Why The UFC Doesn't Have A Face Anymore

[@tjlovesfights]

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[@cathaldowdall7467]

Sean o Malley can’t trash talk ….what u on about?

[@zaidkidwai7831]

The fact that most ordinary people don’t know the difference between UFC and MMA says enough. UFC IS MMA now for most people.

[@ssj4goku18825theepic]

Dudes it’s just like basketball and football(soccer) there are euro league Japan league Australian league etc same concept with ufc and the rest of mma like one BellaTor etc

[@defaultyboi9916]

​@@ssj4goku18825theepicIts not like that though. Basketball has the other leagues that are known to the casuals(NBA,College, euro to some), Football(Soccer) has the brazil leagues, mls, german leagues, english leagues, etc that are well known, and so on with the other sports. Some casuals dont call it MMA but rather just UFC.

[@Diogo-gw9wq]

yeha, it's like like calling football FIFA

[@ssj4goku18825theepic]

@@defaultyboi9916 cause dude first of all basketball has been around for years Americans love college sports in general. Secondly those sports are popular among non sport fans they have martyred themselves well and actually know how to be entertaining most of the time. Most people actually don’t care about the ufc except for modern fans and fight fans I’ll be real. Weee just a small bubble you think someone in the public gives a damn about merab or a Sean Strickland outside the ufc? No not really. The fans are fickle ufc refuses to create stars and honestly no one wants to see ufc fighters do anything outside of fighting which sucks cause there so much these guys can do idk if we ever will get a Conor type guy again popularity wise unless there’s a catch

[@luan4753]

thats cause noone cares about your silly little sport

[@ferrari.michael]

Seems like Dana is the face

[@FayeTheNerd]

Ong, he keeps trying to tell fighters make their own money, but he keeps trying to find ways to steal that money.

[@STiergoofball]

,,I love it" - Dana White

[@mopar_keys]

He’s there Floyd 😂

[@makhundred]

What are you talking about?

[@randommf3549]

E

[@buddylee5712]

Before I watch the video - I think it's 100% INTENTIONAL by the UFC. They don't want anyone becoming larger than the brand, like Conor and Ronda Rousey managed to do. This tactic is taken directly from WWE (who is now owned by UFCs parent company) who stopped making superstar pro wrestlers (like Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena) who were able to transcend the WWE into mainstream culture like Hollywood. When you have stars that large, they have way more leverage than you would like. They want you to think more about the brand than any of the individual fighters.

[@ssj4goku18825theepic]

Honestly it sucks and isn’t a good look or thing for the company and it’s fighters. Khamzat is the closest thing to Conor level come up we’ve seen. Sean is a huge guy for his weightclass but he’s at best gonna be a Ryan Garcia type popular not everyone will like it but it will be enough where he’s got that sneako, adin Ross type crowd to hype him up for years. Another issue is ufc fails to produce a product marketable to non fight or sport fans where everyone can watch this a lot. They also don’t get big endorsements like that which sucks. The fighters who wanna do things in Hollywood like movies fashion etc should be allowed to do so on the biggest level. Hopefully this can change around even Dana can see the company needs a proper face fighter

[@leongaines3805]

I was gonna say the same thing about a comparison to WWE. These companies don't want their people to get too big or they will become part-timers or just leave completely. They want them to be big enough to make them money but also small enough to not attract too much mainstream attention.

[@nlmbboogz7382]

Your right 💯 you dam near erased the need for this video in one sentence 😂😂😂

[@iyziejane]

The whole economy is like that now, because of the concentration of wealth in the past few decades. As an example, consider professors at elite universities (Harvard, MIT, etc). Traditionally these people were respected as geniuses and allowed a lot of ideological freedom, they got a high status but a lower pay (compared to what they could make in private industry). But now they are just slaves, not allowed to think for themselves, they must obey these face rags and injections, they must obey diversity initiatives, etc. Some people call it neo-feudalism, because like feudalism you either own significant holdings, or you are a replaceable peasant slave.

[@BigsoldierMx]

💯💯💯💯

[@gordonneverdies]

Conor was one in a million. He was a elite, flashy fighter and had main character lever charisma. It'll be a long time before we see his likes again, if ever.

[@mmaSlayer]

He was the first big star never again just like Ronda was the first biggest women’s

[@madgavin7568]

We're honestly not going to see another Conor like figure again unless the UFC makes some major changes to how they promote their stars, as well as increasing the amount of revenue they pay their fighters. Guys like Conor transcended the sport, the closest thing we got to that was Khamzat and honestly I'm not entirely convinced Khamzat is going to live up to his potential; dude is extremely wild, has questionable discipline and is full of ego.

[@mzydaddy]

I think Khamzat comes pretty close to him

[@NeilSteel]

Facts I got into MMA cause of Conor

[@NeilSteel]

​@@mzydaddyif he fights often he has potential

[@rogeraimable5477]

My man said "Desean" Strickland lmao

[@paulbadman8509]

More black than adedogger for sure.

