The UFC should now be renamed "The League of Chuck and Randy". Mark my words. You are going to be sick of their faces by the end of this year. The UFC has decided that these two icons are their main men and are going to push them on the public harder than any champions before. In this article we are going to explore why these two men instead of their other assets.
When you think of UFC Champions, what are the first two names that come to mind? Anderson Silva? Sean Sherk? George St. Pierre? All these men are UFC champions of their respective weight classes and world class athletes but they aren't foremost in the publics conscience. When you think of UFC Champions, you probably think of Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. Why these two men and not the others?
The problem goes all the way back to the UFC roots. the organization has developed what I term as "Weird Kid Syndrome". During their formative years, they were different. Nobody had seen Mixed Martial Arts before and it was a wild event where there weren't much rules. Society likes rules and conformity, the UFC had neither, and therefore they shunned the sport.
The UFC was forced to live in the gutters and back alleys to scrap for its proverbial life and meal while people like Senator McCain pronounced them un-american and grandstanded to get the sport outlawed. The UFC developed an "us against them" attitude in public but in private they craved the attention of the public media.
Fast forward to 10 years later. All of the sudden the ugly duckling has become the swan. They are getting that attention that they didn't have before but secretly wanted all along. Its intoxicating but in the back of their mind is that fear of rejection that they inculcated all those years they were shunned. They fear ultimate rejection and that this is only a transitory acceptance. They fear that the media will see all their perceived "warts", even though all the original "warts" are now gone, and turn on them again for good.
Its a very real self-image and perception problem and hence why the UFC has chosen to push their all-american golden boys over their other champions. Silva can't speak english and therefore cannot communicate on an effective level to convey his dynamic personality. The layers of translation rob him of this and therefore make him harder to market although he is a superb fighter and athlete. Sean Sherk is injured right now and isn't a very dynamic personality in the first place. He's a fire plug and doesn't fit the golden-boy image look-wise and has a pleasant but pedestrian fight style and image. George St. Pierre is Canadian and although his looks fit the bill, his inaccessibility and french accent make him hard to understand to John Q. Public. That leaves Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.
Chuck Liddell is the perfect "Rock Star". His mohawk hair-cut, flashy life style, gorgeous arm candy, faster cars, and flashy fight style fit in perfect with the medias perception of what a pop culture icon should be. Its an easy sell and the UFC realizes that. They want to be seen as that glitzy glamorous product and therefore use Chuck's image as a vehicle to prove to the world that they really belong and that they aren't that "weird kid" anymore.
The problem with this is that it is a heavy load to bear for one person now that everybody wants a piece of the MMA action. Have we seen the first chinks in the Chuck Liddell armor with his public inability to speak coherently when promoting a movie on a morning show in Dallas? Even though he was promoting another product, he is still the golden boy spokesman of the UFC whose actions can and will reflect badly upon the organization. It has to be driving the UFC mad and their fear of rejection has to be going through the roof.
Now enter Randy Couture. He is already an "icon" of the UFC but now they have a way they can publicly promote him to golden boy status with him winning the Heavyweight title from Tim Silvia. He has all the traits that the "weird kid" wished he had. He's 43 and highly succesful. He has an incredible physique and is considered a freak of nature. Randy is naturally gregarious and has an easy smile. He is well spoken and the media just can't get enough of him. No visible "warts" that the UFC can see and therefore an easy promotion where there is no danger of outing the "weird kid".
The UFC needs to ditch the "weird kid" and realize that they are the swan. MMA is here to stay in one form or another. It has hit mainstream. Warts, within acceptable ranges, are good and give sports organization personality. They need to utilize all their resources and promote all their champions equally so that the world can see a well-rounded and healthy organization. Healthy equals longevity. They are in danger of burning out their golden boys by only utilizing one or two assets and hurting their image through a possible cataclysmic breakdown. Its all right to be different. Different can be fun and as long as they are confident in that difference, it can work AND will attract the crowds.