I've been watching MMA for about 5 years now, 90% of what I watch is in the UFC. I know the sport is growing, but I can't help but think that nobody was more famous than Chuck Liddell, the Iceman. So I'm just wondering if they had a PPV champ, like they do in boxing (ie it's between Tyson and Oscar, with Pac and mayweather coming on strong), how do you think MMA ranks. In other words who would you consider the 5 top MMA PPV draws. My guess is something like this: Chuck Liddell Anderson Silva (due to number of fights more than anything) Brock (not many fights but lots watched when he did fight, which is why he's so high) BJ GSP (go back and forth between BJ and GSP)
Right now Brock can sell cuz of his WWE background. Bj Penn's fight is always attractive GSP Silva Outside of UFC FEDOR is very popular and the heavyweight tournament should sell especially if fedor-Overeem or barnett is the main event.
If they Market Jon Jones well enough, he can become huge! Liddel and Randy are very marketable. Tito came at the wrong time before MMA really blew up, but I think in relation to the progression of the sport in his peak he was just as marketable as Chuck and Randy became. GSP needs to start finishing people and if Anderson didn't mix in shitty performances with his awesome ones, he would be unbelievable marketable. Brock might have been the biggest draw to date though.
Totally agree, I guess I'm coming at it more in the way of boxing where a fighter gets a certain amount of credit for the number of PPV fans that watch a show and they accumulate, which often leads to arguments btw, such as who brings more PPV clout to the table, Floyd or Pacman. I would say in MMA, Liddell is probably the PPV king at the moment, but fighters such as Anderson Silva and GSP are probably closing in on him. Not sure if Brock's two or three huge PPV numbers passed all of what Liddell did, but my hunch is no. Those Liddell - Couture fights were very popular, as were almost all of the Iceman fights. For a single fight PPV it was probably Brock at UFC 100.
Tito was MMA's biggest Star when he beat Shamrock for the first time and looked impressiv in doing so. He had the looks, the big mouth and wins over Wanderlei and Shamrock. He had it all.
There is no such thing as Marketablity. You have to break it down more. Some fighters draw better to certain demographics, draw better with certain revenue streams, need certain things to draw, etc. This is why the UFC is smart to rely on multiple stars rather than bet the farm on one mega-draw - that mega-draw can only do so much. Again looking at the figures you can Brock is a megadraw on PPV (first man since Tyson to do 1million buys on more than one occassion in a year) but his television ratings and attendance figures have never knocked out of the park to the same extent. GSP obviously is a huge draw in Canada and is a big reason why that country is moving away from WWE and towards the UFC. Likewise BJ Penn has a rabid fanbase in Hawaii. Evans/Jackson did a great job in reach an entirely new demographic, something that Cain Velasquez may be able to do as well. Kimbo was the best television draw that MMA ever produced. Likewise one of the things people miss is how important it was for the growth of the UFC on Spike to have all those former TUF fighters come in as readymade television draws - something that meant they could keep their title matches and grudge matches on PPV. I'd say GSP and Jon Jones have the potential to be true breakouts stars just because they carry themselves the same way as a 'real' sportsman would. One of the reasons GSP gets more bluechip endorsements than Brock is because his brand is safer, less risker.
I think Gsp has the most potential. He is still young speaks english and is loved already in canada. He has the right personality, seems very friendly and approachable.
As a whole i ****in hate to say this but Brock Lesnar was heading towards insane marketibility before Velasquez handed him is ass !!! , so on that note id have to say Lesnar as it stands today . Then you have Liddell , Ortiz and Couture in that order , clearly these 3 changed the way the general publc views MMA , and at one point Chuck Liddell was probably the most famous man in America . Honourable mention go's to Matt Hughes who played a great supporting role (at times primary role) during this era and was adored and well followed . Fan favourites like St Pierre , BJ Penn , Anderson Silva , Rampage , Shogun , Fedor , Big Nog , Velasquez , and the likes fill any arena in the world as headliners they are so popular , this is very rare in combat sports . And a testiment to the PR machine that is the UFC But then you always have the option of holding events starring these fighters in places like Brazil , Hawaii & Canada (as we have seen) could you imagine the gate and the revenue of a Shogun Silva fight in Rio :deal
Back to the general fool! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-vX4sqMEFc[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5VprWqVcgc[/ame]
i hate to say it, but brock. alot of people know who he is, so he gets support from a great number of people who are not mma fans. also, as in a lot of sports his size and power make him a promoters wet dream. casual fans that dont know much about the sport will tune into see a guy that looks like him, unfortunatley the casual audience arnt too interested in watching a guy that looks like fedor. even though he is twice the fighter.