[@MonkeyBalls565]

That's him tho

[@lucasleao1756]

What's the problem, this is the dude's name

[@kingt0295]

Should’ve said our Champion DeSean Strickland

[@Wraithynn]

i think what khabib and conor did also made this a reality, because after the khabib conor fight when the ufc wanted to let go of islam and zuba khabib threatened to also leave if his partners aren't reinstated, which the ufc reluctantly did, and conor also had similar actions and i think it rubbed dana and the shareholders the wrong way knowing that their fighters can control the company and the direction.

[@iamDBA1]

I think you hit the point for the most part. Theyre creating big stars by MMA standards, but nothing like what Conor once was. They dont want someone with that amount of power

[@LevisH21]

maybe so but let's be honest here, Connor McGregor also had a special talent to be a bad boy enough and likable at the same time for casual audience. and since he is Irish, his funny accent helped him a lot. with Khabib, he became famous because of his fight with Connor and his undisputed record. NOBODY cared about Khabib before his match with Connor McGregor, let's be honest. the casual audience and people that never watched MMA because aware of Khabib because of McGregor.

[@double0double0]

Let’s ask ourselves, was it really worth it in the end? Conor reached extreme levels of fame and we had to sit and watch an MMA legend go down in shambles.

[@GFBSTPPI]

@@LevisH21 yeah conors accent helped alot. alot of stuff he said if said by an american would make him really unlikable

[@gudea5207]

The other largest contributor to a lack of UFC stars is probably the inability to prop up a star past his prime. A team sport can retain stars past their prime by building a team around them but in an individual sport where there’s very little can crushing that could be tolerated it’s very difficult. This is not to mention how taxing the fight game is on the body in comparison to these other sports.

[@michaelcrawford6130]

I very much agree with this l. Think of Peyton manning on the 2015 broncos who managed to win a Super Bowl despite it being his worst season

[@GazerPlur420]

Solid take.

[@rico14]

I think the biggest difference is that combat sports athletes generally have to have big personalities to be stars. Whereas team sports stars can have very bland personalities, and can still garner a lot of interest.

[@starseeddeluxe]

You're right, and you make good points about the team sport allowing Tom Brady to really shine. But the UFC could easily build up their older stars, but they just choose not to. I'm beginning to see that Dana should not be in charge of matchmaking anymore. He's burned too many good fights, and basically assaulted the media for mentioning Francis Ngannou. Francis Ngannou never should have been allowed to walk away. Dana is more concerned with laying down the law, than actually making appropriate fights. Why was Tony Ferguson fed to the wolves, during his last 6 fights--he's a huge star and the UFC could easily find an "easy" opponent for him.

[@starseeddeluxe]

I really support Dana's vision of the world. But there are 2 major reasons why Dana should be fired. 1.) The bad referees with their constant early stoppages and also egregious, career ending, late stoppages. 2.) The poor matchmaking of aging veterans, who keep getting fed to the wolves, and forced out of the company--despite having many years left and a desire to keep fighting. Summary: If you consider how the UFC has handled Ngannou and Tony Ferguson alone, it's enough reason for Dana to be fired. Tony Ferguson should have been given Chris Boutino or Carlos Condit--not Charles Oliveira in his absolute prime. Why are big stars constantly being destroyed, and pummeled into non-existence? Maybe there is some type of strange bitterness in Dana, where he hates aging fighters?

[@GgCashh451]

They no longer rely on pay-per-view. Once they sign the ESPN deal, their money became fixed they’re guaranteed 500 million at the very least per year even if pay-per-view numbers were to plummet. Thats why you notice most fights are only promoted heavily during fight week. The only promotion you really see is from MMA pages started by fans that may have built a profile big enough to associate with the UFC but are still not UFC employees

[@bobbygreen1020]

i hate this aswell, no aldo connor like world tour press conferences or anything anymore. that strickland izzy fight couldve been promoted way better with the trash talk

[@ErinJeanette]

That sucks 😢

[@GgCashh451]

@@bobbygreen1020 exactly bro if promoted correctly Adesanya vs Strickland could’ve been fucking huge

[@sp123]

​@@GgCashh451it was considered a easy fight tho, no one expected Strickland to win

[@GgCashh451]

@@sp123 true but the Trash Talk may have been lethal enough to make it huge

[@yehhhremix2810]

Your analysis of Sean O’Malley is on point. Just seems so forced. UFC is trying so hard push him it’s just so corny

[@Az_N.S.O.L.]

Yeah. You could tell they wanted him to win at all costs. On fight night, all of the commentary was about SO. There were a couple different commercials that starred SO. The cage mat even had his brand logo all over it. To say the ufc was pushing him is an understatement. Especially since sterling was still the champ at that time, yet there was zero talk about him all night.

