Who can equal or top Chuck, Brock, Randy, GSP etc in star power?

Which fighters in MMA have the potential to equal or top the star power of the first generation of big time MMA stars.

Chuck Liddell
Randy Couture
Brock Lesnar
Tito Ortiz
GSP
Fedor
Anderson

Besides Jon Jones, who among the current crop of younger fighters will have a shot at equaling (or exceeding?) any of the above in terms of star power?

 

If DC were to become champ I could see it. He's the perfect combination of talk and humble I find. Plus he is an Olympian and a high level one at that.

Add in being well spoken, knowing how to call fighters out, etc and I could see him as a star.

The downside is he isn't white. And so far, all of the biggest draws in the UFC have been white guys.

 

Maybe,

-Cain if he crushes his next opponents in impressive fashion.

-Vitor would be huge(bigger) if he was allowed trt and gorilla fucked everyone.

-Jones would be there if he opened his mouth and talked some smack and didnt try to be the black GSP.

-Machida if he can dominate at 185 in impressive fashion and become champ and stay champ.

-Aldo , if the UFC promoted him better, he learned to speak english a little better and keeps dominating.

-Rhonda

i dont see anyone at 170 becoming big anytime soon.

But then again, 1 fight can change EVERYTHING!

 

mcgregor is the only one with enough charisma

possibly diaz but he is retired and probably wouldnt be champ anyways

dont forget, anderson wasnt a draw until chael. jones can possibly do it, but gus needs to be a more vocal antagonist

 

Not a chance that Daniel Cormier can be as marketable as those guys.

I think without a doubt he would be one of the biggest stars they have if he could knockout Jon Jones. He would be a hero to tons of fans.

I don't see anybody that they have who I feel could become champion and stay at the top enough to rival those names mentioned in the opening.

It would have to be somebody like Uriah Hall just knocking out fools on a crazy streak or Nick Diaz coming back and making a big run destroying everybody.

The guys I can see reaching that level of fame because of their antics and personality won't be able to win enough to reach that level.

 

Don't see anyone now other that a few women ... but more for skin exposure reason than anything else.

As for DC he is a good guy but I am not so sure about being humble... I would go more with Brazilians for that like Maia, etc. Though he is not a champion, he is a true sportsman.

The UFC is also in a tough spot as there is now a split into three big regions: North America, Brazil and Europe. At some point, there might be some guys who are regional superstars but that nobody cares about in other areas. Connor might be one of them. However, he will most likely get smoked when he starts fighting the top dogs. The low-hanging fruits fights will soon be over for him.

 

Rhonda.

 

I think Machida is quite well known by the media as a whole by now and would attract some attention if he were to become champion again. Weidman also got a ton of exposure from the Silva fights, and is likely on route to becoming a huge star. Belfort is and has been a household name for the sport for a long time. McGregor. Honda.

 

If Pettis knocks off Melendez and then maybe Khabib, he has the fighting style, backstory, look and personality to become the face of the UFC's lighter weight guys IMO, and possibly become a huge draw like the Randy, Chuck, Brock, GSP, etc

 

Weidman if he defends the title a couple of more times, especially against popular fighters like Machida and Vitor.

 

Another crossover like Lesnar. Jones proves that the MMA world consists of a majority of sensitive pussies that concern themselves more with what these guys do out of the ring, so the homegrown fighter is pretty much dead in the water.

Superstar status means you had to of already been a superstar before coming over. The UFC is incapable of creating superstars, it solely relies on people making stars of themselves.

 

DC as far as ppv buys since wrestlers respect olympians. he's also a leader, as he was in the olympics, as well. some will call him cocky, but not a poser.

Jones is a huge star. He's big even here.

Robbie Lawler could be a big star because he has the old schoolers who remember him and now another generation 13 years later. Plus, dat style. He's on the quiet side like Chuck and Shogun, so that part could go either way.

Pettis' looks and flashy style makes him a potential big star.

Cain if Mexico works out.

 

ya i agree,

especially jones. I dont like him but only due to the fact that he is a giant pussy and it seems so fake and for the camera type deal. Not genuine like GSP.

 

Pettis and Cain if they fought more. Pettis is flashy in the cage and not a bad looking dude. If he stays as champ, I could definitely see him as a draw. And while people say Cain has no personality, the dude is intense as fuck in the cage and always puts a beating on the other man. Either guy could be a draw if they could stay healthy and in the octagon.

 

When the old guard is gone, UFC is dead. They are not capable of producing their own stars.

Also, Machida is not ever going to be held in the same regard as any of those mentioned in the OP.

Cain will never be a household name. People dont want to support somebody with something as classless as "Brown Pride" tattooed across their chest.

 

this was said when Chuck, Penn & Hughes retired, and when Wand & Rampage started losing big fights consistently. Jones and Edgar came along. Now there's Gus, Pettis, Cain & DC, as well.

 

I would go out on a limb and say that in America 95 out of 100 people couldn't tell you a single current UFC champion.

I work with like 60 people and only 1 other guy supposedly watches MMA and he still thought that GSP and Silva were the champions a couple weeks ago.

 

nobody to be honest.

Jones...I mean he;s like Lebron James....People know of them but hardly are a fan of them.

Mcgregor....Lol all he has is talking, he's not legitimate until he beats someone other than Max Holloway (although a great fight himself)

Ronda....Come on..

Cain....Possibly, but I don't ever see him reaching the popularity of Chuck Liddell

 

And the guys you mentioned are nowhere near the draws that Tito, Chuck, Rampage were in their prime. All those guys on the same card likely wouldn't pull in the same numbers as a GSP ppv.

You are confusing great fighters with being a star/draw. The fact that you mentioned Frankie Edgar alone proves that.... Frankie Edgar couldn't sell a PPV to save his life.

You mention Jones and Gus.... They fought each other at UFC 165 and only done 300,000 ppv buys.

 

Nick Diaz is the perfect Anti-Hero to Dana's constant BS