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LW needs a more marketable champion?

7K views 60 replies 21 participants last post by  Killz 
#1 ·
IMHO i mean bendo is a tough fighter and good champion but theres nothing unique/stands out about him hes a generic champion. theres nothing to say other than that hes "athletic" or "explosive". + sure his fights are entertaining but there not memorable or legendary. hes not a ppv draw, hes not a finisher, his fighting style is cage grinding/boring ugly to see for the casuals, he doesnt have a gimmick or a certain type of personality + hes cross-eyed. His interviews are boring, hes not a heel or trash talker. he will continue to main event fox and fx shows until a bad guy(maynard) comes and takes his title.



agree/disagree?
 
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#2 ·
How is maynard a bad guy? Dude is one of the most humble guys in the LW div.

Other than that I somewhat agree. Bendo seems to lack the charisma in his personality and the flair in his fighting style to make a top draw.

Then again, the same can be said for any top LW not named BJ penn. You really think Edgar, Maynard or Melendez would be top draws? Maybe eddie alvarez would, but he's unlikely to become champ.
 
#4 ·
How is maynard a bad guy? Dude is one of the most humble guys in the LW div.

Other than that I somewhat agree. Bendo seems to lack the Charisma and the flair in his fighting style to make a top draw. Then again, the same can be saud for any top LW not named BJ penn. You really think Edgar, Maynard or Melendez would be top draws? Maybe eddie alvarez would, but he's unlikely to vecome champ.
Maynard used to be humble, but then he said stuff got old. + did you not see the guida fight? when he was chasing/taunting/flipping off guida? all signs of a bad guy/heel.

With Frankie you could tell the ufc wanted him to be champ, the ufc was already giving him a big push, did a couple of ufc/fox commercials, was the champ and had a legendary trilogy with maynard. so yea he was getting a big push and was on the verge of becoming a draw/face + he had the whole "rocky" thing.

Same could be said about GSP. I think Benson will continue to grow on people the more he defends his belt. If you ask me, Benson is more likely to be a finisher than most other LW's, the guy is built to kick ass, and probably has the coolest tattoo in all of MMA.
to be honest i think that the tattoo is more for a chick than a dude.
 
#3 ·
Same could be said about GSP. I think Benson will continue to grow on people the more he defends his belt. If you ask me, Benson is more likely to be a finisher than most other LW's, the guy is built to kick ass, and probably has the coolest tattoo in all of MMA.
 
#5 ·
I'd like a russian lightweight champion in the form of khabib nurmamegodev or rustam khalibov or anthony pettis if he gets by cerrone.
 
#8 ·
I look forward to seeing Bendo lose. I don't like any fighter who wants to thank the invisible man for their victories but has nothing to say about it when they lose.
 
#11 ·
Why people would hate on him because of his religion is beyond me. I do not by any means support any religious belief, but I also respect the fact that it is his choice and his choice alone.

When he thanks god in his post fight interviews guess what - he's earned that time on the mic and can do whatever he wants to with it. I rather listen to him than McDonald creeping me out with his awkward calling out of Condit.

As for him being a religious fighter, I like it. Those guys seem to fight like possesed people, which is what you want isn't it? Look at his fight with Diaz, he was a machine. Look at Jones' fights, he's very entertaining to watch. Look at Belfort, how entertaining is he?

You can hate on a fighter for a lot of different reasons, just don't make religion one of them. Thank you.
 
#18 ·
And yet for the people who say stuff like this, the same rules apparently don't seem to apply to people shoving their atheism and religious ridicule in other people's faces.

No thread about Jones/Bendo/Vitor can be complete without some all knowing 13 year old typing the witty-in-his-own-smug-mind tired line about "invisible man in the sky blah blah", whether or not relevant to the discussion. Yet you rarely see guys coming in to these threads and praising these guys for their beliefs out of nowhere or "shoving their views down people's throats", usually it's for their skills unless the discussion calls for it.

Seems to me the pot calling the kettle black. At least Bendo has earned the right to express his beliefs for a few seconds, unlike the keyboard warriors here.
 
#37 ·
And yet for the people who say stuff like this, the same rules apparently don't seem to apply to people shoving their atheism and religious ridicule in other people's faces.
Same rules..
Well I haven't seen any atheist fighter shoving their views on others after a fight so obviously there's no theists complaining.

I'm pretty damn sure that if a fighter would kindly remind people that there's no god or gods after a fight, religious people would be raging all over these forums.

It's kinda funny that we non believers keep our mouths shut about this stuff and when we react to people who don't, we are suddenly the ones who started it all.
 