[@tannermcguire7713]

I honestly don't think that many actual regular fans like him that much, more so the nelk boy and twitch fans

[@survivaltipsandtricks4042]

@@tannermcguire7713imma agree to a degree, his striking is honestly something to hype up but for the most part his fans do come from places like twitter ( or X now💀)

[@stefanm2731]

True. O'Malley is a charisma vacuum

[@TyLennyFeins]

they wanna push him but he just knocked out aljo like you can’t force that to happen

[@YeTism]

Love or hate him, Conor was massive. One of the biggest stars on the planet.

[@IqbalIqbal-kx9pf]

UFC crossed a million PPV buys multiple times and way before Conor.

[@elijahbatiste9171]

Hot take

[@team3gaming749]

Was? He still is 😂

[@N-StoleMyBike-x9x]

@@IqbalIqbal-kx9pf thing about Conor is his sell alway higher than 1.5mil no matter who he fight

[@Ar1AnX1x]

this kinda makes Dana and his bosses sound like masterminds, but I don't think they're that planned out, the only thing they've actually done themselves to grow UFC's power is trying to be a monopoly and doing everything they can to make that happen, besides making a super-star do a large degree will have to happen organically, the UFC can do only so much.

[@d26k164]

monopsony*

[@CC-INV]

@@d26k164The UFC is not the only buyer?

[@d26k164]

@@CC-INV nah bro just referring to the class action lawsuit

[@SoyDuckHot]

From following Dana for awhile now, he is an exceptional business man. Very smart and immoral / unethical / manipulative which helps.

[@dyl7729]

Strickland is now the face🤣🤣

[@Exiecutioner]

It’s no mistake it’s by design. After Connor transcended the entire sport Witten boxed than everybody else was trying to do the exact same thing so the UFC was trying to pull back on letting people go do stuff like that for the fear that they would be bigger than the brand just like Francis that’s why they didn’t want him to box.

[@anon2427]

Francis never had a chance of becoming bigger than the UFC, as he has no personality or charisma to speak of. You’re way off the mark

[@GeorgetheGreat]

sounds like what Vince McMahon did after the attitude era

[@Exiecutioner]

@@anon2427 we get it you swing off Connor’s jock strap . Since nobody agrees with you then that leads me to believe that I am right and I’ve been watching UFC since probably before you were born if I had to guess since 1997. I’ve been watching this shit you can’t tell me shit, bro I apparently you didn’t even understand what I said so just keep your little weird comments to yourself.

[@Natsu4495]

What about alex pereira ? He is very famous even without speaking english

[@Exiecutioner]

@@Natsu4495 let’s be real OK the only reason why he has any fans is because he beat Izzy before if he was just some dude that came into the UFC. Even if he was two division kickboxing champion he would have half the fans he has most people just like him because he knocked out Izzy twice and that’s real shit.

[@barokmeca]

They parallel so much with WWE. WWE has done this for years now because of Brock Lesnar and John Cena. Brock is who they wanted to build and he left the company back in 2002 and then they relied on John Cena for years as they built the WWE brand. After Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson left for hollywood and became a bigger star than when he was wrestling they didn't want to rely on megastars anymore because hollywood gave wrestlers better working conditions and bigger pay days without as brutal of a work schedule. Long story short, UFC is doing this on purpose just like WWE did.

[@yehwanlee1720]

I too thought originally Suga’s rise was a bit forced, however after knocking out the greatest bantam weight of all time in just two rounds he’s earned himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in MMA and all of those concerns have gone out the window. You can’t call if forced when his proven he’s one of the best🤷‍♂️

[@Buttadawgy]

Greatest bantamweight what?

[@ReggieBowe]

When did Sean knockout Dominick Cruz?

[@shinyminy94]

That yan robbery cemented his title as ufc industry plant forever

[@davidke5851]

Think it's to early call him one if the best..think there's least couple of fighters in division who would defeat him

[@kingt0295]

Cruz is still the BW goat that was just marketing they say every current champion is the greatest of their weight class if they have more than 2 defences it’s an easy way to promote fighters over older legends who hold more impressive records but aren’t making them money in that moment when they’re retired or washed lol

[@therealphilly7392]

I think it’s hard for them to make a star because regular people can’t see the fight highlights I know it sound dumb and simple but after Sean ko Ajio he gained a lot of fans because they dropped like the 2nd round on yt.. but if the ufc dropped more full fights and fight highlights edited the right way .. somebody would go viral and naturally become a star picked by the fans and they would have to try hard to push out a star . Conor was a star but the fans really pushed him to a new level

[@basedboy6848]

Coming from a purely fan perspective, I feel like there's just so much talent competing at once and so many fanbases colliding that its just harder to become a superstar off of genuine talent and without dana and the UFC's help.

[@ketchard]

Knowing how restrictive the UFC can be, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the exact reason why they stopped making one person the face of the organization

[@tjlovesfights]

Also, this video was made after the Izzy dog situation but that's another reason he ain't the face!

[@rogeraimable5477]

Lmfao

[@fazegamarra65]

this nigga

[@stanley3342]

Izzy hater, never heard you say anything positive about Izzy. Always pandering to the casuals

[@saulspanco854]

​@@stanley3342you're pro-beastiality? Gross bro.

