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UFC on FOX: Johnson vs Reis - Apr 15


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

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'The promotional responsibility lies with the promoter' is a massive part of the reason why fighters like Mighty Mouse struggle to draw an audience of more than their immediate family.

The promoter gives you a platform, books the fight, books the venue but then the onus is very much on the fighter to take the ball and run with it.

Combat sports have never, ever been just about the sport. It's a show business, sold on its drama, human connections and jeopardy. 

Solid, undramatic competence has never, ever made money.

 

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The frustrating thing about Johnson is that whilst it seems like he knows ‘the game’, it’s clear that he doesn’t understand it. He dismisses it as swearing and drama, which it kind of is but really isn’t. It’s about engaging and captivating personalities doing things that capture the interest of people, which then gets those people to want to see what happens when they fight someone who is hopefully also an engaging and captivating personality. It can be swearing and drama but it can also just be as simple being an engaging and captivating personality. And that can be the most frustrating part for people who both know and understand the game, because having that kind of personality, that ability to connect, is something you either have or you don’t. It’s either there naturally and you learn how to get it out of you, learn to project it, or you don’t have it and you’re out of luck.

And DJ’s biggest problem, apart from not understanding how things work in terms of generating fan interest, is that he completely and totally lacks an engaging or captivating personality. Yes, the hardcore aficionados love him, but they love him because of his talent and ability, not primarily, or even in any part, because of his charisma and personality, which he’s lacking to any major degree. Those people are going to love him no matter what because he’s a great fighter. But as we’ve seen time and time again, being a great fighter is rarely if ever enough by itself to make anyone outside the base audience care about you and what you do.

If DJ wants those big bucks, it’s incumbent on him to connect with people outside that base audience. The UFC can give him every platform under the sun, but if DJ can’t connect, then it’s not going to matter. And it doesn’t look like DJ has either the ability to connect or the willingness to even try.

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Another thing is that Dana is hardly going out of his way to dismiss Johnson as a draw. He's not trying to sabotage him in any possible way, he's 100% doing his best job to promote him but Johnson isn't giving anything back. Dana has headlined cards with DJ, he's put him in the co-main to big matches such as Jones' comeback fight, he's had him headline FOX cards, he's constantly banging on about DJ being the greatest of all time after he wins, so it's not his fault that Johnson isn't drawing massively. Dana absolutely knows how to market Johnson, which is as one of the best of all time. It's not his fault that DJ is happy to conduct the same old interview, with the same old soundbites from Rogan, against nameless guys every single time he's booked to defend his belt.

Though people mention it often, there's a huge issue in regards to the guys he's fighting. Wilson Reis' last fight before this was on the UFC 208 preliminaries, and it wasn't even the featured bout. You can harp on in the build-up about how dangerous he is, but it's easy as fuck to just say how good a guy is. The majority of UFC fans, I'm willing to bet, wouldn't have much of a clue who Wilson Reis was before they announced this fight. If you're going to announce DJ as the "GOAT" then people will just presume he's going to steamroll through the likes of Reis. Flyweight desperately needs someone who won't just be satisfied to shake hands, be all respectful and then lose to DJ. If they had a McGregor, or a Garbrandt esque character in the division then I could feasibly see a Johnson headlined event doing a lot better. At the moment it's hard to get fans to tune in when they've presented DJ as being on a completely different level to everyone else in that division.

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I'm honestly past caring what other people like and don't like. It took me a while but I think Mighty Mouse is quality. 

DJ isn't a big hype guy. He's never going to be. I think he's got a personality. He was great on Rogan's podcast and I remember Bisping saying before that DJ is hilarious behind the scenes. But for whatever reason it just doesn't translate to fight hype. 