#13 ·
I don't either, but he's damn sure earned the right to say whatever the hell he wants on that mic when he wins :p

And he makes up for it (in my book) by being a very interesting fighter.

If you entertain me for 25 minutes I think I'll live through you saying "'Sup Jesus" for 5/10 seconds.

It's weird, people always find reasons to hate on Bendo - either it's his religion or that decision that went his way (Which was something completely out of his control)

And now that he dominated his last challenger, all of a sudden he's "not very marketable" how does that make any sense? :p
 
#22 ·
IMO the religion part is not that big of a deal, i was jus agreeing with the other poster. dont be so sensitive about it dude.

the religion thing does my head in but bendo is a great champ, how can you say his fights are boring? like seriously? lol. bendo always tries to finish, takes more risks than most would when you look at GSP/edgar etc
i didnt say his fights were boring i just said his fighting style of cage humping is ugly to see, especially for the casuals.

Imo, It is way too early to suggest that Ben Hendo "isn't marketable". Keep in mind, he's only been in the UFC for 1 and a half years, and only has two title defences. The key factor that has been the reason why he hasn't blown up yet, is the fact that has no finishes in the UFC.

Honestly, I think attitude has very little to do with how marketable you are as a fighter. Take Cain Velasquez for example. I see Bens attitude and approach to fighting as being similar to Cain. He trains very hard and generally doesn't have too many bad things to say about his opponent. But whats seperates them is the fact Cain in the past has ran through people in the first and second rounds, while Ben hasn't had that type of success in the UFC.

Givin the time, and the right string of wins, I think anyone can be marketable.
cain is marketable, hes the 1st heavyweight mexican champion in ufc history and they can always bill him as the man that toppled the big bad dude Brock Lesnar + hes hispanic which is a market that the ufc is definitely pushing for. Benson on the other hand is generic, he doesnt have a personality or gimmick, his boring on the mic, and he doesnt finish fights. also his fighting style of grinding against the cage doesnt help. Hes not a ppv draw thus making him unmarketable.
 
#19 ·
to be honest i think that the tattoo is more for a chick than a dude.
Are you kidding me? I know where you're coming from here, but lets be real, the tattoo looks badass on him...and he actually has big ass lats so it really compliments the tattoo nicely. I'm not going to sit here and be like, it looks better on him than a girl, cuz that's kinda ****, but it looks badass, and I'm not big on girls with tats so :/

 
#20 ·
Imo, It is way too early to suggest that Ben Hendo "isn't marketable". Keep in mind, he's only been in the UFC for 1 and a half years, and only has two title defences. The key factor that has been the reason why he hasn't blown up yet, is the fact that has no finishes in the UFC.

Honestly, I think attitude has very little to do with how marketable you are as a fighter. Take Cain Velasquez for example. I see Bens attitude and approach to fighting as being similar to Cain. He trains very hard and generally doesn't have too many bad things to say about his opponent. But whats seperates them is the fact Cain in the past has ran through people in the first and second rounds, while Ben hasn't had that type of success in the UFC.

Givin the time, and the right string of wins, I think anyone can be marketable.
 
#23 ·
I agree with this, basically it's dominance that makes for popularity not trash talk.

The marketing types will keep looking for gimmicks that make people popular, but the fact remains that the only thing that sells in combat sports is badassery.

Wanderlei could barely speak English and he was the one of the biggest draws in MMA for a long time. Chuck was a pot bellied mohawked guy who never talked trash and barely spoke above a whisper and yet he was the UFC's biggest star, and sold far more PPVs than Couture with all his "Captain America" marketing shpiel. Fedor was a humble, backwoods, potbellied, balding Russian guy without a word of English to his name, yet at one point he was the GOAT of mma and it's biggest star ever, rejecting contracts for millions per fight.

GSP is as clean cut and non trash-talky as they get, and he is the current biggest draw. Jones is portrayed as "awkward in the press" and "too religious" etc., but he consistently sells huge numbers.

If Cain was only popular for being Mexican, why was JDS so popular? His first title defense sold 550K, even though it was against a replacement and heavy underdog in Frank Mir. It's because he effortlessly smashed the entire HW div that's why.

People watch this sport to find out who the baddest men on the planet are, period. Nothing else matters, no matter what tools like Sonnen or Diaz try to say to justify being tools. There might be some small marketing elements like Lesnar bringing in his WWE fanbase etc. but in the end it was because he too dominated the existing champs badly and he looked like Thor.

Bendo's problem is simply that he isn't dominant or dynamic enough in his actual fights. 2 close controversial decisions and one grindfest are all he has. The recent loss to Pettis and close fight with Cerrone just peg him as a "champion in passing" to casual fans rather than the "Man, no one can touch this guy!" vibe most of the other champs have.
 
