Relevance in the UFC
Ultimate Fighter Championship currently has 559 fighters signed to it. Out of all of those fighters, only a certain amount of them are relevant to the non-fanatic of UFC. Most people who know of the UFC or aren’t huge fans of the company, know certain fighters like Conor Mcgregor, Nate Diaz, George St Pierre, Jon Jones, and Ronda Rousey. But what most people don’t know is that there are fighters more talented than these fighters. With social media and popularity, these fighters are forgotten put aside. So, why is this such a big deal in the UFC? And why do certain fighters get put in the spotlight?
Conor McGregor is the most popular UFC fighter of all time, and part of that comes from his funny, truthful, and uncensored trash talk. People love the humor in trash talk. Humor always attracts an audience, and this is shown through the popularity of some fighters. Another excellent example of this is the Nate and Nick Diaz. The Diaz brothers are heavy trash talkers, and people often say they have gained their fights through trash talk. The Diaz brothers have called out many UFC fighters and have gotten the fight against the opponent. So the trash talk works. Another UFC very popular from the 2000’s is Chael Sonnen. Chael Sonnen never one a single UFC belt in his entire career, yet people very well know him. This was because he was the first UFC fighter to talk trash with ease and humor. You could go as far as to say he began trash talking in the UFC. Out of the three opponents mentioned only one has a UFC belt: Conor McGregor. So why are fighters who have no belts popular? From the Diaz brothers to Donald Cerrone to Rory Mcdonald, these fighters are more popular and are winning more money than champions. These fighters get more people to watch fights and ultimately earn the company more money. This is why they are promoted more and why they become so popular. They’re used for different reasons too. Non-Champions like Donald Cerrone & Rory Mcdonald are exciting to watch because of their aggressive and bloody fighting styles. Whether they win or lose, they put up a good fight. The UFC will choose these fighters over others, even over champions in some cases. These fighters are attention grabbers and money bringers.
Of course, the actual fighting also does play a part in some way towards relevance in the UFC. Knockout artists are always easy ways to get a person to watch a fight. Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell and Cody Garbrandt are amazing fighters who can knock out any opponent they come up against in a match. People love to see knockouts in combat sports; it’s a fact. Especially for fans who are not diehard UFC fans. A lot of people watch these combat sports to see blood and people getting knocked out. So when individual fighters can achieve that standard, they are put on a higher pedestal. When fighters of high caliber like this exist people always tend to ask “who’s better than them?”. Rivals in any sport are a huge attention grabber. People still want to see the best of the best tested. It’s the same in the UFC. Demetrious Johnson is considered by many experts as the best UFC fighter of all time, but no one knows of him. It’s because he has no rival. Johnson has torn apart his weight division to the point where there is no challenge for him, and people don’t like that. This is why many people say he should fight TJ Dillashaw because it could give him a rival. He would gain popularity and money. Fights are more intense and aggressive when it’s to top tier fighters in the octagon. This method attracts a large fan base, which is why the UFC, once again, promotes these rivalries more than other fights.
Stories and culture also gain popularity in the UFC. Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva, and George St. Pierre all had countries on their backs. Wherever they went, their fans went. Their rise to the top from nothing is a fantastic story on its own. The UFC uses these stories as a way to lure people. A large mass of Irish, Brazilian, and Canadian fans have added to the UFC’s expanding fan base because of these fighters. These fighters have even inspired people from these countries to become fighters themselves. When a whole nation gets together to support one opponent, it adds money to the wallet of the company, therefore gaining relevance.
In all, you got to have something. As a UFC fighter, you must have something that attracts people to you and is unique to you. Relevant fighters have some fan base behind them. Relevance in the UFC is all about gaining fans. If you as a fighter are unable to earn the UFC fans and money, you won’t be promoted as heavily as others. The more your fights get promoted, the more relevance you will gain. It’s like in every single sport in the world; you must have an IT factor in your talent to rise to stardom.