[@yea8937]

@@stanley3342dude stop crying the dog videos are extremely weird get izzys nuts out your mouth

[@woahblackbettybamalam]

3:21 to skip draft kings bollocks

[@sbtig9637]

Thanks...i always skip 'meet today's sponsor' part.

[@ScootsMcPoot]

Sean omalley was popular on his own. He gained a majority of his following being out of the ufc 2 years. He isn't a moldable superstar. He makes more streaming, he's already said as much. Leaving ufc wouldn't hurt his pocket

[@pjjp2041]

I think it's 100% business strategy, but I don't think it's bad. At least not for the sport and for the fans. And fighters can make a living from theirs passion because of fans. If you have 1 big star, the star dictates the terms and that sucks like Conor holding up division, while much better fighters have to wait for title shot. This sport is star driven and even super active fighters are fighting 4 times per year at best and I rather be pretty excited 2 times every month than super excited few times per year. Also it's opportunity for more fighters to be big. If someone is super charismatic UFC is not going to stop him. But you have to have platform to start. Also this "mediocre" stars make more money every year than whole comment section under this video so i don't get all this whining about UFC not paying enough.

[@gunpowderwithnosulfur9042]

well, if the UFC CAN pay more, then why shouldn't it, especially in a sport like MMA? If they want more than half, then they can bump it to 30-40% going back to fighters, but fighters should be a lot more decorated in the organization

[@R2D2real]

“No man who beats off to cartoons is gonna beat me” -Sean Strickland

[@noahdaniels7061]

"Desean Strickland" lmaooooo If he wins I'll eat a shoe

[@RafaelGarcia-zb4on]

😂😂😭😭

[@noahdaniels7061]

I guess I’ll eat a shoe

[@El_Diablo_12]

??

[@TheDXJC56]

What everyone seems to CONSISTENTLY miss when comparing leagues like the NBA and how they pay versus the UFC is that the NBA league/organization itself DOESN'T pay the players....the OWNERS OF THE TEAM pay the players...that's the MASSIVE difference between the UFC and EVERY OTHER SPORTING LEAGUE that y'all just completely overlook or don't seem to understand, the UFC is responsible for paying ALL fighters, ALL employees that work for them, and ALL overhead operating expenses with running events, whereas a lot of those responsibilities fall on each individual NBA team owner not Adam Silver or the NBA as a league/organization

[@munaali840]

yes better to compare UFC to an NBA team rather than the league, if bellator ever becomes as big as UFC they could be another team and the winner play each other under a new banner which would be like the NBA

[@cristiancastor4531]

I used to love your videos man, idk what it is know a days but I'm finding your videos harder and harder to watch :/ 5:30 really solidified this feeling with me

[@woahblackbettybamalam]

UFC went from fine dining to Mcdonalds

[@mopar_keys]

😂😂😂😂 agreed

[@gamebred6995]

This year been shite

[@armedhobo6398]

Strickland is the face of the UFC. Deal with it.

[@CALLMEDIVINE14]

Hell no

[@JCedition1]

I dont think it was on purpose more like they dont have anyone that big to be on the level of mcgregor and you can see that in the PPV numbers. I dont think anyone is interesting enough to watch or buy all the ppvs. For example this weekend. Id be surprised if izzy vs sean did more than 400k buys. Also fight card fights arent what they used to be. They fill up the card for the sake of putting something out.

[@pierrebernard7665]

Dude, thank you. I was starting to believe I was paranoid with Sean O'Malley. I ticked when I watched the Embedded episodes before the fight with Sterling. He gets out of a private jet and steps into a Ferrari, then I thought "Wait a minute, the guy barely has 20 pro fights, a KZbin channel with less than a million subs, a Twitch channel with 150k subs...there's no fucking way he's that rich already" Company goodies to look the part before he even reaches Connor levels of fame and money heh...and the fight with Sterling was stopped way too early.

[@BigsoldierMx]

Sean had money before fighting top ranked guys 👋

[@pierrebernard7665]

@@BigsoldierMx From where did he get that much?

[@Rez_97]

@@pierrebernard7665he streams on twitch brotha

[@Rez_97]

@@pierrebernard7665dk if you know but the average 3,000 viewer streamer on twitch with atleast 5k subs is practically richer than a ufc champion lol

[@pierrebernard7665]

@@Rez_97 I guess I'm opening a Twitch account then 😁

[@keltongillanders5736]

it has one now, and his name is sean fuckin strickland!

[@sdfgsdfgasdfasdf]

That’s why Leon edwards is the face of the ufc

[@FerretSnatcher-r2p]

LOOK AT ME NOW!

