FoxSports says the "UFC Needs a Star":
"The sport stil lacks that one crucial commodity, a cross over star. While MMA may have surpassed boxing it has yet to produce a fighter as iconic as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, or Muhammad Ali. MMA has no Sugar Ray, Leornard or Robinson, not a Golden Boy, or an Iron Mike"...
"After 100 shows, the UFC still needs a face, a baddest man to call its own."
almost 3 years ago
Nick Thomas
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Well that WAS chuck Liddell,
They just weren’t tuning in at that time.. The guy was Probably busy staring at de la hoya’s beautiful face. Haha. :)
Huh? Chuck? LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! No.
Chucks personality is the reason he would never get to that status. If there was one person that COULD have been it, it’s Tito. His mouth alone gets PPV buys left and right. That time has come and gone, I think. His head? Well that gives off a lot of shade and…people like the cool shade.
:P
If it would have been Tito on the other side of those fights getting the wins against Chuck MMA would have gotten popular even faster than it is right now.
Anderson doesn’t know English
GSP is too nice
BJ cant back up his trash talk
Machida, again with the English. “My fight wiffa cheetoh.”
Fedor, nope. Can I get a translator here? Anybody?
Lesnar. No again. For some reason he hasn’t become the “heel” I thought he would. Chalk it up to being a n00b right now.
My pick for someone that still has a shot at being a HUGE star is Rampage. He has soooo much potential but they don’t market him enough IMO. I would LOVE me some HBO 24/7 Rampage vs Rashad. Could you imagine that? Would no doubt be entertaining as hell. Diego has a decent shot if he goes on to take the title. YUS! I thought Huerta was on his way but you know how that went.
Fans: FEDOR! FEDOR! FEDOR!
Goldie: The crowd seems to be chanting "Kongo" here, Joe.
by xFenixKnightx on Jul 8, 2009 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Chuck wasn't the face of the UFC a couple of years ago?
Where have you been?
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 8:23 PM EDT up reply actions
The question isn’t if the UFC has a face. It’s does it have someone that is known on a MEGAstar level worldwide like an Ali/Tyson/ODLH to boxing or an MJ/Kobe/Shaq/Majic to Basketball. Ya digg? ;)
I say Rampage because he is already well known in 3 huge markets right now. US/UK and Japan.
Fans: FEDOR! FEDOR! FEDOR!
Goldie: The crowd seems to be chanting "Kongo" here, Joe.
by xFenixKnightx on Jul 8, 2009 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions
i think that was the question..
After 100 shows, the UFC still needs a face, a baddest man to call its own."
that WAS chuck liddell.. He was the UFC posterboy, the face of the sport.. the problem is, the UFC wasn’t as popular in the mainstream at that time compared to now…
Rampage isn’t the face of MMA, he’s popular sure, but even the hardcores can’t consider him as the top fighter in his division cause he isn’t the champ yet.. He could be, especially with his TUF season, but not until he beats machida. I think GSP could very well be on his way.. or maybe if lyoto breaks out as the UFC’s biggest star by beating on everybody, he could also have a chance..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions
UFC doesn’t need one big star and I don’t want that anyway. Look at boxing. If that ONE guy isn’t boxing nobody is watching.
Basically I’d rather have 20-25 4 Star MMA guys than just 1, 5 star guy. The cards are more exciting because UFC and MMA has tons of 4 star guys. We dont need no stinkin Ali damnit! :)
Fans: FEDOR! FEDOR! FEDOR!
Goldie: The crowd seems to be chanting "Kongo" here, Joe.
by xFenixKnightx on Jul 8, 2009 10:14 PM EDT up reply actions
MMA has plenty of stars
It’s just that they continue to fight past their prime and tarnish their legacy in the process. I think quite a few current fighters will end up with the same legendary status as the fighters listed above.
Yes and no
In the eyes of MMA fans, sure a few guys will reach legendary status, but at the moment, those guys didn’t get as much mainstream exposure to be regarded by the masses to be on the level of greatness as an Ali, etc.
So I think in terms of being a legend in everyone’s eyes, like Ali is, those who can get them are todays rising stars (maybe GSP, Brock, Machida) and not those who are done or almost done like Hughes, chuck, royce etc.
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 11:47 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yes..
He’s close to being the UFC’s top draw (probably already is) and if he wins big, his star will only get bigger.
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
The UFC will then hype him up as the best HW in the world,
And some time after, “the best ever”… Farfetched? Don’t underestimate their hyping/marketing abilities..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
sorry don’t think machida is the guy either..too thick of an accent. call it shallow, but americans don’t usually rally around combat athletes with thick accents (see W. Klitschko). i think we automatically or subconsciously associate them with the bad guy in the action movie. Guarantee that GSP would be 10 times more popular if he sounded like a “good ol boy” American. sucks but i think thats a factor..
