- Their performances
- Their hyping of the fight (trash-talk, interaction with fans, etc.)
If you put on boring fights, no one will buy tickets to your shows. If you don't hype the fight, no one will know you are even fighting or have any invested interest.
Let me introduce you to my friend, Chael Sonnen. If you are the casual MMA fan, if I would have said this name in 2009, you would've replied, "who?". Hailing from the mean streets of West-Linn, Oregon, Chael Sonnen has become a star seemingly overnight. Let me tell you how.
In 2009, Chael had campaigned for a fight in his home state at UFC 102. When he called UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to ask for a fight, Joe replied with a familiar statement, "who?". This was when Chael had decided that something needed to be done.
After defeating a heavily favored Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, he was declared number one contender to Anderson Silva's 185-pound crown. This is when the attack began. From February to their (Chael and Anderson) scheduled bout in August of 2010 at UFC 117, Chael began relentlessly attacking his opponent. Nothing was held sacred. Chael insulted Anderson, his family, his home country of Brazil and all of Anderson's training partners. Chael made his voice heard. He made everyone invest in this fight. All fans wanted to see how Anderson would react. Who would reign victorious? Would Anderson make Chael eat his words? Would Chael back it all up at take the crown? Chael was choked and forced to tap in the closing minutes of a five-round thriller. A fight which he dominated every second, expect the one where he tapped out.
The minute the fight was over, the trash talk continued. People wanted to see it again. Fast forward to July 2012. The rematch happened at UFC 148 and the same outcome occurred. Anderson retained his crown. Let us take a closer look at what had happened behind the scenes.
Chael became a celebrity and company front man during that two year period. He made more money than he ever did in his life in those two fights alone. He used record breaking, unrelenting trash talk and backed it up with his exciting performances to make people watch his fights.
"Chael Sonnen" is his product. He advertised it, he displayed it and we bought it. Marketing 101.
Below is about a compilation of his legendary trash talk. Listen for a few minutes, some of it's pretty funny.
 |
| Chael Sonnen (above) after UFC 109. Photo courtesy of ufc.com |
In 2009, Chael had campaigned for a fight in his home state at UFC 102. When he called UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to ask for a fight, Joe replied with a familiar statement, "who?". This was when Chael had decided that something needed to be done.
After defeating a heavily favored Nate Marquardt at UFC 109, he was declared number one contender to Anderson Silva's 185-pound crown. This is when the attack began. From February to their (Chael and Anderson) scheduled bout in August of 2010 at UFC 117, Chael began relentlessly attacking his opponent. Nothing was held sacred. Chael insulted Anderson, his family, his home country of Brazil and all of Anderson's training partners. Chael made his voice heard. He made everyone invest in this fight. All fans wanted to see how Anderson would react. Who would reign victorious? Would Anderson make Chael eat his words? Would Chael back it all up at take the crown? Chael was choked and forced to tap in the closing minutes of a five-round thriller. A fight which he dominated every second, expect the one where he tapped out.
The minute the fight was over, the trash talk continued. People wanted to see it again. Fast forward to July 2012. The rematch happened at UFC 148 and the same outcome occurred. Anderson retained his crown. Let us take a closer look at what had happened behind the scenes.
Chael became a celebrity and company front man during that two year period. He made more money than he ever did in his life in those two fights alone. He used record breaking, unrelenting trash talk and backed it up with his exciting performances to make people watch his fights.
"Chael Sonnen" is his product. He advertised it, he displayed it and we bought it. Marketing 101.
Below is about a compilation of his legendary trash talk. Listen for a few minutes, some of it's pretty funny.
Classic tactic. People tune in just to see what he'll say next.
ReplyDelete