Ever since I achieved my bachelors in marketing I can’t help but look at a fighter for their marketing value. Marketing, in my opinion, is the most important component for a business to succeed. That coupled with a great product to market. Each fighter is their own product and the UFC, comprised of all its fighters, is a product line. In terms of business cycle the UFC is in the explosive growth stage. Managing and marketing its product line is the most crucial aspect of taking their product line to the mainstream and to the world.
Dana White has publicly said that the UFC will be the biggest sport in the world, surpassing even the NFL. What makes him think this is possible. He once said, “If you take four street corners, and on one they are playing baseball, on another they are playing basketball and on the other, street hockey. On the fourth corner, a fight breaks out. Where does the crowd go? They all go to the fight. So that begs the question who does America want to see fight most?
For the longest time America was only provided with “sports entertainment” as that “fight in the fourth corner.” And they did their job well. They provided athleticism, life-like fighting, great theatre, and a compelling storyline. What they were missing though was authenticity. Because, at our core, we knew it was staged. We knew it was rehearsed. We knew it was a fake fight. But what was our alternative.
And then we were given mixed martial arts. It too will have to market itself in order to achieve status as America’s and the World’s sport. But it has a built in advantage. Because fighting taps into part of our primal nature. The NFL is fighting by throwing a ball, not throwing a punch. And what will catch our attention more ten years from now? That depends on the fighters and the UFC's product line. Will Forrest ever KO Manning in the fight for America's sports dollar...
In traditional marketing there are the four P’s: Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion. So what are a fighter’s four pillars for winning the hearts and minds of the viewing audience? As fighters succeed, so will the UFC.
The first pillar is Personality. Fans want to like or dislike a fighter. They want to be able to connect and relate to a fighter at some level and in a visceral way. In that sense a fighter is a metaphor or symbol for something greater then themselves. They are a politician, representing the popular vote. When we see a fighter fight we want to feel as if we could be that fighter. Or be that fighter’s friend; or enemy. When a fighter shines we shine for better or worse. How could you not smile when you saw Forrest Griffin after beating Shogun Rua!
The second pillar is an obvious. Percentage: Win-loss. We love winners. When the fighters we love win we win. They carry our hopes and aspirations on their shoulders. When Chuck Liddell got knocked and laid lifeless for minutes so did we. When Rich Franklin got destroyed by Anderson Silva, not once but twice, so did we. We need our fighters to win. They don’t have to be perfect because we aren’t perfect. But they do have to win. Does Lyota Machida being 13-0 make him more marketable? Perhaps its the only thing keeping our attention. Does St. Pierre's two losses to Hughes and Serra make you like him more or less?
The third pillar is Passion. We need our fighters to love what they do. When we see that passion translate into the Octagon we warm up inside. Their passion is our passion. While we may never step into the ring and trade blows with the best of the best they do and we love them for that. And when pain and passion intertwine into a fighter’s expression we connect to it in the purest form possible.Is Kenny Florian the most passionate with his deliberate, determined approach. Or is Brock lesnar's passion to be #1 translate in the UFC?
The fourth pillar is Perseverance. A steady persistence in one’s course of action. A purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. Taken a step further, in Theology it is continuation in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation. Fighting and perseverance are the same. When a fighter perseveres they personify fighting in its purest state and highest form. It can be a spiritual experience for the fan. Has Liddell and Couture showed us that spiritual realm?
The five pillar is perception. We all know perception is reality. And often times a fighter, an organization, or fans will create a perception which becomes reality. This is the X-factor in the marketing matrix of a fighter’s marketing success. Another word linked with perception could be hype. Is BJ Penn as good as he is because of the hype he has been able to create?
