Why hasn't the UFC been able to produce a major crossover star since Conor?

Doctor Grudge said:
They've been busy expanding world wide. Also, you don't just make some big pop culture star at will, it's difficult to do.

The UFC also limits fighters from getting things like sponsorships with big companies which will be a road block in hitting mainstream success. The UFC wants to control fighters careers, which can make it hard to break out into the mainstream.
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Do they? Israel was sponsored by BMW.
Holly Holm has/had Mountain Dew as a sponsor.
 
People always use this "The UFC doesnt want stars bigger than the company" argument (its one of many weird parallels with the WWE which had the same criticism aimed at it) but the reality is stars at Conors level dont grow on trees, they never did. You cant force it to happen. It needs the right persona, right fighting ability and right circumstances in terms of available fights etc etc to make a star like him.
 
Conor is nothing special. It’s just a personality thing. Most fighters nowadays are more social media wh**** and try to look good in the eye of the public. We dont have any fighter going full heel anymore like Conor did. You just have to talk alot of sh** like Chael also did and win some fights.

Nowadays everyone is trying to act respectful in some kind of way. Look at all the champs Merab, Islam, Belal, Dricus, Pereira and Jones (i mean he’s an a**hole but he doesnt talk trash).

If Pereira woule act like a total retard like Conor and talk sh** about everyone he’d be even bigger than Conor with the way he fights, his insane uprise and beef with Adesanya.
 
They don't want to.
Those guys leave the UFC and don't fight anymore. It's too much work for not enough money.

Their new strategy is trying to generate a dozen stars below 10m followers.

Rousey with 17M and McGregor at 47M make their own money, but don't fight.


Topuria going fast and towards 6M early in his career. aaaaand he is taking a break. Making money with sponsors, ads and other ventures.
A few more fights, going over 10M and byebye UFC
 
Conor is simply an anomaly to combat sports.
 
He gained way too much power for Dana's liking, his ability to negotiate frustrates Dana but he also knows he has to deal with him. I don't think they'd ever promote someone the way they did Conor in the build up to the Aldo fight again for their first title shot.
 
Doctor Grudge said:
They have to get permission from the UFC to do that though.
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That may be, but fighters can have sponsors outside the UFC.
Just look at their SoMe and you see them have sponsors.

In total I am pretty sure the UFC fighters make more money on their own sponsors than most fighters in other orgs.
 
haj02 said:
He gained way too much power for Dana's liking, his ability to negotiate frustrates Dana but he also knows he has to deal with him. I don't think they'd ever promote someone the way they did Conor in the build up to the Aldo fight again for their first title shot.
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This is what a few people here are missing. For sure, the UFC didn't create Conor the man or persona. But fighters don't get international press tours based around them (not the UFC event) anymore.

Look at the Sphere event, the promotion for it was more about the UFC itself by far, than any of the individual fighters on the card that night.

Conor was promoted more the way star boxers are.
 
Do people still believe that promoters/promotions make stars?????????????????????

Boy, only if it was that easy.


Look at the WWE they control every aspect of what you see and hear and they can't just create stars.
 
Pancake Sprawl said:
it is mainstream, it's on ESPN. WME/IMG own it. WWE has partnered with them. it's worth billions of dollars. people from other sports are constantly calling out MMA fighters to fight. a US President comes to watch it live.

it's not as big as NBA/NFL/MLB but this isn't the 90s-00s anymore, MMA is here to stay.
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Yeah and strongman competitions are on espn, pool tournaments, x games.

You forgot to mention that it’s not bigger than soccer or even cricket or even hockey.

It’s here to stay, but not many people know who the fuck are on those modelo commercials
 
Conors rise was like a perfect storm. I don't think any of this mega-stardom happens without the 13 second KO of a GOAT like Aldo.
 
Im not sure they even want one now that brand has become big enough to sell the product as its own.

Right now big names just means more fighting about the fighter pay.
 
because guys like conor is kinda rare
 
They barely do any marketing for their events much less try to build up any new stars. The brand kind of stands on its own at this point and they are making plenty of money with few if any bonfied stars. So why why waste any money building up someone who could become a headache and bigger than the brand.
 
How many major cross-over stars even exist in all of combat sports - who had their breakout later than Conor's (so 2016 or later)

List all of them.

Like...I'm not even sure how many major boxing stars got their breakthrough after Conor had his?
Fury, Wilder, Joshua? Do you count Usyk and Loma?
 
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Because once guys receive that kind of money outside the UFC they all want to go and box lol
 
UFC didn't really "produce" Mcgregor. Mcgregor was given the platform everyone else was given, and his personality, charisma, fighting style, knockouts and "mystic mac" predictions made him into a superstar.

He's simply a unique personality, you can't just keep finding more like him who have everything he had.
 
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