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Dana White to Conor McGregor on UFC 196 poster change: 'You're right'

2K views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  kantowrestler 
#1 ·
They did it for BJ Penn, so why not. It's pure marketing. Without the belt he looks like another regular challenger. Adds more weight to the card. Most fighters never want to go up to test himself. He immediately wanted to go up. That speaks major volumes.

UFC President Dana White has been making the media rounds at radio row in San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl 50 and stopped by on Thursday, the Grant and Danny Show from Washington, D.C.'s 106.7 The Fan. White addressed a number of topics, not least of which is the noticeable change in fight posters and marketing angle for UFC 196: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor.

McGregor, the reigning featherweight champion, is set to face dos Anjos, the reigning lightweight champion, in the main event of UFC 196, but the original poster only showed dos Anjos with his belt. In a pre-fight press conference, only dos Anjos appeared with his belt. Technically speaking, both competitors are champions, but only the Brazilian's title is up for grabs as the UFC 196 main event is a lightweight bout.

Still, McGregor expressed discontent over having his belt and status as champion omitted. "That's what I just noticed. Where is my damn belt?", McGregor asked at the time. "This is a superfight. I look up at that poster, I see myself tucked in the back there. I see a guy whose last gate was 1.7 million. He (Rafael dos Anjos) fought on free TV. He's never brought a dime to the company. He's never made a dime yet he is sitting there on the front of my poster."

When the organization was forced to make a new poster after the event was renumbered, White said McGregor's argument resonated with him.

"Conor made his argument, 'This is a superfight. I'm a [145]-pound champion. He's the [155]-pound champion. My belt should be represented even though I'm not defending my belt.'

"And I said, 'You know what? You're right, Conor. All right, we'll do it," White recalls.

Not only is McGregor's belt now present, but the fight is being explicitly marketed as a champion vs. champion bout, an angle originally missing McGregor insisted underrepresented what was happening.

"We actually switched the poster and they've both got their belts and it's champion vs. champion," said White. "It's a superfight: 45 vs. 55 for the 55-pound title."

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/2/4...mcgregor-on-ufc-196-poster-change-youre-right
 
#2 ·
I look up at that poster, I see myself tucked in the back there. I see a guy whose last gate was 1.7 million. He (Rafael dos Anjos) fought on free TV. He's never brought a dime to the company. He's never made a dime yet he is sitting there on the front of my poster.
This is what I find so ridiculous, being a MMA fan.
I don't care how much money you are putting into Dana White and the Fertittas pockets or how high UFC stocks are climbing or falling. I am a fighting fan, so this kind of subject is absolutely irrelevant for me. Just go up there and give me a fvcking good fight. That is how you gonna get my respect.
 
#6 ·
But he's not trying to get your respect. He's trying to sell his brand, and having his face plastered in as many places as possible is how that happens.

Obviously you are talking about you personally and how you feel, but on the flip side, he doesn't care at all if you respect him or what "mma fans" want. He wants his face everywhere, he wants people to know of him, not respect him.
 
#5 ·
I don't blame him. At the end of the day this is a business, a very dangerous business. You should try and get as much money as you can each time you step in the ring. You could get injured or lose and then your stock goes down. I am not a big fan of Conor but you can't deny his impact.
 
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