So enough with rhetoric, lets rank the fighters:
7. Kenny Florian - He isn’t the flashiest. He doesn’t brag about himself or beg for fights. He is smart, articulate, and might put together the best game plan in the fight game. He is humble and just goes out their and fights; because he loves to fight. I recently watched his fight with Chris Leben on TUF 1. Can you believe he used to fight at Middleweight? They guy will do whatever he has to in order to succeed. The only thing standing in his way is a few more self imposed fights and the man at #3. Why do we like KenFlo. How can we not. America equals determination and work ethic and that equals Kenny Florian. And if you havent seen Kenny on MMA Live check him out on the ESPN website.
6. George St. Pierre - He often seems overlooked by others on this list. That is a shame. He might be the most deserved of being called the best. pound for pound fighter. While he lost to a legend in Matt Hughes and had a freak loss to one hit wonder Matt Serra he avenged both in dominating fashion. He is the guy that is naturally good at anything he does without being too cocky. He out wrestles wrestlers. He out strikes strikers. BJJ…no problem. He takes them down and ground & pounds them. And he is professional and dare I say nice. He is mister all-American, except he happens to be French Canadian. I don’t think it matters because George is flat out one of the best pure MMA fighter out there.
5. Anderson Silva -Will he retire? The UFC can only hope this isn’t the case. He has six more fights under contract to further cement his increasingly legendary status. Let’s hope, when its all said and done, he is a hall-of-famer. Will 7-0 become 13-0? Anderson not only wins fights, he destroys opponents and, if the UFC had a minor league that is where he’d send them to mend their wounds. Many think he is all hype. Perception says otherwise. Let us see him fight Henderson and Marquardt. Better yet, let us see him fight Liddell, Rampage, or Wandi. He is the epitomy of collected confidence. He wants to fight the best and that is why he is one of the most marketable.
4. Chuck Liddell - Chuck is not #1 because he is on the downward side of his career. Yet people turned out in frenzy to see him market himself at a recent public event. And were still star struck by the former champion. He is a hall-of-famer who still has some punch left in him and hopefully a few more huge fights. Since Liddell is synonymous with Couture they both symbolically occupy this spot. Perhaps they will have one more fight at heavyweight in the stars align mma gods smile upon us.
3. BJ Penn - Talent knows no bounds with this man. If only his worth ethic had matched. Most people, somewhere in their consciousness, know he could be the best ever. We love accomplishments and he was the first non-Brazilian (American) to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Now imagine a BJJ expert who is just as dangerous as a striker. We love a stand up war and he has delivered. His flaws only seem to add to his lore. Part of us wants our Heroes to fail, or at least not appear perfect. Vulnerability is attractive, especially with a fighter who possesses unbridled talent. The super fight between him and George St. Pierre will cement both of their legacies; with or lose. And boy does he know how to market himself. How else do you explain him getting an instant opportunity to fight for the welterweight title? Seeing him walk into the Octagon to upstage the St. Pierre post fight. He has a sense of timing and his time might just be now.
2. Brock Lesnar - Brock is a freak in all aspects. His physique, his physicality, his work ethic, and his desire to be the best separate him from most. It is not a matter of if he will be a champion, but when. Like him or hate him, and its better if you house both feelings, he has people salivating over his potential. We want to see him fight and for these things he is forever marketable. Is #2 too high? Not for much longer, win or lose against Randy Couture. He is the future of the heavyweight division.
1. Forrest Griffin - He is a real life Rocky Balboa. When watching the first season of TUF no one could have predicated that this self-effacing fighter would win back-to-back against fights against two of Pride’s most dominant fighters in Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson. He is an everyman’s champion. There is nothing arrogant about this fighter and his accessible to the American Psyche. Of course he must continue to increase his win-loss percentage to cement his status. This is one light heavyweight who makes it easy for us to root for. He needs to hold the title for awhile to cement his status but for now he is the most markteble fighter in the UFC.
There are lots of great fighters but some are more marketable then others. And the market is constantly fluctuating as fighters win and lose. It comes down to this. If you could only see one fighter fight who would you be most interested in seeing fight RIGHT NOW (and willing to shell out the money for)?