[@Jadenthegoat1]

Actually great joke that man is t the face of sh*t he don’t even fight Dana needs to take his belt away

[@SOULJALOS]

After seeing the kiiyon kimora thumbnail screenshot at 4:32 I’m def convinced you, kiiyon and the modern martial artist organize to drop on or around the same day 😂 love y’all 💯

[@Rip_in_son]

Just got one desean Strickland

[@deathdog1392]

"Jon Jones is the second most known UFC fighter." Brock Lesner: What am I? Chopped liver??

[@Rob-xr5rw]

@@unzeus69fought in the ufc a while ago

[@joeswanson5486]

Nah khabib and jones are number 2 and 3 everyone knows them for being the “goat” since so many glaze them online

[@stacrafty]

Aus and NZ don't care as much as you think about UFC even though we have some giant stars here

[@Handslikechess]

I like the unique takes and questions you pose about the sport.

[@josemarialaguinge]

My friends know who Izzy is, they don't know Jon or Sean. I think he really is the closest to the face.

[@OmeedZolaliTM]

Definitely the closest thing.

[@flizzy4645]

Facts izzy is the face of the ufc not many people even know who volk is

[@NeilSteel]

Yes Izzy is the face he's got the African audience and western as well

[@NeilSteel]

I like that there isn't one star and I can have many favorites

[@iamyourfather4270]

Nope. Izzy is not even 10% as popular as Conor. You cannot call that as a 'face' of the promotion lol

[@disciples1782]

Always great to watch a TJlovesfights video

[@markduncanspencerjr.]

bring back sponsors for the fighters to put in their shorts like come on who doesn’t miss seeing the outrageous sponsors on these guys shorts😂

[@ethanhawkins3391]

Very well put together video! Lot of points I hadn’t thought about before, especially factoring in the ESPN deal providing guaranteed cash flow

[@survivaltipsandtricks4042]

Well before it was Connor then after everyone followed suit with what he did or are trying to anyways. People(fighters) started realizing just how important it is to have a “character” or some kind of image to play up for the fans, now everyone wants to be the good or bad guy

[@qjames0077]

I would disagree. When Elden Ring came out, one of the biggest games of the last few years, Izzy was in their ad. Ronda and Conor were doing the same in their heyday, which they did around the same time. Just because Izzy has become persona non grata, and Islam is boring, and JJ has been gane for years (😉), and Volk is a humble man, doesn't mean the UFC is lacking a "face." Hec, give Suga a few years and he'll be the "face" of the UFC if you want to measure fame based on Conor's influence on our sport

[@heheheha9094]

Bro when you called Sean an industry plant that's literally how i feel. He just has that vibe

[@amphibianenthusiast1887]

Izzy's stock has dropped way too much due to the recent press conference imo. While his diehard fans are still trying to defend him, many people have been enlightened to his disgusting practices concerning dogs, and have stopped rooting for him as a person/personality, even if they still recognize his skills as a fighter.

[@flizzy4645]

It hasn't at all

[@godlike3735]

I don't think it did really that topic is rlly popular just amongst a certain community but the casual audience is much much bigger

[@WiseyMikey]

Trust me. Izzy is the biggest star they have currently. You’re just a plain old redneck hater

[@STiergoofball]

His popularity maybe But his stardom? No, he is still the biggest name outside of Conor

[@dayligs]

Oddly enough he isn't a big star here in New Zealand. We don't really celebrate combat sports other than Boxing. My country cares only for Rugby players

[@Stick_Chronic]

Also probably cause izzy has an identity crisis he can't decide if he's nigerian chinese or from new zealand

[@CT-eq2po]

Just for clarity ESPN bought the tv rights deal in 2019, Endeavour bought out the UFC for $4 billion back in 2016 :)

[@edwardkelly3280]

Jon Jones is honestly in a similar position as LeBron James,Cristiano Ronaldo(mover from Man United to Saudi Arabia)and Lionel Messi(moved from PSG to MLS)an aging superstar.Jones basically said that he’s extremely close to retirement and nothing else to prove I say Steph Curry,Patrick Maholmes(NFL)Erling Halland/Kylian Mbappe(soccer). I feel Sean O’Malley is the current face of UFC.Israel Adesanya image took a massive hit by MMA Guru leaking out the dog scandal and lost his belt again twice within one year

[@CitizenoftheWorld1]

I remember when Dana tried to make Darren Till then Paddy the potential faces of the UFC 🤣🤣🤣 Gotta love that Dana White privilege. He never forgave Woodley for whooping Till

[@ECHOFOXTROT289]

the izzy opinion aged well

[@oddalfhutlur6760]

Chael P. SONNEN is the face of the ufc

[@philxd636]

I feel like Ronda Rousey doesn’t get enough credit. Obviously she gets the credit of putting women’s MMA on the map, but people forget she was on the same level as Conor when it comes to popularity inside and outside the UFC

[@JJJ_999]

Her and Brock were the first 2 true global stars they had

[@jondaman123]

Great video. Only thing I would add is naming Ronda Rousey is your name of superstars. She brought so many new eyes to the company and especially the women's division.