There are other things going against him as well. The flyweight division has some really good fighters but they're all kind of the same guy if you know what I mean. There are exceptions to the rule but in general your average flyweight has lots of skill, lots of technique, lots of speed and they move and scramble a ton. Most of them also lack power and not many of them have much personality. So while DJ mightn't do much to promote himself, he hasn't got much to work with either. Each title defence, while incredible, also kind of feels like you're getting the same fight over and over again. Then you factor in the size thing. It's stupid as fuck but that probably does play its part in the lack of interest in the flyweights as well. It's not the main factor but it probably doesn't help either. There are actually people out there, fat bastards sitting on their settee, who believe they could beat up these guys just because they're small. They're not going to tune in to watch fighters they think are inferior. Same with the women to a degree.

There's a guy I work with who trains boxing. You know the type. Eddie Hearn's going to ring him any day now and give him his big break. He'll be a millionaire this time next year. A boxing Del Boy, if you will. He's completely dismissive towards MMA and the women and smaller fighters especially. Despite the fact he's no more than 5'4" himself and 9st soaking wet with a brick in his pocket. This is probably what a large percentage of the MMA audience is like. 

But yeah, back to the point. I love Mouse. I don't even see him moaning about making McGregor money as much as everyone says either. Yeah, he's said shit about it before but it's not like he's banging on about it incessantly. I think I've read more people moaning about him moaning about pay than I've actually read him moaning about it. You still following? He was even saying on Rogan's podcast that he gets why he's not seen as a huge star and that he just doesn't have that type of personality. But at the end of the day, for all the correct points made about needing to project charisma to make the really big dough as a fighter...imagine being Demetrious Johnson. You're the best fighter on the planet, your boss is saying your the best, nobody can touch you in your division, you're coming for records and all sorts. You don't have that 'McGregor personality' but you can fight your arse off and the job is fighting. Yet, because you don't have that Hollywood charisma, you can't get that truly huge coin. It's got to be a pisser, right? I know why he doesn't get that mega money, I don't need it explained to me. But put yourself in his shoes (probably only about a size 5) for a second and you can see why he might have a little moan from time to time. He's in a position where he's either got to just carry on how he's going, be himself, keep kicking arse, making good money but not Red Panty money and just accept that he'll never get to that level. Or he'll have to force it and try to be something he's not, engaging in cringeworthy cheesy trash talk that is obviously unnatural to him. I'd rather he stay as he is.

The thing that he needs is a true rival who also has that personality who can bring something out of him. A flyweight Conor McGregor or 2010 Chael Sonnen type who will be a proper dickhead out of the cage and hopefully give him a test in the cage. The problem is, again, it seems so difficult to rattle DJ or get under his skin. John Dodson was the only one who came kind of close but his trash talk was awful and then DJ shut him down twice in their fights. All the true greats had an arch nemesis. DJ hasn't found his yet. But if that never happens I'm quite happy to watch him stay how he is if the alternative is him faking it and trying to be a mini, black Conor McMighty Mouse. 

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I don't think dAz is mentioning anything outrageous or offbeat. Everyone with a bit of clout and knowledge from Helwani to Rogan to DC have all talked about how DJ is rubbish at marketing himself, for whatever reason. The UFC are forever doing the hard sell on DJ being the best on the planet, but it has yet to translate to anything more than folk like us being impressed.

I've noticed people are now jumping on the "I don't care" bandwagon (it's Luke Thomas' new take on this, for example), which is fair enough, but for DJ's sake I truly hope he can make some proper money before he has to pack it in. Such a shame if he has such an outstanding career but never made the big money - or for his legacy to be "Mighty Mouse is the best of all time" "Who's he?".

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I find it hard to give Mighty Mouse #1 spot. 

I also find it weird he can dare complain about money. His actively avoided the bigger "money fights" to do this silly mickey mouse title run were his last four opponents have come in with 16 losses.

Guys obviously majorly talented but his kinda like playing bowling with barriers up.

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There's so many issues when it comes to DJ.

Continuing from FP above, whilst not his fault, his competition simply isn't good enough. 

You could make a case for Benavidez, Dodson and then perhaps Cejudo but even those guys have serious holes in their games.