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about 1 month ago
Excellent read.
about 1 month ago
Obviously I didn't do a good job of marketing this article! I love irony.
about 1 month ago
Georges St. Pierre (my answer to your question). I loved the contents of your article until I came to your rnakings and then I fell out. Still, based on the content and not the ranking, ***** & POTD.
I don't know why I didn't see this article before.
about 1 month ago
Yeah, rankings are always tough because they are so subjective. I could definitely rethink and retool the list. I would like to get your opinions on what you would change. Drop a fighter off the list or add another fighter to it. Move someone up or down? Your thoughts are valued! Thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated.
about 1 month ago
And touche on your St. Pierre comment =)
about 1 month ago
Your list is spot on.
Both St. Pierre and Anderson Silva are in an interesting position, because most of their marketing is only based on how great they are as fighters. Anderson Silva has a ton of personality, but the language barrier has been a hindrance to him thus far. St. Pierre is a huge, huge draw in Canada, but he hasn't cracked the United States market as much as other dominant fighters like Liddell.
Silva keeps winning, but he never seemed to catch on...until his fight with Irvin on Spike TV. That show did a very good rating, which was drawn purely on the interest in seeing him debut at 205. A lot of people saw him finish Irvin in dramatic fashion on that night, and I think it probably went a long way towards putting him into the upper tier of PPV draws on the UFC roster. All you need is one or two "holy crap" moments, and you can coast on those for a long time. We'll see if that's true in a month or so when we find out the buyrate for his fight with Cote.
The only omission from your list, at least in my mind, would be Wanderlei Silva. He's now had two fantastic fights in the UFC. The loss to Liddell didn't hurt him at all because he was the first guy in a long time to really stand in the pocket and trade wild punches with Liddell. He followed that up with that mauling of Jardine where he held his throat with one hand and punched him with the other. To the casual fans I watch UFC with, he became an instant megastar that night. That was a glimpse of the old Axe Murderer, and if he keeps that up he's going to be one of the biggest fighters in the company. He might not fall in the top 7 right now, but I think within the next 12 months he'll be in the top 4.
about 1 month ago
I appreciate your comment and your analysis of Silva/St.Pierre was put very well. I also agree with your comment on Wanderlei. I kind of cheated by putting Couture/Liddell together since they are synonymous with each other in most people's minds. I thought about doing the same with Jackson/Wanderlei since they have had two battles and after their 3rd war should be put them in that same category. Also I may have been premature to put Brock over Liddell/Couture. I put him and Forrest first since they are part of the passing of the guard.
about 1 month ago
I don't think it's premature at all to put Lesnar over Liddell or Couture. He may be hated by the hardcore fans, but Brock Lesnar has drawn two big PPV numbers in a row. The first one with Mir was entirely because of the marketing they did with both wrestling companies, but in the second one they did almost no marketing of Lesnar and it still did a big number. St. Pierre pulled in the same amount of Canadian viewers that he normally does, which means that someone else was responsible for the big increase in PPV buys for the August show. Most believe that Lesnar was the draw for that show, even though he wasn't in the main event and they did very little marketing for him. He's very marketable because he's a huge man with crazy strength and a lot of speed, kind of a new prototype heavyweight. And of course, you're going to get wrestling fans who buy the show to see him fight.
Liddell is probably still the biggest draw in the company, but as far as pure marketing potential, I think Lesnar has everyone beat. Including Forrest, who truly does embody the Rocky story. Griffin is very popular, but he hasn't had the chance to draw a big buyrate on his own yet, so nobody really knows if his popularity with casual fans will translate into PPV buys. He won't get the chance for the December show because that one will be built around the Nog/Mir title fight and potentially Rampage/Wanderlei. If he beats Evans, he'll probably be in the main event of a show by April or May, and we'll get to see if that popularity is enough to make him a big draw. I hope it is, because his story is fantastic and his fights are a blast to watch.
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