[@sp123]

Ronda created the women's division. If not for her, UFC wouldn't have female fighters

[@Battle_Beard]

Big difference between athletes like Lebron/Jordan and Messi and McGregor. They are all “goat contenders” within their sport. Conor is not. He had one of the greatest double-title runs of all time, no doubt. He once looked unConor was the face that took MMA mainstream. He was the first superstar when the UFC was finally starting to be seen as a major sports organization rather than “human cock fighting.” Lidell, Silva… plenty of other stars for the fans but Conor was in the right place, at the right time, on a win streak and with tons of charisma. The sport has expanded to a point where it can have multiple stars with huge fan bases. As yes, nobody has caught lightning in a bottle like they did with prime Conor. They keep trying.

[@Zooom88]

It's perfectly okay sometimes; not every sport necessarily needs a singular face to represent it. This is often how toxic fan bases come into being. Consider Messi and Ronaldo fans, they're constantly engaged in online fights as they each hope for their respective idols to dominate the sport. Yet the reality is, both Ronaldo and Messi are exceptionally talented, and both have the potential to embody the essence of the sport. A similar perspective can be applied to the UFC; it shouldn't be limited to just Conor McGregor or Jon Jones. Instead, it should encompass both of these remarkable athletes.

[@huey6944]

Who tf still watched mlb like have you guys ever heard a friend or someone at work bring up mlb who’s watching it wtf ?

[@ArJayDM]

1:43 Bro gave Strickland the N word pass by changing his name to Desean

[@andrewortiz6430]

Jon is having his retirement fight vs Stipe, this is why I feel Jones shouldn't even be included he's at the end of his career.

[@dylancrozier9673]

At the moment I think there’s multiple faces. Probably Sean and Jones and then Alex and Charles right now based off his current star power and how Jon and Alex are the P4Ps right now and Charles is maybe more of hardcore star but his performance and recent names he’s beaten should’ve made him a casual star too, feel like you can’t leave out Machachev based off his association with other stars but again he’s more of regional star and a hardcore name rather than mainstream

[@PotatoSlices]

0:13 never heard of him

[@lMobiuscidl]

You're correct. Love your videos, incredibly insightful.

[@2Natural]

I think this for sure - as well as fighters fight way less often so you can only promote your star actually fighting every 4 months vs a LeBron, Messi, Ohtani who plays every 2-3 days

[@tylerkovacs7320]

What are your thoughts now that Izzy got steamrolled by Sean

[@orlandored9608]

Having Izzy, Volk, Olivera and Islam on the same card still wouldn't outsell old man Conor headling a garbage ppv card.

[@daebak7370]

Being a superstar requires more than just fighting ability. You need that charisma and mic skills. That's what separates conor from these guys.

[@MarkBarna1]

I don't see UFC this calculated. UFC had two once-in-a-generation fighters -- McGregor and Rousey. Then Rousey retired and McGregor stopped fighting in MMA. So UFC went back to pretending to have fighters we care about but actually don't. Dana White has tried very hard to make stars, but none pan out. They just don't have the talent, personality and charisma, and the mainstream media do not care about any of them. Even after Jon Jones won the heavy weight title, mainstream media was not interested, probably because of Jones' checkered past and lack of charisma. You can't manufacture the crossover power Rousey and McGregor had, though UFC still keeps trying.

[@mordare1064]

“Desean” lmaoo 😂

[@joeswanson5486]

What are you talking about the UFC has the most aesthetic physique daddy Leon Edward’s

[@isaacadebayo6901]

desaean Strickland 😂 that interview was too funny

[@collegeoffoliage6776]

Bro ain't no way you think jbj was more famous than Rhonda

[@robertsterling951]

Kinda sound like a casual saying Sean is good on the mic…

[@lukelocks9083]

Deliberate or not, only the head honcho's of the UFC really know, but my thoughts are the opposite, it's because the decision was made for them. Put it another way, if they really wanted to make another face of the UFC right now, who would it be? For that person would be naturally compared to their last/greatest ever so far, face, Mcgregor and they all would come up well short. So I think Mcgregor wasn't made deliberately the face, he became the face with his charisma, character, acheivements and his accent. So why on Earth would the UFC, with a Gold-Dust star on their hands, step in to stop his rise? He did so much good for the UFC's profile. Plus one punch/kick finishers are way more Box Office than the grapplers/chockers/submission experts. His hand, the left hand, is a Hollywood Hand! The Irish sure do have a way with words as he so brilliantly proved over and over again. It was meant to be for him, it was a stage that he rapidily built and owned, even the other fighters in the press conferences would be laughing at his verbal antics. Not including the Khabib one though, as that took a dark, unsavourary, nasty turn. It being the only CM's press conference I didn't enjoy. There's is & have been some big characters in their own way, Masvidal, Diaz, Ferguson, but simply put no one comes close to Mcgregor for captivating viewers in press conferences! Once you've been to the Maldives, it's hard to sit on Margate's beach. Maybe there'll never be another like him, so I think that's the reason why there hasn't been another UFC face. Not having English as your Mother's tongue, or haven't mastered it, makes it difficult to verbally spar in the media with those that have, you're already at a big disadvantage, as the quick fire quips and joking banter flies over your head, giving the impression that you're either not that interesting, or your mind is from the "stuck in the mud" division. Even his fans added to his meteoric rise, the sheer numbers that travelled abroad to back him, was incredible. There were louder/more electric atmopshere's at his press conference/weigh in's, than at some of the non big-named events. Watch the UFC 194 CM/Aldo press conference, when an Irish fan serenaded Holly Holms with a decent attempt at the song "You're just to good to be true". With all the legions of Irish fans joining at the chorus.