Um...
Didn’t the good citizens of California elect a man with a thick accent who used to be an action hero to be their governor?
Just saying.
I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
--------
Join the DC Area UFC Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/DCUFCGroup
Ummm yea but...
he also ran against Cruz Bustamante (34% and second highest in votes) and Tom McClintock. The different strokes kid and the porn star you speak weren’t even close.
most americans don’t like klitschko because he’s generally boring and has a glass chin
by mocavious sam on Jul 8, 2009 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions
GSP’s accent is one of the best things going for him.
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
yes me and you (and my girlfriend) have no problem with it. don’t you think that if he had an american accent with a little american swagger to it…he would be more well known? and further more a bigger star in America?
Pacquiao has a thick accent..
If machida becomes a dominant champ like pacquiao, he’d get there soon enough. Especially now that the UFC is getting bigger and getting more exposure..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 8, 2009 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Fedor is the closest to a guy like Federer … just need to go to UFC…
by Brasil com luvas on Jul 8, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
LOL!
very, very true.
I'm the kind of girl who loves to watch a GOOD fight!
--------
Join the DC Area UFC Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/DCUFCGroup
Why was he shouting?
Is he being haunted by Billy Mays?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
For a comparatively small time sport like MMA to have a huge crossover star, that person would really need to transcend sport essentially, having a story that resonates with the wider public. Something the media can latch on to and push.
I don’t know, man. I think that if the UFC really put their support behind Georges St. Pierre, they’d have their iconic crossover star.
He’s good-looking, athletic, classy, well-spoken, has traditional martial arts in his background, is young, and pretty cool to boot. He exemplifies, more than any other champion, the image that the UFC would do well to project, both as it seeks mainstream acceptance, and the acceptance of the larger sports community.
Yeah….. except his English is crap.
It matters – what can you do?
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
Americans don’t like that they can’t match his pace, they can’t match his riddum.
by mocavious sam on Jul 8, 2009 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Plus, I hear we can’t match his politeness.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
Dude, I already made the Screech joke.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
Premature
MMA is still in its infancy relative to boxing. Of course there isn’t a huge crossover star a la Ali, Dempsey, et al. Boxing has at least 50 years on MMA.
Hey inflection-challenged Fox Sports guy, talk to us in 50 years.
He's entertaining
I didn’t really disagree with anything he said.
And I love the sly, cheap shot on Dana White early…
“Under the direction of Dana White, a former Aerobics instructor”
A star won't do it.
I recently sent a link to Genghiscon’s website to two of my Facebook friends. As we all know here at BE, Genghiscon makes short mma videos of pure awesomeness. When you share something with a friend on facebook all of your other friends get a message on their home page that shows them that you shared whatever it is with that friend. To my surprise within 3 hours the videos had been reported as inappropriate content. I have no idea whom reported them as such but I think it puts into perspective how far away mma is to being socially acceptable and I don’t think Lesnar, GSP nor Fedor or any other charismatic mma figure is going to help with this. Sadly, mma is a niche sport and will probably be that for some time.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
Good point
… maybe just the time… like boxing did..
by Brasil com luvas on Jul 8, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions
This guy is a tool. MMA wont give a fighter 20 cans so they can go undefeated for 4 years and build a cult following. We want the best fighting the best every 3 months. In boxing you get that every couple of years.
He took boxing figures from the past 70 years and tried to compare them to MMA and its short history. Not really that compelling. Ali was a great fighter who rose fame surrounding his racially equality views. Lesnar is Mike Tyson. Gracies did more to change MMA (cage fighting) than any single boxer could.
I don’t want boxing anymore. I watch the product erode for 25 years. Slowly good fighters dodged each other and the great fights where a thing of the past. Dana White doesn’t allow his product to get watered down and stale.
Legacy of great fighters?
Hughes?
GSP?
Couture?
Liddell?
Penn?
Coming soon
Lesnar
Florian
Shields
Machida
the list goes on and on.
Jeffy Lacy was hyped as the next Tyson for 3 years. When he finally met real boxers he got walloped. The UFC will expose you as a fraud 1-2 fights.
Only time cements the status of legends. They are big in their time, then become icons as the years go by.
GSP is likely to move to another level with his Gatorade deal. He will be seen in ads in Rolling Stone and whatnot.
IF the UFC ever ends up on network television, there will be several that reach that level.
Right now, the UFC has several stars that can draw very large ppv buys and that generate mainstream media attention.
Only time is going to take it to the next level.
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