Last weekend I was able to attend the Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale at Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas and I noticed the reception that some of the superstars got from both the camera and the audience.
The main event was two former champions, Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn going head-to-head in the third fight of a trilogy. As the fighters made their entrances, the arena erupted with cheers for Penn, while a large portion of the crowd was booing when Edgar entered the stadium. Now Frankie Edgar is a very popular fighter, but the booing showed just how much of a superstar BJ Penn really is. The crowd simply loved him and even though he was outclassed that night, the crowd was still behind him 100% during the fight.
UFC Superstars
At the prelims of the finale, Chuck Liddell came in to sit in his seat and it seemed that everybody in the arena was yelling that “The Iceman” himself had just entered into the building. He is possibly the most popular fighter of all-time, even above Anderson Silva and Georges St Pierre. It was his all-or-nothing style which excited fans and made them want to get together for pay-per-view events and see his amazing fights. There was also a great reception for Chris Weidman when the camera shined on him. The sky is the limit for Weidman and he could get some huge ppv numbers, especially if he faces Vitor Belfort in his next fight.
The night before the Finale, I was able to watch UFC 175 at Buffalo Wild Wings and it was rather surprising who got the loudest cheers of the night. It was actually Uriah Hall and I did not suspect that at all. Of course almost everyone there were there mainly to see the main event and co-main event, but it was interesting how loud it got in praise of Hall winning the judges decision. Don’t get me wrong, Chris Weidman serves as the up and coming poster-boy for the UFC and Ronda Rousey is a movie star along with her long reign as both Strikeforce and UFC women’s bantamweight champ, but I believe it was the flashy knockouts and the mystique and “the unknown” factor on The Ultimate Fighter which made Uriah Hall very popular among the casual fans. Add to that an impressive win despite fighting with an obviously injured foot, and UFC may have created a new star on Saturday. From this point on if Hall can get some more highlight reel finishes, the sky could be the limit for him.
Anthony Pettis is another superstar that has had a lot of popularity lately and recently just got a sponsorship with Reebok. What initially make him a star was his highlight reel off the cage ninja kick against Benson Henderson. It was calmed down for a while when takedown machine Clay Guida stole a decision from Pettis in a fight which he did not have to take before he had the chance for a UFC title shot. Pettis flew back to the top of the popularity chain with back to back finishes of Donald Cerrone and his rematch with Henderson which also got him the UFC lightweight gold strapped around his waist. Injuries have been present the past year, but now he gets to coach the all-women’s straw-weight Ultimate Fighter series and will get to defend his belt against challenger Gilbert Melendez. With a win, he could be on the path to being as popular as BJ Penn once was in that division.
The heavyweight superstar reached it’s peak when WWE superstar Brock Lesnar entered the scene. He was so fast for his size and so strong, that he appeared indestructible until being derailed by current champion Cain Velasquez. He was seriously battered up afterwards by current heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem. Lesnar then retired from the UFC and MMA. Overeem had the path set for him to become the next big superstar, but testing positive for banned substances and back to back knockout losses really set him back in his career, popularity and derailed the hype for the former Strikeforce and K-1 champion.
Popular up and coming stars such as Alexander Gustafsson, Meisha Tate and Conor Mcgregor have come along with major hype over the past couple years, but their success will be the determining factor of their long-term popularity. A fighter really needs to become a champion to solidify him/herself as an all-time favorite in the UFC. TJ Dillashaw really made his mark this year as a superstar as he put on the upset of this decade when he took out Renan Barao in one of the greatest performances ever in the Octagon. I feel that the good looks, fighting style and Rocky story of Dillashaw can take him a lot of places and that he can be a huge name in the years to come if he keeps his belt for a while.
It seems that fighters were peaking 4-to 11 years ago have had the biggest success with stardom in the UFC with former champs GSP, Lesnar, Liddell, Penn and Anderson Silva. Current reigning champions Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey and Cain Velasquez have not had the world’s best ppv numbers the last few years, but hopefully there are brighter lights ahead for current champs Chris Weidman, Anthony Pettis and recently crowned champ TJ Dillashaw that can bring the UFC’s popularity to a new level on their fight cards.
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