[@jackglazzy7889]

My man go the question answered a week later Sean Strickland

[@jvr6809]

So strickland is the new face of the ufc? Actually i dont hate that😂

[@PeterGriffingigity]

THE CURRENT FACES OF THE ALL SPORTS RIGHT NOW ARE: International Football: Cristiano and Messi MLB: Shohei Ohtani Basket Ball: LeBron James Boxing: Tyson Fury NASCAR: Chase Elliott American Football: Tom Brady Wwe: Jon Cena and Brock Lesner ... .. . Mma: *UFC*

[@edwardkelly3280]

NFL:Patrick Maholmes Tom Brady retired this year

[@PeterGriffingigity]

@@edwardkelly3280 r/whooooosh

[@c0dakw0lfgaang48]

Yeah you are right about O'Malley, it seems too good to be true and is forced upon UFC fans.

[@jotaro_kujo488]

I think the issue lies with the fact that in MMA in general the champions need to be calculated to keep on winning (unless they have some immense talent like Jones). I mean most champions with 3+ title defenses have rarely had truly spectacular fights - Izzy, Shevchenko, Usman, Aljo, Volk, Khabib. Same for fairly good fighters with winning streaks - Whittaker, Colby, Poirier, Belal, Merab The most entertaining fighters are the risky fighters - Oliviera, Chandler, Prochazka, Burns, Fiziev, Costa. I hence believe it then boils down to you are either boring to win continuously or be entertaining and fail to maintain the winning streak. The bad pay and the high knockout bonuses also encourage risky behavior rather than slow calculated wins. The irony is that it is hard to make a superstar out of someone who wins inconsistently.

[@siuchaos2606]

It’s really smart, better to have a lot of popular and well selling PPV stars 700k+. Than just relying on a single guy who’s providing way more PPVs and getting much more leverage comparatively.

[@codedstar25shotz29]

3:27 Izzy is not a star in Australia bro, everyone hates him 💀

[@jvanek8512]

Odds of making a full court shot is considerably more difficult than a one move knock out/ submission

[@kena4573]

Conor was a generational superstar who had a mix of sufficient level of in ring talent, entertaining fighting style, from a english speaking country and great at self promotion. None of roster have the same combination currently

[@sp123]

Same with Ronda, they can't be copied

[@Ok_Boomer_]

I love how you said desean

[@slixlixx]

All I can say is I love seeing Charles up there

[@Ares91k]

I feel like when connor was the face of mma it was still in its infancy compared to today but i think right now we dont have 1 face but multiple. I feel like if ya ask some casuals they will say izzy and o'malley

[@deuelellan2446]

I might bet on draftkings just so they know we out here supporting the boi

[@yes1671]

Why do mma fans think Charles is a face. No non ‘casual’ fan knows who he is. Jones still the only one to get 1mil PPV buys in the last year

[@marcosruiz5722]

I still feel like Conor is the face of the ufc even if he’s not the champ or winning fights if you ask a regular person about the ufc the first and only person they’re gonna know is Conor that’s how much impact he’s had on the company

[@hmohngcheelee7549]

I’d say it’s intentional that there’s no face for the UFC, but also they’ve try to artificially create a face for the brand as well. And that creating a face is a problem when they’ve tried. You can really tell when they want specific fighters to win to push the narrative, Paddy being one. Then the whole Dana White privileged thing.

[@twentyone1]

dude they are creating hype not faces. When Paddy, Suga, are pushed they are as hype for the division. The face will always be the a champion. What makes you get up and excited for a fight its anticipation. You get with ufc fighters like Khamzat, charles, even Islam a bunch of hype and edits on youtube. Izzy is so lucky Perira came into the sport because his hype when he won and the antipaction of the rematch made izzy go from 5.7 million followers to 8 million plus just for context khamzat was closing in on izzy followers and 1 KO changed Izzy trajectory

[@marcodaddario3965]

They're still looking for a big british fighter. They tried pushing Till to the moon back then. Leon Edwards is the most successful right now but I'm not sure if it was intentional.