He also lacks a real feud as well. He's had 10 defences and they are all blurred into one for me.

Then the small things like even his nickname. 'Mighty Mouse' just doesn't scream draw.

Add all those to the fact flyweight is just a hard sell to the common fight fan, DJ just has his work cut out for himself.

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1 hour ago, ColinBollocks said:

 

I've noticed people are now jumping on the "I don't care" bandwagon (it's Luke Thomas' new take on this, for example), which is fair enough

I can only speak for myself here but I'm not jumping on any bandwagon. I haven't even noticed a bandwagon. I just don't really care anymore. People will like and dislike different types of fighters and that's fine. Demetrious Johnson just isn't one who's going to have mass appeal. He entertains me and that's all I care about. 

It's when people bang on about money as if he doesn't have the right to try and get more, that's stupid. Sure, he's not going to get McGregor/Rousey/Lesnar money. He knows that. He's not a stupid guy. But why do people give so much of a fuck what money other cunts are making/asking for? I don't mind a bit of that talk but it gets old quickly. I do hope Mighty Mouse makes a shitload of money because he seems like a nice bloke. But at the end of the day I'm not in his will, nor will I ever be, and I'm more worried about clearing my own bills each month that hating on a fighter trying to hustle an extra 0 onto his paycheque. 

It's like with Conor McGregor. I love McGregor but the money talk is the bit I find least enjoyable about him. It grew tiresome a long time ago for me. He's a funny bloke with charisma by the bucketload, I wish he'd find a new angle to promote himself with other than 'I'm rich, you're broke', but why would he? It's working for him obviously. But even then, I never get why he bangs on about what his opponent makes. Why does he give a shit? He's raking it in. Why care if Eddie Alvarez signed for the same pay as against Dos Anjos or whatever? 

I'm all for a bit of talk about the business side of MMA. I find some of that interesting and it helps me understand how things work and why certain decisions and certain fights are made. Cool. But sometimes it's ALL people seem to want to talk about and it's so fucking dull after a while. I keep tabs on the business side because it adds something to the fights. The fights are always going to be ultimately why I watch. It seems like a lot of fans now do it in reverse and watch the fights just for the possible post-fight overdramatics and to see who's going to get more money. Like it's some Keeping Up With The Kardashians shit but with more sweat and less arse. 

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1 hour ago, Fox Piss said:

I find it hard to give Mighty Mouse #1 spot. 

I also find it weird he can dare complain about money. His actively avoided the bigger "money fights" to do this silly mickey mouse title run were his last four opponents have come in with 16 losses.

 

Pretty much this!

True it's not his fault his division is so flat BUT there are money fights outside of it. Will the cunt do them though? Nope. Wants his 'mickey mouse' title run as you say.

I don't care if he reaches a crazy number of defenses for me it'll never come close to the caliber Jones, GSP and others faced. 

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To be clear, I don't particularly care either. I like Mighty Mouse, enjoy watching him fight and think he probably doesn't get the respect he deserves.

That said, HE has recently said he's going to demand a million dollars for his next fight, acted bitter about the nature of the fight business, slagged off the 'McGregor model' and said he'd start taking fights he'd lose just to make money.

I'm only comparing him against the yard stick he's trying to measure himself against.

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I think it's the debate that's growing stale. Mighty Mouse has been drawing indifference from the masses for quite some time now. It's not a new topic area, but it's one that will inevitably come up when Mighty Mouse is discussed. 

Mighty Mouse has been Champion now for 4 and a half years. On face value, it seems unlikely that he'll ever become a household name, despite his talent warranting it. However, the UFC's approach to promoting him leaves a lot to be desired at times. Yes, he's no David Beckham in terms of marketability, but the UFC sometimes book him on cards, and expect him to draw numbers off his own back.

