonna train mma or aspire to be fighters. Conor is attracting fans and attention, but its nothing new we havent seen before. Ronda is adding a new element to it.

 

[Got GOAT]

She's also been in the ufc for far longer than conor has. Far longer. If conor wanted to do bit parts, with 2 words with horrible acting, i'm sure he could do that as well. People make out of her roles in expendables or fast and furious. she was literally in them for a total of maybe 10 seconds. a fight scene, but only 2 or 3 words being spoken. She's a terrible actor.

That's what I'm saying. Conor hasn't even done ANYTHING in Hollywood yet and has made his name with his mouth & fighting inside that octagon. His popularity is all through the sport itself.

When was the last time ronda pulled that many people to one of her weigh ins?

Never. There were over 11,000 people there in attendance and that was just the weigh in itself. When he fights Aldo I'd imagine it'll be even more.

I'm hearing UFC 190 did bigger numbers than 189 and Ronda carried that card by herself whereas Connor had another title fight as comain.

I'm hearing that too but who knows. I doubt much bigger if at all. Ronda is known for her very quick finishes and McGregor is known for his finishes too but at least he isn't doing it in the first 20 or 30'ish seconds. That will affect PPV buy rates negatively in the future for Ronda if they can't match her up with someone that can last longer.

 

[ivory suit]

Nobody outside of the sport or Oirland (notorious - pardon the pun - for being shameless bandwagon jumpers) gave two shits or even knew about McCringer until Zuffa spent months & millions of dollars into promoting him.

Your missing the point. Zuffa only decided to invest in McGregor and promote him because they saw he had star quality and could become mainstream. Conor is a great self promoter and its because of his own hard work AND zuffas that now he's the biggest draw in the sport.

If the ufc could create superstars by spending a few million on promos don't you think they would do it more often?!

 

[ivory suit]

Rousey is getting so much attention partly due to the novelty factor. MMA isn't a mainstream sport and now we have this attractive blonde young woman who is kicking ass and then being all charming on talk shows etc. no wonder will smith is tweeting about her

 

[Drake]

I would say McGregor based on what I want from the sport. Ronda is great in her dominance, but she has already beaten the #1 contender twice, in the same fashion. If the Cyborg fight doesn't materialize there isn't much to sell on the women's 135 division.

This.

 

[Got GOAT]

This won't even be a question after Conor fights Aldo, Edgar and then has rematches with them and "full camp" Mendes. Rousey is out of competition (unless she fights Cyborg) and it's looking even higher for McGregor because his division has much more talent. Add in a potential Holloway rematch on top of that. But, we'll see, Conor wants to go up to 155 after he beats Aldo but he did say he'd obliterate the division first. There are TONS of great match-ups for Conor at both 145 and 155.

 

[darticus]

That's what I'm saying. Conor hasn't even done ANYTHING in Hollywood yet and has made his name with his mouth & fighting inside that octagon. His popularity is all through the sport itself.



Never. There were over 11,000 people there in attendance and that was just the weigh in itself. When he fights Aldo I'd imagine it'll be even more.



I'm hearing that too but who knows. I doubt much bigger if at all. Ronda is known for her very quick finishes and McGregor is known for his finishes too but at least he isn't doing it in the first 20 or 30'ish seconds. That will affect PPV buy rates negatively in the future for Ronda if they can't match her up with someone that can last longer.

1. The mouth part more than the fighting so far In my honest opinion.
2. I agree
3. Even if it's close doesn't matter which way. Connor had another title fight and a way better card overall. Ronda carried her card. At this point its easily Ronda but like others have said her tank of competition is about to run out while Connor has a full tank of challenges ahead of him, if he can get through Aldo first

 

[RandomUser12]

Your missing the point. Zuffa only decided to invest in McGregor and promote him because they saw he had star quality and could become mainstream. Conor is a great self promoter and its because of his own hard work AND zuffas that now he's the biggest draw in the sport.

If the ufc could create superstars by spending a few million on promos don't you think they would do it more often?!

It still doesn't change the fact that he only reached this level because of an intense, concentrated effort on the part of Zuffa, one that required millions of dollars investment on their part. It wasn't a natural, authentic rise by any means.

 

[sampuncher]

Conor. He's the bigger PPV draw and currently the biggest in the UFC at this time. Ronda's more popular around the world though, at least at the moment.

Apparently 190 beat 189 in PPV figures.

 

[Credo]

Mainstream = Ronda
MMA/UFC fans = McGOAT

 

[Goonerview]

Ronda Rousey for sure!

 

[Goonerview]

This won't even be a question after Conor fights Aldo, Edgar and then has rematches with them and "full camp" Mendes. Rousey is out of competition (unless she fights Cyborg) and it's looking even higher for McGregor because his division has much more talent. Add in a potential Holloway rematch on top of that. But, we'll see, Conor wants to go up to 155 after he beats Aldo but he did say he'd obliterate the division first. There are TONS of great match-ups for Conor at both 145 and 155.

McGregor probably moves up after winning his next fight. IMO.

 

[ilwab]

Aldo v Conor is on at the same time as Honda V Cris and you can only watch one which one would u watch?

Conor V Aldo is the answer and if its not then you're wrong.

 

[Psychedelic]

I'd definitely rather do it with Rousey. Next question?

Why not both ?

 

[Malthian]

The question is who is doing more for the sport.

Hands down the answer is Rousey.

Rousey has more mass fan reach (far bigger fan base).
Rousey's reach is truly Global. Conor is regional (Ireland).
Rousey gets regular coverage in the mainstream media (major stations, international press, major media periodicals and radio like Time, SI, ESPN, Cosmo, Vogue, NYT, LA Times, Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, Kimmel, Tonight Show, Today Show, Howard Stern, etc, etc)
Rousey is popular among "opinion setters". She's getting shout outs from Hollywood to pro sports. Kobe, Lebron, Aaron Rodgers, Sylvester Stallone, etc, etc.

Rousey is actually changing perceptions of MMA among the general public.

Fight fans might like seeing people bleed, but Rousey's penchant for arm bars is far more palatable to the general public. If you want to introduce MMA to the squeamish, have them watch a Rousey fight then slowly introduce them to the blood and gore. Even Rousey's fight against Corriea had no real blood. A brutal knock out, but Correia looked no worse for wear.

Rousey also has cross-generational and cross-gender reach. Young teen girls having Rousey parties, people's grandmothers and grandfathers tuning in, adults young and old, it just goes on and on.

Rousey's appeal and fame is on a level we've never seen in MMA. It's introducing millions to MMA in a safe, palatable and politically acceptable way. She has fans among conservatives (women can compete and get paid just like men without assistance!) and among liberals (woman pioneer in a male dominated field). You'll see articles from conservative and liberal web sites pointing to Rousey as a living example of whatever they happen to be arguing that day.

Love her, hate her, or indifferent... Rousey may be the most influential and meaningful athlete the UFC has seen since Royce Gracie and Forrest Griffin.

And if the UFC ends up going truly mainstream, much of it will be due to Rousey. Regardless of her actual skill set, there is a real possibility that she will be remembered as being the first MMA athlete to truly transcend the sport.

As for me, I see Rousey as the Babe Ruth of WMMA.

Babe Ruth wouldn't stand a chance against the modern athlete, but when he arrived on the scene he was so dominant, so larger than life, and so famous than his name still towers over the sport of Baseball to this day.

Enjoy this period of MMA history that is unfolding before our eyes. There will never be another Rousey.