[@munaali840]

@@marcodaddario3965 they did everything in their power to stop Leon, he is a nice guy doesnt want to lean into his past or glamorise it so a lot of ufc fans just found him boring. I'm glad hes finally had his shot at the title and kept it. He will always sell out a stadium because for the most part if ANY british sportstar does well the nation will support him. Usually the British star has banter so Paddy and Till are more marketable, Paddy I dont think is good enough to win, Till could have been but he wouldnt leave his old training coach, he has the ability and is still young at 30, UFC rushed him, hopefully he gets a new tactical team and gets back

[@kenfromstreetfighter3432]

“Deshawn Strickland “😂😂😂 got a sub just off that Hilarious

[@kiiree1178]

Having lived in a different continent where UFC is not popular, imo the face is Izzy as he’s the most known throughout the entire world

[@twentyone1]

no he isn't cuh ebeyrone hates izzy except lil children and women

[@offwhite_vlone6339]

I like O’malley but hes def not a shit talker like u said. I mean he talks a little trash but hes not charismatic and his lines arent the best. If Petr Yan who doesnt even speak english can get a better reaction for his trash talk during their press conference than its not looking too good. His fighting and association with online people like Nelk is what made him popular.

[@abu-bakrkhan5692]

Agree with most the stuff you talked about but the real fans know after conor it was khabib so it's weird how you didn't mention him, islam is also really big now but not quite there level and slightly got hurt by his last fight

[@penguin3448]

Fuxk khabib Ran away from the Sport what has he done except beating McGregor Didn't once had 1millon ppvs out of 4 he headlined except Conor's Come on he is big but not the face at any point in time for UFC

[@joesalyers]

#1 ESPN does NOT own the UFC but has the broadcast rights and PPV, the actual owner Endeavor group now called TKO sports owns the UFC, WWE, and Pro Bull Riding or PBR. The face of the UFC is Dana White, and has been since 2002. The UFC was designed to be more about the league and less about the fighters, that way more fighters can earn a living fighting. Compare that to boxing where only the top 1% make any money and everyone else down the card makes less than UFC starting pay. Say what you will about the UFC but 99% of fighters their make more money on their way up than boxer do. It isn't until you become a mega star and can carry a pay per view on your own name as a boxer that you could get more money than a UFC fighter. But the UFC goes on with or without stars. Where as boxing needs a star to do anything because you can't sell a pay per view by just saying WBC Boxing welterweight championship card, but you can sell a PPV with nothing more than UFC presents the Undisputed Welterweight Championship of the World and a night of great fights! On the boxing match you ask who is fighting on the UFC card you don't care who's fighting because it will still be GOOD!!!

[@Daakuson]

and izzy just got rekt by strickland

[@lemonzy8902]

Should’ve put Khamzat in that thumbnail

[@damekennedy9615]

In my opinion, this is a good thing because more stars equals more money for more fighters instead of one or two guys getting all the money.

[@xannypacquiao_hxc]

Idk about your take with Sean man, he kinda forced the UFC to recognize his popularity, to pay him more and get him the bigger fights. It’s a reality that he probably doesn’t need to fight and he has a huge fan base away from just fighting. The UFC capitalized on this by giving him big jumps up the rank, but wins are wins and he did have to earn them in the end. Sean isn’t held back by the UFC, the UFC just has him for now.

[@mmaspotufc]

Even Dana said Izzy is the current face of the UFC

[@chickenlicken865]

Do you really believe Dana?

[@STiergoofball]

@@chickenlicken865 I mean if he just go by stardom and who brings the most cash It's not necessarily a thing about believing or not cuz Izzy is the guy who brings the most cash now If that makes him the face is another thing

[@andrewsomers1369]

@@STiergoofball Izzy fights don’t sell crazyyy numbers though. His social media status is what makes him a star. Still sells around 500k on average which is solid and his highest being the Jan fight which was around 800k to the best of my knowledge. There’s no real ppv stars in the ufc anymore bar Conor, although Jones comeback apparently sold 1m+.

[@RS-hz9pg]

Khamzat is bigger then adeysana. He is not even active or a champ and has 6 million followers. Everyone wants to see that guy fight no one cares about cringelord

[@redveinborneo4673]

49% isn't a majority.

[@idrial931]

I think the major difference of the UFC and brands like the NFL, NBA and MLB is that there really isn't any alternative for the MLB, NFL, NBA players. Like if a UFC star leaves there contract, they still have a lot of options. They could box, they could sign with another MMA promotion who will throw a shit tonne of money at them etc. What can LeBron James do if he's unhappy with the NBA? He could act maybe, but he still wouldn't get as much as he's getting in the NBA. No other basketball leagues can pay him nearly as much, he can't play another sport because any other sport would be a waste of his time due to him most likely not being good enough to make serious money. Like Jordan proved that, he left the NBA to chase an MLB contract and realised he's not good enough. That's the point with nearly every other sport there's no other options other then that sport and that brand, with UFC fighters you have so many options because combat sport (boxing, MMA, wrestling) fans r all very alike n they will watch a UFC star compete in another combat sport (Jake Paul has proved this. Diaz, Woodley x2, Silva and Askren all made the fight way bigger because they were MMA stars boxing)