#30 ·
I like it too and russians are the toughest people on the planet an ukraine have a claim too, hey budhi pettis changed the shape of bendos cheek bone for life with that kick
 
#32 ·
I want Ristie to come to MMA, he's Spong's best student and Tyrone is set to make waves in the cage. Ristie with TDD would be the scariest thing the LW division could ever imagine.

I think Maynard will dethrone Benson.

Budhi made a really good point earlier about he deserves his couple of minutes to say what he wants to say, it's true.

I just turn off the sound.

@Liddelianenko I don't like non religious folks pushing their beliefs just as much as I don't like relgious folks pushing their beliefs aswell. I have my beliefs (or lack thereof, really), others can have theirs. I'd prefer it if was kept personal but that's just me.

I must look like a completely different member now
 
#36 ·
I dont see why I cant take the piss out of Bendo because of his Jesus nuthugging. I've got no problem with religion. I do have a problem with stupidity.

This thread is questioning Bendos marketability. I think his Jesus thing is a big part of why he is unpopular. At the end of the Diaz fight when he belched out "Through Christ all things are possible... can I get an amen?!"... Did he get an Amen? F*uck no. He got tumble weeds.

I'm gonna stick me neck out here and say, the majority of the UFC fan demographic are not the types for this kind of silliness. That's why he'll never be popular.

For the record... I'm a believer. Not in organized religion, but still, I believe in a grander plan. I believe everything is by design. So, Im not one of these atheist types who want to rag on a guy because they believe in something supposedly imaginary. Even considering this, I fecking dislike Ben Henderson a great deal.
You guys are obviously not the type I meant. You have your own beliefs and respect others right to have theirs, no problem with that. You guys are far from the usual militant religion/theism bashing type that flocks to these types of threads though.

FTR I think guys like Benson and Vitor are a bit dogmatic and over the top too, but IMO for the most part marketability has nothing to do with like-ability. People will pay good money to watch a guy they love, hate, or think is a complete looney, as long as he can beat the crap out of everyone he faces ... case in point Jones.
 
#34 ·
If pettis somehow loses to bendo 2nd time around I cant see maynard winning with his average 5 rounder gas tank bendo will gas him and could guillotine him like nate diaz did in the tuf house
 
#35 ·
I dont see why I cant take the piss out of Bendo because of his Jesus nuthugging. I've got no problem with religion. I do have a problem with stupidity.

This thread is questioning Bendos marketability. I think his Jesus thing is a big part of why he is unpopular. At the end of the Diaz fight when he belched out "Through Christ all things are possible... can I get an amen?!"... Did he get an Amen? F*uck no. He got tumble weeds.

I'm gonna stick me neck out here and say, the majority of the UFC fan demographic are not the types for this kind of silliness. That's why he'll never be popular.

For the record... I'm a believer. Not in organized religion, but still, I believe in a grander plan. I believe everything is by design. So, Im not one of these atheist types who want to rag on a guy because they believe in something supposedly imaginary. Even considering this, I fecking dislike Ben Henderson a great deal.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Is this still a MMA forum? What somebody religion has to do with anything? This rants against somebody who is just praising his god are child like, pointless and disrespectiful to other people beliefs in the forum.
Intolerance is the root cause for worse discriminatory violent acts we all are scared of around the world.
We cannot change the way other people think, but we can and should change the way we act about that. There are thousands of religions worldwide. Show some respect, please.
Race and religion comments should be avoided.
 
#43 ·
Is this still a MMA forum? What somebody religion has to do with anything? This rants against somebody who is just praising his god are child like, pointless and disrespectiful to other people beliefs in the forum.
Intolerance is the root cause for worse discriminatory violent acts we all are scared of around the world.
We cannot change the way other people think, but we can and should change the way we act about that. There are thousands of religions worldwide. Show some respect, please.
Race and religion comments should be avoided.
Agreed. Can we move away from the religion discussion now please.
 
#46 ·
LW needs a more marketable champion?
Why?

Is there some sizable demographic you're thinking of that the UFC is missing out on they don't already have?

IMO, the UFC already has all the low-hanging fruit in terms of their potential audience. So unless you're talking about something like a Chinese LW champion, I don't see how a different LW champ has any significant potential positive impact on PPV's/revenue.

.
 
#47 ·
IMHO i mean bendo is a tough fighter and good champion but theres nothing unique/stands out about him hes a generic champion.
Letting aside Bendo's athleticism, technique, flexibility, cardio, huge hair always disturbing his vision along fights, If beating the sh!t out of people while chewing a f*king toothpick isn't unique enough, I don't know what else would be. :)
 
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