To safeguard Anderson Silva, they used to twin his titles defences with that of BJ Penn's. This was especially the case when Silva took on an opponent with minimal name value (Lietes and Maia) They could do the same with Mighty Mouse. They actually tried doing this when they booked him as chief support for the ill-fated Jones vs Cormier 2 at UFC 197. Leave primetime TV main events to fighters who are likely to succeed in the numbers department (Van Zant,Gall, etc) 

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3 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

It's when people bang on about money as if he doesn't have the right to try and get more, that's stupid. Sure, he's not going to get McGregor/Rousey/Lesnar money. He knows that. He's not a stupid guy. But why do people give so much of a fuck what money other cunts are making/asking for? I don't mind a bit of that talk but it gets old quickly. I do hope Mighty Mouse makes a shitload of money because he seems like a nice bloke. But at the end of the day I'm not in his will, nor will I ever be, and I'm more worried about clearing my own bills each month that hating on a fighter trying to hustle an extra 0 onto his paycheque. 

In fairness, it's a pretty common discussion in MMA. Helwani, Rogan etc are fans bringing it up. Like them, the reason it is brought up (in spite of them not being in a will, or worrying about paying their own bills) is they want to see fighters that work hard make a good living. In the UFC there is clearly a path to open that million dollar discussion DJ was talking about after his fight, which is drawing. 

Anyway, the business and money discussions are now a big part of the UFC going forward. What with free agency, fighters squeezing for more pay and trying to make sense of the new owners booking philosophy. You don't have to discuss it, but it's a big side story in a fascinating sport.

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I agree with your general point but most of the time people aren't saying they want fighters who work hard to make a good living. If they were saying that I'd agree 100%. A lot of the time when fighter pay comes up, it's fans shitting on fighters for wanting "more than they're worth". Which is shite because the pay ceiling overall for all UFC fighters is already low compared to what the UFC must be making on the backs of these guys and girls. 

A lot of what Jim says above is right as well. DJ doesn't put much effort into promoting himself but the UFC haven't done the best job with him or his opponents either. They're handling on the flyweights in the division's formative days was a bit crap and a couple of times they put themselves in positions where they were pulling number one contenders from the Facebook prelims and stuff. They did that with the strawweights early on as well. I remember they stuck the first Jedrzejczyk vs Gadelha fight in 2014 on the Facebook prelims when it was clear it was likely going to determine the next contender for the title. They lucked out in that instance because Joanna went on to smash Carla Esparza and catch on with fans. But it wasn't because of what the UFC did in promoting her, she did that despite the UFC's shitty positioning of her contenders fight. They've recently done a similarly terrible job of this with Germaine de Randamie as well. They kept her jerking curtains forever then just whacked her into a PPV main event title fight. Now she's the champion and no-one gives a fuck. That's not all on her, IMO. The UFC do so many things right but they're not perfect or immune to criticism when it comes to the half arsed promotion of some fighters. 

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I really feel sorry for DJ here, a man who works his backside off to become the best fighter in the UFC/World and most likely could be the GOAT.

What I can see is that DJ wants to be remembered/known respected for being a world class fighter where his combat skills do the taking instead of trash talking and he doesn't want to do trash taking when it comes to the actual fight because that's not what he's about. Its more of a Asian way of thinking.

If DJ would be better jumping ship to Bellator or One. He would earn more money I believe and get the respect he deserves. A lot of talent at going to same way it seems with the Reebok and the push for trash talkers whilst the good guys stay behind as Aldo said it doesn't pay to be the good guy anymore. It's a sad state of affairs.

Basically DJ is in the wrong promotion at the wrong time.

As sad it sounds coming from a once for hard UFC fan I hope it dies on its arse in this era. I understand it's a business and the business is there to make money, but once what the UFC stood for being the elite top fighting organisation in the world has far gone and it's now the best Sports entertainment promotion.

I can't blame the Ronda and the Conors as they are taking advantage of a promotion who will give them in the millions for being a gobby , long story shot people like DJ are held back from fame because the UFC have sold out from its morales and orginal values from even a decade ago.

Ive opened up the flood gates but it's nice to get that off my chest.

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